Da Nang plans to limit the number of personal cars and motorcycles in an effort to ease traffic congestion.

Traffic in the inner-city

The municipal Transport Department has been authorised to outline a plan and submit it to city authorities by June.

The Head of the Department’s Traffic Police Division, Colonel Le Ngoc, said that although traffic congestion is not as bad as in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, rush hour traffic can be a challenge.

He blamed the increase of private vehicles, rapid urbanisation and the booming of high-rise buildings for local traffic problems.

Da Nang, with a population of 900,000, has 69,000 registered cars, 800,000 motorbikes and over 5,000 battery-powered bikes. This does not include vehicles from surrounding towns and villages that come into the city daily, according to the city’s traffic department said.

The number of vehicles is expected to increase at about 12% annually, further burdening the city’s infrastructure.

In a bid to curb traffic congestion, a number of measures were adopted, including allowing vehicles to turn right on red from the right lane, said Mr Le Van Trung, the Director of the municipal Transport Department.

Da Nang is also piloting an odd and even day car parking plan on some streets to ease congestion. The city also plans several underground projects, including two road tunnels at busy roundabouts being underway, and work starting on a tunnel under the Han River in 2018 at the earliest.

(Source: VNS/ DA NANG Today)