The Hanoi Times - The Government has urged the Hanoi People’s Committee to speed up renovation of the urban transport system in order to tackle traffic jams in the city.

According to the municipal Department of Transport, although the number of traffic accidents this year is 15 less than that last year, the city still faces a huge potential for traffic jams and road accidents

Department deputy director Nguyen Xuan Tan attributed the risks to poor infrastructure, the increasing number of private vehicles and low public awareness of road safety.

In a newly-issued instruction, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai requested the city to be more drastic in adopting measures such as strengthening inspections and punishment of violations, improving infrastructure and encouraging citizens to use public transport.

Hai asked the city to eradicate vehicle parking lots that affect traffic.

He also agreed to set up working teams to strictly deal with violating vehicles and those occupying streets with their stalls or dump garbage into public places and roadways.

Additionally, Hanoi is allowed to mobilise more staff for traffic control and inspection during rush hours. Traffic light timings will be changed to fix certain situations at particular places.

He told relevant ministries to consider and draft recommendations to raise fines and impounded vehicle fees.

Although Hanoi had achieved initial remarkable results in rerouting traffic at crowded T-junctions, the city needed to work out the cause of the traffic problems to have long-term and more scientific solutions, Hai said.

In response, Tan said the city authorities would keep o­n adopting measures that have proved effective, including launching a "Traffic Culture" campaign across the city.

The department would keep working o­n solving traffic jams at hot spots and boost work with traffic policemen, and district People’s Committees to check and punish violators who illegally use pavements for parking or doing business.

According to department director Nguyen Quoc Hung, the department has produced a draft to ensure road safety and deal with traffic jams during the coming Tet holiday in mid-February.

Under the draft, road, pavements and underground work must be finished by tomorrow. Transport companies are urged to ensure quantity and service quality to meet increasing demand during the Tet holiday.