The entrance to Ring Road 3 on Nguyen Xien street. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi – The capital city of Hanoi is adopting a range of measures to ensure traffic safety and reduce congestion at ‘traffic black spots’.

The city’s authorities want to increase the ratio of roads in comparison to buildings by up to 0.3 per cent, with a target for this year set at 10.65 per cent.

The People’s Committee of Hanoi has issued Plan No.195/KH-UBND, to address unsynchronised transportation infrastructure and traffic congestion spots throughout the city.

The city is also targeting a reduction in the number of traffic accidents, deaths and injuries by five to 10 per cent.

The plan includes the annual handling of 8-10 traffic black spots in the city.

Hanoi will also work to ease traffic congestion, limit the duration of traffic jams to less than 30 minutes and address areas that frequently have traffic accidents.

Officials also want to improve public transportation to provide higher quality services for passengers to encourage them to take the bus instead of using cars and motorbikes.

The core mission is to build and refine regulations, mechanisms and policies to ensure traffic order and safety.

But, it’s key to align these regulations with the city’s sectorial planning, land use planning, urban and rural development planning and transportation planning.

Monitoring closely the implementation of the process will be a key priority, to ensure that new construction projects and improvement of industrial zones, urban areas, shopping malls, schools or hospitals will be equipped with the right transportation infrastructure and good public transport links.

The city should review and resolve the “black spots” known for their high frequency of traffic accidents.

Under the plan, unauthorised crossings over railroads must be eliminated and activities that encroach on roads or railways must also be addressed.

The city will work with other ministries to build standard evaluation systems for vehicles, materials and infrastructure to create good conditions for the production of environmentally-friendly transportation.

To achieve the plan, Hanoi should build up policies and legal frameworks in the transportation sector. The authorities will review and propose amendments to existing legal documents, ensuring they reflect the current situation and contribute to an efficient state management system for transportation.

Furthermore, the city will review and update transport development planning in line with current socio-economic conditions, ensuring alignment with national defence and security goals.

Hanoi will prioritise investing in and synchronising traffic infrastructure, especially projects that aim to reduce congestion in the city.