[sustran] Vietnam's war on the streets

Paul Barter tkpb at barter.pc.my
Tue Jun 9 12:01:01 JST 1998


This appeared on the alt-transp list.

Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 20:46:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: crleech at freenet.carleton.ca (Colin R. Leech)
Subject: alt-transp Vietnam And The War In The Streets

An interesting perspective on transportation issues in a developing country.
Note especially the lanes restricted for particular types of transportation. :-)

    ================= Begin forwarded message =================

    From: greenspi at web.net (unknown)
    To: crleech at freenet.carleton.ca
    Subject: Vietnam And The War In The Streets
    Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 04:17:20 -0400


    Vietnam And The War In The Streets
    by Tooker Gomberg and Angela Bischoff

    The American military, during the war in Vietnam, inaugurated a new form
    of war. It became known as "ecocide": the military attempted to destroy
    the ecosystem by pouring massive quantities of herbicides from the sky
    in order to force peasants to abandon the countryside.

    Three decades later the battle against nature continues unabated. Now
    the war is in the cities: cities which survived decades of war are now
    suffering under a pallor of exhaust. The streets of Hanoi and Ho Chi
    Minh City are being strangled, slowly, by aggressive, honking motorized
    vehicles. One might call it "urbacide".

    You can tell a lot about a city from its streets. Streets may even be
    the best indicator of the health of a city. The capital, Hanoi, a city
    of one million people, still retains much of its charm, especially in
    the Old Quarter. Low-rise buildings, rarely taller than three stories,
    are jammed together along narrow, winding streets.

    Early in the morning, the streets are so calm you can hear birds singing
    from cages hanging in the trees. By 8 a.m., under the shady trees of the
    Old Quarter, the streets are full to capacity as activity bursts forth.
    Motorcycles are everywhere, weaving, accelerating, and swerving within a
    hair's breadth.

    Through this anarchic traffic jumble, cone-hatted women amble carrying
    bouncing baskets of bananas and pineapples, bread, or ready-to-eat
    sticky rice, and more. Everything glides by in woven bamboo baskets
    elegantly balanced on a bamboo pole. It gives a whole new meaning to the
    concept of shopping: instead of going somewhere for the goods, the
    "basket of goods" comes to you.

    Make-shift restaurants, complete with a few stackable stools and a
    coal-fired stove, line the sidewalks. Kids play soccer, weaving around
    the pedestrians. Like cruise missiles, pedlars hone in on tourists,
    trying to sell postcards or army-green pith helmets.

    Another type of peddler pushes a ride in a cyclo -- the ubiquitous,
    three-wheeled, pedal-powered taxi. This unique Vietnamese vehicle is
    custom-made in small shops around the country. It is a popular mode of
    transportation for tourists and locals alike. And when required, a cyclo
    can as easily be used for transporting large, bulky, and heavy freight.

    But there is a common attitude that cyclos "get in the way" and hinder
    traffic. So the government is cracking down on them, and has begun
    banning them from certain streets during certain hours. We wondered by
    what logic motorcycles were allowed on any street however narrow, and at
    any time day or night, while cyclos were banned?

    Not everyone is happy with the rapid motorization. Ms. Nguyen Linh, of
    the Vietnam Women's Union, told us: "Many people feel regret with the
    current situation that the Vietnamese are forgetting the bicycle...Many
    people miss the romantic past, it was quieter and less polluted. And of
    course, bicycles are good for the environment."

    The official term for bicycles, pedestrians, and people carrying baskets
    is "rudimentary forms of transport". And everybody seems to want a
    motorbike. One of the more popular brands is the Honda Dream. But with
    everybody driving their Dream, the city is turning into a nightmare.

    A Honda Dream costs over $2,000 US, and with annual salaries of less
    than $400 on average, somehow people can still afford them. Motorcycle
    use is exploding. From 1995 - 1997, the number of motorcycles in Vietnam
    increased by 35% from 3,500,000 - 4,800,000. Very few people travel by
    bus.

    It is hard to imagine what Hanoi was like just five years ago when there
    were virtually no annoying motorcycles. Or ten years ago when streetcars
    still plied the leafy boulevards.

    In the countryside, the bicycle is still commonly used. Once we rode in
    a special lane reserved for bicycles and water buffalo (no joke). They
    may have horns, but at least they don't honk obnoxiously.

    A ride along the main national highway was most notable for its constant
    honking. Though most vehicles along the rural route were pedal powered,
    the slow, peaceful mood was constantly upset by maniacal motorcycle or
    bus drivers barreling along, honking everybody out of their way.

    Cities around the world are cooking the atmosphere and choking on motor
    vehicle exhaust. Many are beginning to realize that less motorization
    usually means more livability. Can Hanoi recapture, and show the world,
    how serene and sustainable a foot-powered city can be? Or must each city
    itself learn the lessons of mass motordom? The tragedy, it seems, is
    that you just can't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

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- --
####    |\^/|     Colin R. Leech     ag414 or crleech at freenet.carleton.ca
#### _|\|   |/|_  Civil engineer by training, transport planner by choice.
#### >         <  Opinions are my own. You may consider them shareware.
####  >_./|\._<   "If you can't return a favour, pass it on." - A.L. Brown




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