[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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