Local residents voiced their concerns over dozens of street food carts which were found to have encroached on Nguyen Gia Tri Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District, causing inconvenience to commuters and posing traffic safety risks.

At around 6:00 pm every day, street vendors put more than 80 food carts offering a wide selection of snacks and drinks, like stir-fried corn and baked sweet potatoes, on the sidewalk and roadbed.

Vendors also flock to the roadbed to invite customers to their stalls, setting up a various number of tables and stools on the street and turning parts of the roadbed into parking lots.

The encroachment on the roadbed caused inconvenience to commuters and resulted in traffic congestion on the street and neighboring areas, especially during the peak hours.

Quang Huy, a 34-year-old resident in Binh Thanh, said that he has to slow down and give way to these encroachers every time he rides his motorcycle along this street.

Huy feared that these encroachers may pose a threat to other road users.

T.K.H., aged 25 and hailing from Thu Duc City under the jurisdiction of Ho Chi Minh City, recounted her dangerous instance of riding her motorcycle at a high speed along this street.

Suddenly, she was startled by a street vendor who hurried down the street with a food menu in his hands to invite customers.

The administration of Ward 25 where Nguyen Gia Tri Street is located said that it was aware of scores of food cart operators encroaching on the street and will take action to address the issue to ensure public order and traffic safety.

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