Remember Hanoi’s traffic congestion puzzle-solving competition?
Earlier this year, the Hanoi administration decided to turn part of its urban policy-making into a contest by offering US$200,000 to any individual or organization with the best idea on how to solve the capital’s traffic pandemonium.
The results are out, and apparently nobody was inventive enough to snatch the top cash prize. According to Dan Tri, on September 8 city officials announced that they were only giving out the second prize of US$100,000 and five participation prizes of US$25,000 each.
Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Transport Ngo Manh Tuan told the news source that none of the entries were brilliant enough for the top prize. The second prize went to a Japanese-Vietnamese collaborative effort from Nikken Sekkei Civil Engineering Ltd. (NSC), the Nikken Sekkei Research Institute (NSRI) and the Vietnam Institute for Urban and Rural Planning (VIUP).
Tuoi Tre reports that the team came up with a strategy comprising different tactics like a West Lake-based water taxi service, a new belt road and an upgrade to the city’s current bus network.
The water taxi service, as proposed, could both solve congestion on Hanoi streets and bring in revenue as a tourism option. Water taxis would pick up passengers at five stations on the perimeter of the lake, helping to alleviate traffic pressure in between areas of the city that are on opposite sides of the massive lake.
[Photo via vokrugsveta]
