Circular No. 04/2008/TT-BXD dated February 20, 2008 of the Ministry of Construction guiding the management of urban roads

CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE MANAGEMENT OF URBAN ROADS

Pursuant to the November 26, 2003 Construction Law;

Pursuant to the June 29, 2001 Road Traffic Law;

Pursuant to the Governments Decree No. 186/2004/ND-CP of November 5, 2004, providing for the management and protection of road traffic infrastructures;

Pursuant to the Governments Decree No. 17/2008/ND-CP of February 4, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction,The Ministry of Construction guides the management of roads in urban centers as follows:

Part 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

I. SCOPE AND SUBJECTS OF APPLICATION

1. This Circular guides the construction, management and exploitation of urban roads with a view to restoring the uniformity and synchronism in the construction, management and exploitation of systems of roads in urban centers (urban centers of grade 5 or higher), raising the efficiency of investment, exploitation and proper use and increasing urban beauty.

2. The management and exploitation of streets with special functions (pedestrians streets, culinary streets, night-market streets, etc.) comply with specific regulations of local administrations.

3. Domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, when participating in the construction, management or exploitation of urban roads in Vietnam, shall comply with provisions of the Construction Law, the Road Traffic Law, this Circular and relevant legal documents.

II. INTERPRETATION OF TERMS

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Urban roads (or streets) means land roads lying within the administrative boundaries of urban centers and limited by red-line landmarks under plannings approved by competent authorities.

2. Pavements (footpaths, side-walks) means street sections used mainly for pedestrians and also as places for arrangement of urban technical infrastructures along streets.

3. Urban technical infrastructures comprise wire lines, pipelines and tunnels, technical trenches along streets.

4. Roadbeds means street sections limited within two curbs, where urban technical infrastructures can be arranged along, when necessary.

5. Vehicle lanes are street sections used mainly for means of transport participating in traffic activities.

6. Red-line landmarks of urban roads means the borderlines identified on planning maps and the field for demarcation between the land area reserved for urban roads, support facilities in service of urban traffic and the land area reserved for other works and other public spaces.

7. Construction landmarks means limits for construction of works on land plots.

8. Urban road safety corridor means the width from the road curb to the construction landmark under planning approved by competent authorities.

9. Peoples Committees at all levels:

a/ Provincial-level Peoples Committee means the Peoples Committee of a province or centrally run city.

b/ Distinct-level Peoples Committee means the Peoples Committee of a rural district, urban district, city or provincial town under the provincial-level Peoples Committee.

c/ Communal-level Peoples Committee means the Peoples Committee of a commune, ward or township.

III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR URBAN ROAD MANAGEMENT

1. Urban roads constitute parts of urban technical infrastructures uniformly managed by the State with management decentralization.

2. Ensuring pavements for pedestrians and smooth roadbeds for motorized and rudimentary vehicles.

3. The use or temporary use of sections of urban roads for other purposes must be permitted by competent state bodies and at the same time solutions must be worked out so as not to affect traffic safety and order, environmental sanitation and urban beauty.

IV. PROHIBITED ACTS IN CONSTRUCTION, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF URBAN ROADS

1. Designing and building urban roads in contravention of planning already approved by competent authorities.

2. Building or digging urban roads without permission.

3. Opening branch roads without permission or making illegal connections with main roads.

4. Using urban roads for market places, food-catering services, sale of goods or materials.

5. Dumping garbage, discarded materials and acts of causing environmental pollution to urban roads.

6. Installing or building motorbike driveways or three-step staircases into houses or facilities by roadsides, which affect traffic flow and pedestrians; depriving urban centers of their beautiful look.

7. Illegally installing or building facilities, billboards, decorations or wire lines, which affect the urban road structure as well as urban traffic safety and depriving urban centers of their beautiful look.

8. Illegally building facilities in encroachment upon red-line landmarks or urban road safety corridors.

9. Keeping bicyles, motorcycles, cars and other motor vehicles on pavements or roadbeds without permits; parking bicycles, motorcycles or cars not at prescribed places.

Part 2

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON URBAN ROAD MANAGEMENT

I. PLANNING WORK

1. Urban construction planning blueprints must fully comply with the regulations on land funds reservedjfor urban traffic according to current construction planning standards.

2. Urban construction planning must be associated with specialized communications and transport planning in order to ensure that urban road systems are planned strictly according to their functions or peculiar requirements, in synchronism with planning on underground works and other technical infrastructures.

3. Urban construction must be planned with the calculation and arrangement of car parks to meet urban dwellers demands.

4. Urban road networks must be systematic, synchronous, interlinked and sustainable: solutions must be worked out to ensure connectedness with works on both sides of urban roads.

5. Upon formulation of urban construction planning blueprints, necessary ground areas must be arranged enough for urban road works and other support facilities in order to ensure urban traffic safety and order, the cross-section width, every section on the cross section, construction landmarks and red-line landmarks of urban roads must be specifically identified and publicized on the field so that people know, implement and facilitate management work.

6. Detailed planning on construction of residential quarters, hotels, trade centers, office buildings, schools, recreation and entertainment areas,... must arrange enough land areas for car parks suitable to the demand of each work; traffic lanes and pavements must not be used as car parks.

7. Urban road sections and technical infrastructures along roads must be synchronously arranged. Pavements must be wide enough for arrangement of technical infrastructure systems along roads. The arrangement of technical infrastructure systems in traffic lanes is strictly restricted. The arrangement of technical infrastructures along roads in tunnels or technical trenches in urban renovation planning blueprints shall be prioritized. For new streets and streets in new urban centers, wire lines and pipelines must be laid underground.

8. Detailed urban construction planning blueprints must indicate locations for construction of flyovers or tunnels for pedestrians.

II. DESIGNING AND BUILDING WORK

1. The designing and building of urban roads must comply with relevant standards and criteria.

2. Red-line landmarks under construction planning already approved by competent authorities must be strictly complied with.

3. Upon designing, renovating or building urban roads, the planned elevation must be ensured, without affecting the operation of water drainage systems, population and facilities on both sides of urban roads. The urban road elevation shall be considered by permit-granting bodies in the course of granting construction permits.

4. Urban roads must be designed and built to facilitate the movement of the disabled.

5. Water drainage systems must be simultaneously designed and built on all urban roads under construction planning and specialized water drainage planning (if any), which have been approved by competent authorities.

6. The use of materials, shapes, sizes and colors of pavement curbs, pavement bricks on a street ora street section must be synchronous.

7. Surface facilities on pavements must not hinder pedestrians and ensure urban beauty.

8. Locations must be arranged for pedestrians to safely and conveniently cross roads, prioritizing the design and construction of flyovers or tunnels at cross-sections, on long street sections with high flows of road-crossings (central quarters, commercial streets).

9. The use of curb bricks (with square angles or bevel angles) must be flexible to ensure the convenient pavement mounting or dismounting by vehicles, not affecting the urban beauty and traffic.

10. The arrangement of technical infrastructure systems in traffic lanes must be restricted. For new streets and streets in new urban centers, wire lines and pipelines must be laid underground. Tunnel and technical trench systems must be made the fullest use of for this purpose.

11. Construction permits must be acquired before conducting construction.

12. The systems of greenery, public lighting, water drainage, tunnel, technical trenches (already identified in plannings approved by competent authorities) must be built together with urban roads.

13. Measures must be taken to ensure traffic safety, normal activities of pedestrians and traffic and to ensure environmental sanitation in areas in the course of construction.

III. URBAN ROAD MAINTENANCE

1. After being tested before use, urban roads must be maintained for long-term exploitation. The maintenance duration is calculated from the date of pre-acceptance test to the expiry date.

2. The maintenance of urban roads complies with the maintenance process.

3. For works being in exploitation or use, depending on the size and characteristics of urban roads, management bodies shall formulate by themselves or hire capable consultancy agencies to formulate a maintenance process. For newly designed urban roads, designing contractors shall formulate a maintenance process based on relevant current technical criteria.

4. The maintenance of urban roads must ensure the planned elevation and current elevation, must not affect the operation of water drainage systems, population and constructions on both sides of urban roads.

5. Owners, persons assigned to manage street pavements are responsible for maintenance work as follows:

a/ To organize the maintenance of urban roads according to the maintenance process.

b/ To bear responsibility before law for the degraded quality of urban roads due to failure to conduct maintenance according to regulations.