Hanoi will not allow car parking lots on roads narrower than 6.5 meters or those near crossroads and with heavy traffic, city officers said at a recent meeting.

In downtown, authorities will allow parking lots on parts of the roads or on one side if there’s high demand, news website VnExpress said Thursday.

The city will give investment priority to projects of underground or multi-story parking lots, said Hanoi vice chairman Nguyen Van Khoi.

Khoi said that parking lots will not be allowed on the two routes between the city center to Noi Bai International Airport.

In September 2011, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City were asked by the Transport Ministry to make plans to clear all parking lots on the roads to improve traffic in the crowded cities.

Minister Dinh La Thang has criticized Hanoi authorities of licensing parking lots so that some individual officers could pocket the money instead of giving it to the state budget, the news website said.