Beijing Mayor Cai Qi has arranged for the implementation of a three-year action plan to improve the environment in the capital's side streets and alleys, which have long been plagued by illegal constructions, car parking and street vendors.

Cai said over the next three years the side streets and alleys, as well as local communities, will be cleaned up, and he called for the establishment of a street chief system to carry out the three-year plan. The street system will be headed by street chiefs who will be responsible for the management of certain streets and alleys, and there will be inspections, evaluations and supervision mechanisms to ensure the cleanup work is being done.

On Wednesday, the first batch of street chiefs for 94 streets in Xicheng district took up their duties. According to officials of Xicheng, there will be street chiefs for all the 1,400 streets in Xicheng in the future, who will be directly responsible for the management of their streets' environment. The district chief will also be the overall street chief of the district.

Last December the central government advanced establishing a four-level river chief system to take charge of water environment protection, which is expected to make great achievements in China's water resource protection. And the street chief system can learn from the experiences of the river chief system.