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Police will implement special traffic arrangements and crowd management measures in Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay on New Year's Eve (December 31) to facilitate the public to celebrate the New Year.
"People are urged to follow the advice and instructions given by police officers who will direct them from places which are overcrowded," a police spokesman said.
The special traffic arrangements will be as follows:
Lan Kwai Fong
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Road closure:
Phase I -
Normal traffic flow will be maintained
Phase II -
A section of D'Aguilar Street between Wyndham Street and Wellington Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Wing Wah Lane, Wo On Lane and a section of Wellington Street between Wyndham Street and D'Aguilar Street will be closed from 5pm on December 31 to 4am on January 1 for pedestrian precinct.
Phase III -
When the whole of D' Aguilar Street is packed with people, the crowds will be directed to queue up along Wellington Street west of D'Aguilar Street and then back to Pottinger Street, Stanley Street and Queen's Road Central. The whole of D'Aguilar Street will then be sealed off to all vehicular traffic.
Phase IV -
To ensure a smooth dispersal, Wyndham Street between Glenealy and Queen's Road Central may be closed.
Suspension of on-street parking spaces and bus stops
The on-street motorcycle parking spaces and green mini-bus (GMB) stands along Wellington Street between Wyndham Street and D'Aguilar Street; and Stanley Street between D'Aguilar Street and Pottinger Street will be suspended from 6pm on New Year's Eve to 6am the following day. The motorcycle parking spaces on On Lan Street will also be suspended during the same period.
All bus stops on D'Aguilar Street will be suspended from 7pm on December 31 until the re-opening of all roads.
Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts of the special traffic arrangements will be towed away without prior warning and may be subject to multiple ticketing.
Chater Road Pedestrian Precinct
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Starting from 8pm on December 31 until 11.59pm on January 1, the following roads will be closed:
- A section of Chater Road between Pedder Street and Jackson Road; and
- A section of Ice House Street between Des Voeux Road Central and Connaught Road Central.
Causeway Bay Area
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To facilitate a countdown at Times Square, the following traffic arrangements will be implemented on New Year's Eve:
Road closure/diversions:
The following roads will be closed from 5pm:
(a) A section of Russell Street between Percival Street and Canal Road East; and
(b) A section of Matheson Street between Sharp Street East and Russell Street.
The following roads will be closed from 6pm:
(a) A section of Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Leighton Road;
(b) Sharp Street East;
(c) Matheson Street;
(d) A section of Canal Road East between Hennessy Road and Sharp Street East;
(e) Tang Lung Street;
(f) Yiu Wa Street;
(g) A section of Yun Ping Road between Lan Fong Road and Kai Chiu Road;
(h) Kai Chiu Road;
(i) Pak Sha Road;
(j) Foo Ming Street;
(k) A section of Lee Garden Road between Hennessy Road and Lan Fong Road;
(l) Jardine's Bazaar; and
(m) The section of Jaffe Road between Canon Street and the World Trade Centre will be closed (For World Trade Centre Countdown)
The following roads will be closed from 7pm:
a) The inner lane of westbound Hennessy Road between Jardine's Bazaar and Canal Road East;
b) The inner lane of eastbound Hennessy Road between Percival Street and 50 meters east of Canal Road East; and
c) The western traffic lane of Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road.
The following road closures and diversions will be implemented from 8pm:
(a) Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Gloucester Road will be closed;
(b) Canal Road East between Gloucester Road and Lockhart Road will be closed;
(c) Lockhart Road between Canal Road West and Cannon Street will be closed;
(d) Jaffe Road between Canal Road West and Cannon Street will be closed;
(e) Cannon Street will be closed;
(f) Vehicles on Gloucester Road will be prohibited from turning into Canal Road East; and
(g) Vehicles traveling along northbound Canal Road West will be prohibited from turning into Canal Road East.
The following roads will be closed from 11pm.
(a) A section of Canal Road West between Sharp Street West and Hennessy Road;
(b) Sharp Street West between Morrison Hill Road and Canal Road West;
(c) Cheung Woo Lane;
(d) Wan Chai Road between Morrison Hill Road and Canal Road West; and
(e) Bowrington Road.
During the implementation of the special traffic arrangements at Times Square, tram service will continue to be maintained on Hennessy Road unless it is necessary to close Hennessy Road during the departure of crowds after midnight.
The taxi stand at Russell Street will be suspended from 5pm on New Year's Eve.
The following Green Mini-bus and taxi stands will be suspended from 6pm on New Year's Eve and will remain closed as long as road closure is still in effect:
(a) Taxi stands on Yun Ping Road and Bowrington Road and taxi drop-off outside No.58 Percival Street;
(b) GMB Stands on Tang Lung Street and outside No. 66 Percival Street.
The following parking meters, on-street parking spaces, including motorcycle spaces and car parks will be suspended between 3pm on New Year's Eve and 4am the following day:
(a) Parking meters on Yun Ping Road, Lockhart Road east of Marsh Road and Jaffe Road east of Marsh Road; and
(b) The car parks at Times Square, Leighton Centre and on Yiu Wa Street.
Victoria Park
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To facilitate The 42nd Hong Kong Product Expo at Victoria Park, the following traffic arrangements would be implemented on New Year's Eve:
The following roads will be pedestrianised from 4pm onwards:
(a) A section of Lockhart Road east of Cannon Street;
(b) East Point Road;
(c) A section of Great George Street west between Paterson Street and East Point Road.
The following road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented from 6pm onwards:
(a) Sugar Street will be closed;
(b) A section of Great George Street between Gloucester Road and Paterson Street will be closed;
(c) A section of westbound Kingston Street between Paterson Street and Gloucester Road will be closed;
(d) A section of Paterson Street between Kingston Street and Great George Street will be closed;
(e) A section of southbound Gloucester Road between Causeway Road and the ramp leading down from Victoria Park Road Flyover will be closed;
(f) Traffic from Victoria Park Flyover will be diverted to westbound Gloucester Road service road; and
(g) A section of northbound Gloucester Road south of Kingston Street will be closed.
From 7pm onwards, Hing Fat Street will be closed for vehicular traffic except for franchised buses.
The following road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented from 8pm onwards:
(a) Kingston Street will be closed;
(b) A section of Paterson Street between Kingston Street and Gloucester Road will be closed;
(c) Cleveland Street will be closed;
(d) One lane of westbound Gloucester Road service road between Victoria Park Flyover and Cannon Street may be closed at short notice if necessary to facilitate the dispersal of crowd;
(e) Northbound Tai Hang Flyover may be closed at short notice if necessary to facilitate the dispersal of crowd;
(f) A section of Hing Fat Street between Causeway Road and Lau Sin Street may be closed to all traffic at short notice or at 11 pm if necessary to facilitate the dispersal of crowds;
(g) Except for franchised buses and vehicles of residents of Park Tower, all other vehicles will not be allowed to use the section of Electric Road between Yacht Street and Lau Sin Street at short notice if necessary. By then, Lau Li Street may be routed from one-way eastbound to one-way westbound; and
(h) Except for franchised buses, Tsing Fung Street will also be closed at short notice if necessary.
Suspension of bus terminus and maxi cab stop:
Between 6pm on December 31 and 4am on January 1, the bus terminus and GMB stops at Park Tower will be suspended. Franchised buses will be relocated to the lay by at Tung Lo Wan Road near King's Road whilst the GMB stops will be relocated to Ngan Mok Street near Yacht Street and westbound King's Road near Lau Sin Street.
Suspension of bus stops:
The following bus stops will be suspended from 7pm until the situation allows them to be re-opened:
(a) All bus stops on Hennessy Road between Canal Road East and Causeway Road; and
(b) The bus stop on eastbound Victoria Park Road at the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter.
Suspension of tram stops:
The following tram stops will be suspended from 7.30pm:
(a) At the junctions between Hennessy Road and Percival Street; Yee Wo Street and Paterson Street; Yee Wo Street and Sugar Street; and
(b) At eastbound and westbound Causeway Road opposite Gate 1 of Victoria Park.
Suspension of public car parks:
(a) Between 7.30am on December 8 and 2pm on January 2, 2008, Hing Fat Street public car park will be suspended except for police vehicles, disable parking spaces and vehicles bearing special permit issued by the organiser; and
(b) Between 6pm on December 31 and 4am on January 1, the access to public car parks at Great George Street will be prohibited. Vehicles parked in these car parks and hotel will not be permitted to leave until the closed roads are re-opened.
Suspension of taxi, GMB and public light bus (PLB) stands:
Between 7pm on December 31 and 4am on January 1 the following parking facilities will be suspended:
(a) The taxi stands at Lockhart Road near Cannon Street; Paterson Street near Kingston Street; Ngan Mok Street; Lau Li Street; and Electric Road near Park Tower;
(b) The GMB stand at Paterson Street near Kingston Street; and
(c) The PLB stand at Sugar Street.
Suspension of on street metered parking:
Between 5pm on December 31 and 4am on January 1, all metered parking spaces at Tung Lo wan Road between King's Road and Wun Sha Street will be suspended.
Learner driver prohibition:
Between 6pm and 11.30pm on December 31, learner drivers will not be permitted to access the following roads:
(a) Eastbound Leighton Road;
(b) Tin Lok Lane;
(c) Tung Lo Wan Road;
(d) Hing Fat Street;
(e) A section of Electric Road between Wing Hing Street and Yacht Street;
(f) Northbound Morrison Hill Road;
(g) Hennessy Road east of Marsh Road;
(h) A section of Tin Hau Temple Road between Fortress Hill Road and Causeway Road; and
(i) Causeway Road.
During the period of road closures, hotels may make use of the bus stop outside Sino Plaza on Gloucester Road to pick-up and drop-off guests taking the Airport Shuttle.
Wan Chai North and Central
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To facilitate "A Symphony of Lights" with countdown at International Finance Centre, the following road closure / diversion may be implemented from 6pm on New Year's Eve if necessary:
Wan Chai North:
Phase I -
- Expo Drive northbound will be closed if necessary;
- Traffic along Fenwick Pier Street will not be allowed to turn left onto northbound Expo Drive; and
- traffic along westbound Convention Avenue will not be allowed to turn right onto northbound Expo Drive.
Phase II -
- Expo Drive southbound will be closed if necessary;
- Traffic along Expo Drive westbound must turn left onto Expo Drive Central.
Central:
The following traffic will be held up from 11.59pm on New Year's Eve until the end of countdown:
- Traffic along Man Kwong Street eastbound will not allowed to turn right onto Man Yiu Street;
- Traffic along Man Po Street eastbound will not allowed to turn right onto Man Yiu Street;
- Traffic along Man Yiu Street northbound will be held up at the junction of Man Yiu Street and Man Cheung Street.
Police Report No.6
Ends/Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:23
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