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LCQ10: Nuisance caused by light
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    Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (May 28):

Question:

    I often receive complaints from members of the public about the nuisance caused to them by lights from various venues managed by government departments.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the respective numbers of complaints, received by various government departments from members of the public over the past three years, about the nuisance caused to them by lights from various ball game pitches/courts managed by government departments, street lamps inside public housing estates, as well as lights from car parks inside public housing estates and those from other government facilities;

(b) whether any designs (such as following overseas countries' practice of putting lampshades on street lamps) and operational guidelines relating to the street lamps inside public housing estates are in place to reduce the nuisance caused by lights from such street lamps to the households on the lower floors of nearby buildings, and whether the venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and other government departments have adopted similar guidelines; and

(c) while the Government has repeatedly indicated that it has no intention to legislate against light pollution, whether it has conducted studies in this regard, such as examining how the issue of light pollution is tackled in overseas countries; if not, whether it will conduct such studies?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The respective number of complaints about the nuisance caused by lights from various ball game pitches/courts managed by Government departments, street lamps inside public housing estates, lights from car parks inside public housing estates and those from other Government facilities over the past three years is as follows:

Year  Pitches/      Street    Car      Other
      courts        lamps    parks    Government
      managed by    inside    inside  facilities 
      Government    public    public             
      Departments  housing  housing
                    estates  estates

2005      11            0        0        10
2006      16            2        0        14
2007      10            1        0        24

(b) The Housing Authority (HA) has put in place design guidelines to ensure that the outdoor lighting installations of their housing estates do not affect the public.  The guidelines require, inter alia, that street lamps or landscape lighting installed near residential units should be shorter in height, and the light source of the lighting installations should be more concentrated so that the light will cast directly on the road surface instead of scattering onto residential flats.  The Housing Department will also switch off the lighting of pitches/courts in public housing estates and the advertising lightboxes outside the shopping malls in public housing estates by 11 pm.  In addition, the HA will make appropriate arrangements taking account of individual circumstances and residentsˇ¦ needs, such as changing the operation hours of lighting installations, altering the light projection angles, switching to less powerful light bulbs or relocating the street lamps etc.

    The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will take into consideration the operational and safety needs of different types of venues, and the principle of minimising impact on nearby residents, in putting forward the lighting system requirements of works projects to the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD). ArchSD will design relevant lighting systems in accordance with these requirements and with reference to the internationally-recognised guidelines, such as those recommended by the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (United Kingdom).  Relevant measures taken by the ArchSD include adjusting the angles of spotlights, installing lampshades and light screens, using lamps which project light downward in parks and switching to dimmer light bulbs.  LCSD will also turn off the lights of some low usage facilities at night to reduce the impact of lighting on nearby residents, provided that the operation and safety will not be affected.

    The Highways Department (HyD) also works to ensure that lighting installations do not affect residents wherever possible.  If street lamps have to be installed close to residential flats on the lower floors due to site constraints, the HyD will, subject to site circumstances and residentsˇ¦ views, adopt practicable measures such as installing light screens to reduce the impact of street lamps on residents.

(c) The Government is committed to promoting energy conservation and efficiency in the community through various channels.  For example, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department wrote to a number of trade associations earlier to encourage them to appeal to their members to reduce unnecessary lighting installations and use lighting products of high energy efficiency.  The Government will continue to monitor the international trend of regulations on outdoor lighting, and will strive to further improve lighting installations.

Ends/Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:00

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