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The Transport Department (TD) today (June 29) reminded the public that special traffic and public transport arrangements would be implemented on Friday (July 1) to facilitate the flag raising ceremony, the celebration event and two public processions on Hong Kong Island.
The flag raising ceremony will be held at 8am at Golden Bauhinia Square and the celebration event will start at 10am at Chater Garden, while two public processions will start from about 2pm onwards.
Details of the special traffic and public transport arrangements are as follows:
Flag-raising ceremony
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* To facilitate the flag raising ceremony to be held at 8am at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, the roads around the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Phase II) will be closed from 5.30am to 11am.
Celebration event at Chater Garden
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* A celebration event will be held at Chater Garden at 10am. The pedestrian precinct at Chater Road will be extended from midnight to 11.59pm.
Public processions
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* For the public processions, the first procession will depart from East Point Road in Causeway Bay with the destination of the Central Government Offices via Hennessy Road westbound, Queensway westbound and Queen's Road Central westbound. Intermittent closure of the slow lane of roads along the procession route will be implemented from 2pm to 3.15pm.
* The second procession will depart from Victoria Park with the destination of the Central Government Offices via Causeway Road westbound, Irving Street, Pennington Street, Yee Wo Street westbound, Hennessy Road westbound, Queensway westbound and Queen's Road Central westbound.
- From about 1pm onwards, the roads in the vicinity of Victoria Park and the Causeway Bay shopping area will be closed in phases.
- From about 2.30pm onwards, the westbound carriageway of Causeway Road, Yee Wo Street and Hennessy Road will be closed.
- From about 3pm onwards, Queensway, Queen's Road Central east of Pedder Street, Des Voeux Road Central westbound between Queensway and Pedder Street and the roads in the vicinity of the Central Government Offices will be closed.
- The extent of the road closures and the time periods may be adjusted by the Police depending on the actual situation.
In connection with the road closures, 82 bus routes and 18 green minibus (GMB) routes will be diverted. Bus stops, tram stops, GMB and public light bus stands, taxi stands, parking meters and car parks located in road closure areas will be suspended.
Due to the extensive road closures, it is anticipated that the traffic in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Queensway, Central, the Aberdeen Tunnel and the Cross Harbour Tunnel will be seriously congested and the traffic queues may take a long time to disperse.
Motorists are advised not to drive to the affected areas. People who plan to go to the affected areas are advised to use public transport services. Notices will be displayed by public transport operators on the temporary arrangements of route diversions and suspension/relocation of stops.
Depending on the prevailing circumstances, the Police may extend the coverage of the road closures, including introduction of more ad-hoc traffic and public transport measures at short notice. In case of traffic congestion, motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and take heed of the instructions of the Police.
Members of the public are advised to follow the latest traffic news on television and radio stations. They can also visit the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk) or call the 1823 Call Centre for the latest traffic and transport information.
Ends/Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:02
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