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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (May 29):
Question:
It has been reported that the authorities demanded, under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap 28), members of the public to remove, before a deadline, their bicycles which were parked inside the designated public parking spaces for bicycles (parking spaces for bicycles) where a traffic sign featuring the letter "P" and a bicycle-shaped figure was erected, or else they would confiscate the bicycles. Some members of the public have pointed out that they are confused as the authorities have not provided any clear guidelines on the requirements for the use of parking spaces for bicycles. They are also of the view that at present, parking spaces for bicycles in various districts are insufficient. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of illegally parked bicycles confiscated by the authorities in the past three years and, among such bicycles, the number of those which were parked inside parking spaces for bicycles;
(b) of the requirements that must be met for legal parking of bicycles under the existing legislation, and the reasons for the authorities confiscating the bicycles parked inside parking spaces for bicycles;
(c) whether the Government has publicised the requirements for legal parking of bicycles among members of the public at present; if it has not, of the reasons for that; if it has, of the details and the relevant expenditure each year, and whether it will step up its efforts in public education;
(d) of a breakdown by District Council (DC) district of the current number of parking spaces for bicycles throughout the territory; the number of additional parking spaces for bicycles requested by each DC in the past three years, and the number of parking spaces for bicycles newly added to each DC district;
(e) whether it has plans to conduct, in collaboration with the 18 District Councils in the near future, a comprehensive consultation and review in respect of the issue of insufficient parking spaces for bicycles; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(f) of the progress of the Transport Department's trials on the new "double-deck" parking systems in Fanling and Tai Po; whether the systems will be installed throughout the territory with a view to increasing the number of parking spaces for bicycles; if so, of the details and implementation timetable?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the Hon Chan Yuen-han's question is as follows:
(a) and (b) Under Section 8 of the Road Traffic (Parking) Regulations (Cap 374C), any person who parks a vehicle in a parking place for a continuous period of more than 24 hours commits an offence. This is also applicable in governing public parking spaces for bicycles. Therefore, a person commits an offence if he parks a bicycle in a public bicycle parking space for a continuous period of more than 24 hours.
The Government has all along been concerned about the illegal parking of bicycles and prolonged occupation of public bicycle parking spaces by bicycles (including abandoned ones) and other articles. The Transport Department (TD) and Lands Department (LandsD) take enforcement actions under their jurisdiction to clear illegally parked bicycles or abandoned articles. TD may, according to Section 4A of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap 228), clear bicycles illegally parked at places under its management (such as covered public transport interchanges (PTIs)). LandsD may, pursuant to Section 6(1) of the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap 28), clear bicycles illegally occupying unleased Government land.
In 2010, 2011 and 2012, TD confiscated 165, 370 and 329 bicycles respectively at covered PTIs under the Summary Offences Ordinance. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, LandsD confiscated 6 651, 7 235 and 6 642 bicycles respectively on unleased Government land under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance. Among the confiscated bicycles, there were 1 365 (year 2010), 2 213 (year 2011) and 1 762 (year 2012) bicycles parked within the suspended public bicycle parking sites.
For more complicated and serious situations, departments concerned such as the relevant District Offices of the Home Affairs Department, LandsD, TD, Hong Kong Police Force (Police) and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct joint operations to clear illegally placed bicycles and articles. These operations target only prolonged and unlawful parking of bicycles. Members of the public who use bicycle parking spaces properly will not be affected. The clearance operations can effectively release bicycle parking spaces that have been abused for the public to use. Before each operation, the relevant departments will issue notice in advance to the owners concerned and give them enough time to remove their bicycles or articles.
Two days prior to the clearance operation, TD will close the public bicycle parking site concerned. Fourteen days before the closure, TD will issue a notice, informing the public of the date and time of closure of the site. At the same time, Police will post a notice to inform the owners of the bicycles concerned to promptly remove their bicycles. On the day of closure, as the location targetted for clearance is no longer a public bicycle parking site, bicycles parked there may be considered as unauthorised occupation of unleased Government land. The relevant District Lands Office will post on each bicycle a notice issued under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance to require the occupiers/owners to cease occupying the unleased Government land before a specified date (no less than one full day) and take records of all the bicycles posted with such notice. In parallel, the relevant District Lands Office will put up notice at appropriate place to demand the removal of the bicycles concerned by their owners. As such, the owners concerned should be well informed and have enough time to remove their bicycles.
(c) In 2012, TD launched a one-stop internet-based Cycling Information Centre (CIC) to facilitate public access to information on cycling, including the location of cycle tracks and public bicycle parking spaces. Members of the public may browse the dedicated web page and obtain information about public bicycle parking facilities. In the legislation section of the CIC, it is clearly stated that parking for more than 24 hours is not allowed under Section 8 of the Road Traffic (Parking) Regulations (Cap 374C).
Besides, the Government has reminded the public to refrain from prolonged parking of their bicycles via various means, such as meeting with cycling organisations. The Government will continue to step up the publicity and education efforts in this regard. The Government does not have the expenditure breakdown on the publicity of lawful parking of bicycles.
(d) Currently, there are about 42 000 public bicycle parking spaces. Their distribution in various districts and the information on District Councils' requests concerning bicycle parking spaces in the past three years are at Annex.
(e) The Government has been seeking comments from the District Councils and local bodies through various consultative channels, with a view to identifying suitable and feasible locations to provide additional public parking spaces for bicycles.
Over the past three years, TD installed a total of about 2 000 additional public bicycle parking spaces at major transport hubs and near railway stations in various districts in the New Territories including Tseung Kwan O, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long.
(f) In collaboration with the Highways Department (HyD), TD plans to conduct a pilot scheme on using double-deck bicycle parking rack near the MTR Fanling Station of the East Rail Line (ERL) to increase the number of bicycle parking spaces there. HyD's contractor is carrying out an on-site mechanical test. The facility is expected to be completed for public use in the latter half of this year. Subject to the results of the pilot scheme, we plan to conduct another trial on double-deck bicycle parking rack inside the pedestrian subway adjacent to the MTR Tai Po Market Station of the ERL. If the trial results are satisfactory, we will consider extending the installation of these bicycle racks to other districts.
The Government will implement a "bicycle friendly" policy in new towns and new development areas, and will, under this policy, improve relevant facilities where the geographical and other conditions permit.
Ends/Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Issued at HKT 14:49
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