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The Transport Department (TD) said today (November 1) that in view of the occupy movement, some activities originally planned to be held in the areas being affected by the movement have to change the venues. Members of the public should pay special attention to the traffic and transport arrangements of these activities.
The venue of the annual "Wine and Dine Festival" has changed from the New Central Harbourfront to the open space outside Kai Tak Cruise Terminal this year. The TD anticipated that the traffic in the vicinity of Kai Tak Cruise Terminal will be very congested and called on members of the public who are going to take part in the event today and tomorrow to make use of the free shuttle bus services provided by the event organiser.
Members of the public are advised to take a free special circular bus service of KMB Route No. 215R (Kai Tak Cruise Terminal to Lam Tin MTR Station ) (Lam Tin MTR Station Exit B) as far as possible . Other free shuttle bus services are available at Kowloon Tong Suffolk Road Public Transport Interchange (Kowloon Tong MTR Station Exit D) and East Tsim Sha Tsui Station Forecourt (East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR Station Exit K).
Participants may also take the existing public transport, including KMB Route No. 5R (Ngau Tau Kok MTR Station Exit A) and Kowloon GMB Route No. 86 (Kowloon Bay MTR Station Exit A). The services of these two routes will be strengthened to cater for the passenger demand when necessary. A taxi drop off point is temporarily designated at the lay-by on the eastern kerbside of Shing Fung Road (Kai Tak Cruise Terminal bound) outside the venue. Nevertheless, the drop off point will be suspended to facilitate the implementation of special traffic measures when the traffic in the area is congested. Members of the public are advised to attend to the announcements and take the shuttle bus services as far as possible.
In view of limited parking space and to avoid driving after drinking, participants of the event should not drive to the venue. The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate traffic control measures, including setting up buffer zones to control traffic flow whenever necessary. Motorists and the public are advised to attend to the latest traffic news and take heed of the instructions from the police officers on site.
In addition, special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented in So Kon Po and Causeway Bay for a football match to be held at the Hong Kong Stadium tomorrow (November 2). The TD anticipated that the traffic in the vicinity of So Kon Po and Causeway Bay will be congested. Motorists are advised to avoid driving to the affected areas. Members of the public planning to go to the affected areas are advised to use public transport as far as possible. Actual implementation of the traffic arrangements will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area.
Regarding public transport services, a total of 220 bus routes are still affected today with eight bus routes suspended and 212 bus routes diverted. Among the affected bus routes, 80 routes travelling via Mong Kok are diverted due to the closure of a number of road sections in Mong Kok. A total of 20 green minibus routes travelling via Harcourt Road, Nathan Road and Argyle Street are still diverted or suspended or with service adjusted. Currently, the tram service between Percival Street and Paterson Street is still suspended. The MTR Corporation Limited continues to increase services for all urban lines to cope with passenger demand.
The TD's Emergency Transport Co-ordination Centre will continue to monitor the road traffic situation and public transport services. For details of road closure, traffic diversion, suspension and route diversion of green minibus services, please refer to the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk). Regarding temporary traffic arrangements for bus routes, please refer to the following bus companies' websites for details:
For routes of New World First Bus and Citybus: www.nwstbus.com.hk/en/uploadedFiles/OC2014/TAA.htm
For routes of Kowloon Motor Bus: www.kmb.hk/en
As there will be updates on bus services from time to time due to traffic changes, members of the public are advised to pay attention to the latest service arrangements announced by bus companies before starting their journeys.
Ends/Saturday, November 1, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:27
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