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The Transport Department (TD) today (November 7) said that the very busy traffic on Hong Kong Island this morning, with a traffic accident and a vehicle breakdown in Wan Chai, caused serious traffic congestion at Gloucester Road. Traffic is anticipated to be very congested tomorrow due to a public procession in the afternoon and a football match at Hong Kong Stadium in the evening. Members of the public should avoid driving to parts of Hong Kong Island.
Due to the traffic accident at inner Gloucester Road near Fleming Road in Wan Chai during the morning rush hours, Gloucester Road (Central bound) was very congested. About half an hour later, a bus broke down on the slow lane of Hennessy Road near Anton Street, and the slow lane of Hennessy Road towards Central was closed temporarily. The two incidents seriously affected the traffic towards Central at Gloucester Road and Hennessy Road.
While a number of roads are currently closed due to the occupation movement, and the number of vehicles on the roads is rising, any unexpected incident will disrupt further the already severely congested traffic. The TD reminds members of the public and motorists that traffic on Hong Kong Island remains unstable. They are advised to exercise patience and be mindful of road safety at all time.
Special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented from Causeway Bay to Central tomorrow afternoon for a public procession. A total of 63 bus routes and three green minibus routes operating in the affected areas will be temporarily diverted. Due to the road closure arrangements caused by the occupation movement, the TD anticipates that the traffic from Causeway Bay to Central will be very congested.
In addition, a football match will be held at Hong Kong Stadium in the evening tomorrow, and special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented in So Kon Po and Causeway Bay. The TD anticipates that 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 arrangement will be made depending on traffic and crowd conditions in the area. In case of traffic congestion, motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of the Police.
Regarding public transport services, a total of 223 bus routes are still affected today with eight bus routes suspended and 215 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 Citybus and New World First Bus: 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/Friday, November 7, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:31
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