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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (February 4):
Question:
Some residents in the Tsuen Wan district have relayed to me that with the completion of a number of housing estates, the population in the district has continuously increased in recent years, resulting in the worsening of the problem of shortage of parking spaces in the district, particularly in the four District Council (DC) constituencies in the town centre, namely Tak Wah, Yeung Uk Road, Clague Garden and Fuk Loi. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of parking spaces for various types of vehicles in the four aforesaid DC constituencies in each of the past five years (set out in tables of the same format as Table 1);
Table 1
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Constituency¡GTak Wah
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2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
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Private car
Goods vehicle
Tourist coach
Motorcycle
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(2) of the respective numbers of prosecutions/Fixed Penalty Notices for parking offences in respect of various types of vehicles in the four aforesaid DC constituencies in each of the past five years (set out in tables of the same format as Table 2);
Table 2
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Constituency¡GTak Wah
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2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
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Private car
Goods vehicle
Tourist coach
Motorcycle
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(3) after taking into account the number of housing estates to be completed in the Tsuen Wan district in the next five years, of the numbers of additional parking spaces for various types of vehicles that need to be provided in the four aforesaid DC constituencies for meeting the relevant standards set out in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines; whether it will provide more parking spaces for various types of vehicles in these constituencies in the next five years; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether it will review the existing planning standards and the relevant policies in respect of the provision of parking spaces for various types of vehicles to ensure that adequate parking spaces are provided; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Chan Han-pan is as follows:
(1) The numbers of parking spaces at Tak Wah Constituency, Yeung Uk Road Constituency, Clague Garden Constituency and Fuk Loi Constituency of the Tsuen Wan District Council in the past five years are set out at Annex. The figures include parking spaces managed by the Transport Department (TD) and those provided by private developments. As regards temporary short-term tenancy (STT) car parks, depending on the terms of the tenancy agreement, operators have the right to adjust the number of parking spaces for different types of vehicles according to market demand. As such, the TD does not have accurate records of these parking spaces.
(2) The Police do not have a breakdown of prosecution figures of illegal parking by District Council constituencies or by types of vehicles. Overall speaking, the Police issued 26 233, 31 183, 36 797, 39 826 and 46 416 Fixed Penalty Tickets respectively from 2010 to 2014 for illegal parking in Tsuen Wan district.
(3) When planning for development projects, relevant departments will, after making reference to the guidelines set out in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines and taking into account the traffic condition in the vicinity of the relevant development projects, formulate suitable requirements for parking spaces and incorporate the requirements into the land lease. Currently, the buildings in Tsuen Wan district provide specific number of parking spaces according to their respective land leases.
The residential development projects in Tsuen Wan town centre which are expected to be completed in the coming five years mainly include Tsuen Wan Area 5 (TW5) (Cityside), TW5 (Bayside), Tsuen Wan Area 6 and Tsuen Wan Area 7 at Tsuen Wan West Station, as well as the Home Ownership Scheme project of Sheung Chui Court. According to the requirements of the relevant land leases, the above residential development projects will provide 1 136 private car parking spaces, 56 goods vehicle parking spaces and 111 motorcycle parking spaces. Furthermore, the shopping centre of the TW5 property development project at Tsuen Wan West Station will provide 172 private car parking spaces, 30 goods vehicle parking spaces and 45 motorcycle parking spaces. That project is also required to provide 100 additional public parking spaces for private cars and 120 parking spaces for the MTR Park-and-Ride scheme.
There are other development projects in Tsuen Wan district which are still under the design stage (such as Tsuen Wan Town Lot Number 393 in Tak Wah Constituency). The number of parking spaces to be provided is yet to be confirmed.
The TD will continue to monitor the demand and supply of parking spaces in the district. If necessary, the Government will consider including additional requirements in the tenancy terms of temporary STT car parks for parking of certain types of vehicles (such as coaches). The TD will also provide on-street parking spaces for different types of vehicles at appropriate locations, as long as road safety and other road users are not affected.
(4) The Government's policy on parking provision is to provide an appropriate number of parking spaces to meet demand, but at a level which will not unduly attract potential passengers to opt for private cars in lieu of public transport, thereby increasing the number of private cars and causing road traffic congestion. The Government has been closely monitoring the demand and supply of parking spaces for various types of vehicles in Hong Kong, and review the parking standards in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines as appropriate. For example, to allow for the more efficient use of newly developed private residential sites and reduce the overall vacancy rate of private car parking spaces, the Government amended the guidelines concerning the provision of private car parking spaces for private housing in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines in February 2014.
Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:04
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