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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (May 2):
Question:
I have recently received quite a number of complaints about the general shortfall of public parking spaces for motorcycles in Hong Kong, which is very inconvenient for motorcyclists. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) how the authorities assess the demand for parking spaces for motorcycles in Hong Kong at present; of the assessment results, with a breakdown of the figures and relevant information by the 18 District Council districts (18 districts);
(b) of the discrepancy between the number of public parking spaces for motorcycles and the actual demand at present, with a breakdown of the figures and relevant information by the 18 districts; and
(c) whether the authorities have plans to cope with the shortfall in public parking spaces for motorcycles at present; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
My reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
The Transport Department (TD) assesses the overall demand for motorcycle parking spaces based on the number of licensed motorcycles. As at February 2012, there were about 38,800 licensed motorcycles in Hong Kong. The total number of designated motorcycle parking spaces in the territory is about 28,500 (breakdown by district is at Annex). This number does not include non-designated parking places, which are parking places that do not cause obstruction, such as those in private garages and residential premises.
The actual demand for motorcycle parking spaces in individual districts varies with changes in the economic situation and the travel patterns of local residents. According to TD's assessment, there is no serious shortage of motorcycle parking spaces on the whole. TD has been closely monitoring and reviewing the supply and demand of motorcycle parking spaces, and will implement suitable improvement measures when necessary. Measures already in place include:
(i) providing additional on-street motorcycle parking spaces in various districts;
(ii) requiring the provision of a certain number of motorcycle parking spaces inside private buildings; and
(iii) requiring temporary car parks providing motorcycle parking spaces to clearly indicate at the entrance the availability of such parking spaces and the relevant parking fees, as a measure to promote motorcycle parking at temporary car parks.
Since 2008, the total number of designated motorcycle parking spaces in Hong Kong has increased by over 3,500. We will continue to implement various measures to improve the supply and demand of motorcycle parking spaces by providing more motorcycle parking spaces as needed, so far as circumstances permit.
Ends/Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:01
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