LCQ12: Motorcycle parking spaces in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing districts

     Following is a question by the Hon Joephy Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (July 10):

Question: 

     Some residents in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing districts have relayed that there are quite a number of hillside housing estates in the two districts, and travelling by motorcycle is more convenient for them. However, motorcycle parking spaces in the two districts have long been in shortage, and the emergence of the food delivery and courier industries in recent years has aggravated the situation. Besides, in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on February 28 this year, the Government indicated that there were a total of 1 355 on-street motorcycle parking spaces in the two districts last year, with their utilisation rates reaching 100 per cent in all of the past three years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of summonses issued by the Police for illegal parking of motorcycles in each of the two districts in each of the past three years;

(2) of the current numbers and fees of motorcycle parking spaces in various car parks in the public housing estates under the Hong Kong Housing Authority in the two districts (including car parks managed by private organisations such as Link Real Estate Investment Trust);

(3) whether the Transport Department will show in the "HKeMobility" mobile application the remaining number of motorcycle parking spaces available in public and private car parks, so that drivers can choose suitable locations for parking;

(4) as it is learnt that there is a greater demand for motorcycle parking spaces in hillside housing estates in the two districts (e.g. Cheung Shan Estate, Shek Wai Kok Estate, Lei Muk Shue Estate, Tai Wo Hau Estate, Kwai Chung Estate, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Shing East Estate, Cheung Ching Estate and Cheung Hong Estate), whether the authorities will provide additional motorcycle parking spaces in the aforesaid housing estates and increase the proportion of motorcycle parking spaces in future development projects; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(5) whether the authorities will consider opening up car parks in government properties during night-time and/or non-office hours for motorcycle parking; if so, of the timetable and number of parking spaces to be made available; if not, the reasons for that; and

(6) as there are views that the prolonged occupation of quite a number of motorcycle parking spaces by "dead vehicles" (i.e. unclaimed vehicles) has forestalled their use by drivers with genuine need, of the measures put in place by the Police and other government departments to step up efforts to tackle the situation?

Reply: 

President,

     It is the Government's transport policy to centre on public transport with railway as the backbone. Hong Kong enjoys a well-developed public transport network, and the Government encourages the public to make good use of the public transport services as far as possible, so as to prevent too many private cars (PCs) and motorcycles, which have a smaller passenger carrying capacity, from aggravating the burden on road traffic. Nevertheless, the Government understands that some members of the public choose to commute by PCs or motorcycles for various reasons. Hence, the Government has been actively pursuing a host of short-term and medium-to-long-term measures to suitably increase the supply of parking spaces where circumstances permit, which include the following measures for motorcycles:

(a) Utilising the spaces underneath flyovers for designation as motorcycle parking spaces;

(b) Opening up more motorcycle parking spaces at government buildings for public use during non-office hours;

(c) Continuing to provide additional on-street parking spaces for motorcycles at suitable locations while ensuring that traffic flow, road safety and the loading/unloading activities of vehicles would not be compromised;

(d) Providing more motorcycle parking spaces for public use in suitable "Government, Institution or Community" facilities and public open space projects in accordance with the principle of "single site, multiple use"; and 

(e) Providing motorcycle parking spaces in development projects in accordance with the parking standards under the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG).

     As regards the Member's question, having consulted the Housing Bureau (HB), Transport Department (TD), Hong Kong Police Force (the Police) and Government Property Agency (GPA), a consolidated reply is provided as follows:

(1) The numbers of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by the Police against illegal parking of motorcycles under the Fixed Penalty (Traffic Contraventions) Ordinance (Cap. 237) over the past three years are tabulated below: 
 

Year	2021	2022	2023
Numbers of FPNs issued against illegal parking of motorcycles	171 633	199 734	191 817

     The Police does not maintain the above traffic enforcement statistics on a district basis. 

(2) As at end March 2024, there are 22 car parks in the estates/courts/shopping centres/factory estates under the Housing Authority in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing districts, providing a total of about 820 motorcycle parking spaces. Among them, the monthly charges of open and covered motorcycle parking spaces are $480 and $630 respectively, while a flat rate of $5 per hour is charged for hourly parking. A breakdown of number of motorcycle parking spaces by car parks is provided in Annex.

(3) Currently, drivers can use the "HKeMobility" mobile application to check the real-time parking vacancy information for various types of vehicles provided by participating operators of car parks (including public and private car parks). Users can select motorcycles in the types of vehicles under the layer icon to display the relevant information on the map.

(4) Roads at hillside housing estates in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing districts are mostly dual two-lane carriageways and sidewalks are also generally narrower, making the provision of additional on-street parking spaces more difficult. Nevertheless, the TD has been proactively identifying suitable locations in these two districts for the provision of additional on-street motorcycle parking spaces. For example, in recent years, 15 additional parking spaces have been provided on Lei Shu Road near Fung Shue House of Lei Muk Shue Estate while five parking spaces have been provided at Kwai Shing Circuit near Luen Yuet House of Kwai Luen Estate. In the coming year, the TD will also provide additional on-street motorcycle parking spaces in various places, including on Kwai Hau Street near Shing Kwok House of Kwai Shing East Estate, Kwai Luen Road near Block 8 of Kwai Shing West Estate, Tai Wo Hau Road near On Kwai House of Kwai Fuk Court, and Ching Hong Road near Cheung Hong Estate (Phase 4) Car Park.

     The TD has been continuously reviewing the current standards for motorcycle parking spaces in residential developments under the HKPSG. The HKPSG sets out different parking standards for subsidised housing and private housing respectively based on the number of flats, and that appropriate amendments have been made having regard to factors such as the socio-economic situation and parking demand. Noting that the number of motorcycles has increased in recent years, which is probably due to the upsurge of demands for meal delivery and courier services in a short time during the epidemic, the TD will keep in view whether the situation will persist after the epidemic subsided, and timely review the standards of motorcycle parking provision under the HKPSG.

(5) Parking spaces in the car parks of government joint-user general office buildings (JUBs) are primarily for use by vehicles of the user departments of the JUBs or vehicles related to official purpose. Nevertheless, in order to optimise the use of land resources, the Government has opened up more parking spaces at government buildings for public use during non-office hours with a view to increasing the supply of motorcycle parking spaces. The Government will lease out the parking spaces (including those for motorcycles) to contractors for operating as fee-paying public car parks during non-office hours (normally at night-time of weekdays, and on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays).

     There are currently nine car parks at the JUBs or other types of government properties providing a total of 147 motorcycle parking spaces for public use. Some of the parking spaces are open during non-working hours, while the remaining ones are open all day long. The parking spaces are located across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.

(6) The Government has been highly concerned about the problem of abandoned vehicles. The Police handles vehicles that pose immediate danger to road users or cause traffic obstruction, whereas abandoned vehicles on unleased or unallocated government land other than public roads are dealt with by the Lands Department (LandsD). Abandoned vehicles that do not pose immediate danger to road users or cause obstruction on public roads and rear lanes are handled according to the modus operandi of inter-departmental joint operations. District Offices are responsible for co-ordinating and organising the inter-departmental joint clearance operations. The TD would, under the power delegated by the LandsD, affix notices on abandoned vehicles at the above-mentioned locations. If the vehicles concerned remain unattended upon the expiry of the notice period, the Highways Department would be responsible for towing away the abandoned vehicles to the storage pounds managed by the LandsD for further actions.

     From 2021 to the first quarter of 2024, District Offices have co-ordinated over 440 inter-departmental joint operations, removing about 3 100 abandoned vehicles, of which over 90 per cent are motorcycles. The departments concerned will proactively organise joint operations on a continuous basis, with a view to handling the situation of abandoned vehicles in a timely manner.

     In order to tackle abandoned vehicles at source, the Government is planning to make legislative amendment to tighten the requirements for vehicle registration and licensing, with a view to compelling registered owners to fulfil their obligation to properly dispose of the vehicles registered under their names that they no longer wish to keep. The proposed legislation will require registered owners of vehicles unlicensed for two years to renew the vehicle licence within a specified period, or cancel the vehicle registration with the TD after the vehicle has been scrapped/permanently despatched out of Hong Kong, or obtain an exemption from the TD by application in case of special needs; otherwise, the vehicle owners will commit an offence. The Government plans to submit the legislative amendment proposal within this year.