bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

HUNDREDS of extra parking spaces are to be provided for container trucks over the next six months, Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands Tony Eason said.

  The move was part of the clean-up of New Territories blackspots, some of which were caused by illegal parking on open land.

  Thirteen new short-term tenancy sites would be put out to tender to provide about 1,400 parking spaces for container vehicles, he said in reply to Liberal Party legislator Miriam Lau Kin-yee.

  Areas suitable for open storage would be included in the 30 new rural outline zoning plans which would be published by the middle of next month.

  ''The total area for open storage purposes will increase from the 250 hectares presently shown on the development permission area plans to about 300 hectares.

   ''Subject to the permission of the Town Planning Board, many of these areas could be used for container vehicle parking,'' Mr Eason said.

  The recently completed freight transport study had made some strategic recommendations on container vehicle parking, and a presentation on the study would be made to legislators this month.

  A team would be set up under the taskforce trying to get rid of environmental blackspots to look into container-related matters.

  ''We aim to deal with this problem in a comprehensive and positive way, involving co-ordination and co-operation with the Transport Department and other departments concerned, as well as close liaison with the industry and the local communities,'' he said.

  Mr Eason said there were about 130 container vehicle parking sites in the territory, with a total land area of about 80 hectares and parking space for about 7,300 vehicles. Thirty of these sites covering 21 hectares and parking spaces for about 1,900 vehicles were unauthorised.

  Mrs Lau said the Government had prosecuted some operators and that had led to the closure of the parking lots.

  She asked whether the Government had any measures to prevent congestion when the closure of unauthorised lots forced drivers to illegally park their vehicles on the streets.

  Secretary for Transport Haider Barma said the police would take measures to prevent congestion when such situations arose.

  The Government had recognised that there was an acute shortage of parking spaces for container vehicles.

  ''In the long term, we will probably have to identify sites to build special car parks for heavy vehicles and container trucks,'' he said.

  Meeting Point legislator Zachary Wong Wai-yin said although the Government had designated sites for parking container vehicles, the owners of the land might not want to use their land for this purpose.

  ''Then the drivers will have to resort to illegal parking lots,'' he said.

  Mr Eason said it was not simply the question of whether a site was acceptable in terms of land ownership or indeed was government land.

  ''There are important questions to do with the formation of the land, the maintenance of proper drainage, the provision of adequate access, the relationship between the parking area in terms of noise generated and neighbouring residences.'' 



Pledge for container truck areas