LettersCoronavirus in Hong Kong calls for discretion from traffic police

Name: Fourth wave of coronavirus cases in Hong Kong prompts tougher Covid-19 measures
Uploaded: 2020-12-09T22:40:11.000Z
Duration: 2 min 2 s
Description: Fourth wave of coronavirus cases in Hong Kong prompts tougher Covid-19 measures

Officers could consider allowing for off-grid parking as long as traffic is not being blocked

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Traffic wardens issue tickets for illegal parking in Shau Kei Wan on March 27. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Letters

Published: 6:40am, 10 Dec 2020Updated: 6:40am, 10 Dec 2020

I am sure that many of us in Hong Kong are feeling cooped up working from home during these pandemic times. My daughter and I drove out on Stanley market last Sunday to get some fresh air and sun, and get out of our cooped-up flat. As can be expected on a weekend in Stanley, it was impossible to get any parking room at the metered spaces. We regretfully had to park on a quiet side street, and we made sure that we were parked properly and not blocking anyone’s way or access roads.

Of course, lo and behold, the parking police were out in full force and ticketed us for HK$320. In our particular case, one of us is immune-compromised health wise, which means it would not have been advisable for us to take public transport to Stanley.

I recall an incident during the Dragon Boat Festival last year when we were looking for parking in Repulse Bay, and the police there were most understanding and accommodating, and informed us that we could park in no-parking spots as long as we were not impinging on traffic flow.

The police personnel specifically said that they were being more flexible on that weekend and allowing such parking arrangements due to the sore lack of legal parking spaces during that time. He even helped me with backing into an off-grid parking space properly.

02:02

Fourth wave of coronavirus cases in Hong Kong prompts tougher Covid-19 measures

Can the police not adopt the same attitude during these most unprecedented times and allow for off-grid parking as long as we are not blocking traffic at all? We truly need to get out of our shoebox-sized homes on weekends to retain our sanity and clear our heads. And the authorities should be able to exercise discretion in not ticketing all off-grid parking unless the offending vehicles are blocking roads and pedestrian access.

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Officers could consider allowing for off-grid parking as long as traffic is not being blocked

Officers could consider allowing for off-grid parking as long as traffic is not being blocked