Hong Kong police launch indefinite campaign against illegal parking and road obstruction
Officers will target traffic blackspots including bus stops and no-stopping zones and pledge no leniency in Operation Move-sky
Police have given the city’s “irresponsible” motorists another heads-up ahead of a new territory-wide crackdown on illegal parking and road obstruction set to begin on Monday.
There is no end date for the operation dubbed “Move-sky”. .
The force said rule-breaking drivers should expect to face tough enforcement with limited leniency on ticketing as it pledged to clamp down on activities that obstruct traffic flow and endanger other road users.
These activities include illegal parking, loading, unloading, pick-up and alighting, as well as stopping or waiting in restricted zones.
“[Police] will, without prior warning, issue an immediate summons and if necessary have illegally parked vehicles towed away,” Superintendent Eric Tsang Moon-lun of the road safety unit said.
“The objective is to reduce traffic congestion and ensure pedestrian safety. We hope through this persistent campaign, we’ll be able to change the selfish driving behaviour of most of these irresponsible drivers.”
Tsang said frontline officers would target traffic blackspots during busy periods. They include bus stops and no-stopping zones, which are notorious hot spots for illegal parking and illegal picking up and dropping of passengers and goods.
Figures showed 700,878 fixed penalty tickets were issued for parking offences between January and May – 18 per cent more than in the same period last year.
Unlike previous anti-illegal parking campaigns which often lasted just one week, the duration of the latest operation is “indefinite”. There were four operations last year and two earlier this year.
