Following is a question by the Hon Frankie Yick and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (July 5):
Question:
Some members of the transport industry have relayed that in recent years, the Government has been slow in the progress of implementing a number of measures to increase the parking spaces for commercial vehicles (CVs), and therefore the supply of the relevant parking spaces still falls short of demand. On the other hand, sites on short-term tenancies (STTs) (including those used as temporary car parks) have been resumed gradually for development purposes, resulting in the aggravation of the shortage of the relevant parking spaces and even forcing CV drivers to park their vehicles across districts, making it more difficult for operators of the industry to recruit drivers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of STT car parks the Government has planned to resume in the coming two years, including the reasons for and dates of land resumption, the locations and sizes of the land, as well as the numbers of various classes of vehicles affected (including heavy goods vehicles, medium goods vehicles, tourist coaches and vehicles providing student transport service);
(2) of the details of the tendering exercises for STTs the Government has intended to conduct for the use of the relevant sites as fee-paying car parks in the coming three years (including the tender invitation dates and the numbers of parking spaces available for various classes of CVs); and
(3) as it is learnt that while a majority of CVs are parked according to their drivers' places of residence, cases have occurred from time to time where the drivers concerned who reside on the Hong Kong Island have to park and retrieve their vehicles in Kowloon due to the shortage of the parking spaces concerned, and this kind of cross-district parking not only brings inconvenience to the drivers concerned but also increases the traffic burden on the roads and aggravates roadside air pollution, whether the authorities, when resuming STT car parks in the future, will consider identifying other land in the districts concerned for the construction of car parks first; if so, of the details; if not, how the Government will help the affected drivers resolve the parking problem?
Reply:
President,
Carrying both passengers and goods, commercial vehicles (CVs) play an important role in various industries as well as the overall economy. On provision of parking spaces, it is the Government’s policy to meet the parking demand of CVs as far as possible. Attaching great importance to the provision of parking spaces for CVs, the Government has been actively pursuing a host of short-term and medium-to-long-term measures to this end, including:
(a) Designating suitable on-street locations as night-time CV parking spaces;
(b) Stipulating the minimum provision of CV parking spaces in the tenancy agreements of suitable short-term tenancy (STT) car parks;
(c) Encouraging schools to open for parking of student service vehicles after school hours;
(d) Providing additional on-street CV parking spaces at suitable locations while ensuring that traffic flow, road safety and the loading/unloading activities of other road users will not be affected;
(e) Revising the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) in August 2021 to increase not only the number of ancillary parking spaces for private cars in both private and subsidised housing developments, but also the type and number of parking spaces for CVs (Note) in subsidised housing developments, so as to address the parking demand of many CV drivers living in subsidised housing; and
(f) Providing public parking spaces (including CV parking spaces) in suitable "Government, Institution or Community" facilities and public open space projects following the principle of "single site, multiple use".
Note: The revised HKPSG increases the number of loading/unloading bays ancillary to subsidised housing, which will be opened up for overnight parking of large-size CVs where feasible. It also introduces two types of "shared-use" parking spaces having regard to the dimensions of different types of CVs, one of which is to be shared by light goods vehicles (LGVs) and light buses, and the other by medium/heavy goods vehicles and coaches. Moreover, before revision, the HKPSG specified the standard of one LGV parking space per 200 to 600 flats in public rental housing. With the newly introduced model of "shared-use" parking spaces, the revised parking standard prescribes one "shared-use" parking space for LGVs and light buses per 260 flats in subsidised housing.
In consultation with the Lands Department (LandsD) and the Transport Department (TD), we provide a consolidated reply to the question as follows:
(1) STTs are generally applicable to uses that are temporary in nature in order to fully utilise land resources prior to the long-term development use of the sites. When the LandsD considers granting, renewing or re-tendering the STTs, it will take into account the timetable for the long-term use and implementation timetable of the relevant sites. In general, if the relevant site for STT is not immediately required for long-term use, such STT will continue to be granted. However, if the relevant site is required for implementing the long-term use, the LandsD will notify the tenant in advance on the termination of the tenancy agreement in accordance with the terms of the tenancy agreement, and take back the relevant site. The above policy also applies to STT car parks.
According to projects currently confirmed to be implemented and with a development timetable, in the coming two years (i.e. 2023-24 to 2024-25), a total of around 13 sites which are now used as STT car parks are required to be taken back for implementing development projects, including projects for public housing, railway development and community facilities, and the relevant sites are located in Tuen Mun, Islands, North District, Tsuen Wan Kwai Tsing, and Kowloon East, with a total area of around 7.9 hectares. As the terms of the STT agreement generally do not specify the number of vehicles that can be parked at the car park, the LandsD does not have information on the number of vehicles affected.
(2) As estimated by the LandsD, in 2023 as a whole, the total area of sites to be tendered will be about 6.5 hectares, out of which the area of sites or part thereof which are intended for use as temporary fee-paying car park is about 2.1 hectares. The majority of these sites are new sites. As the preparation work for tendering of sites in the subsequent years is in progress and that the actual details may be refined according to the situation, the LandsD is not able to provide further details at this stage, yet if there are suitable sites and with the agreement of relevant departments, the Government will consider designating them for fee-paying car park use. The LandsD will constantly update the STT Tender Forecast for the coming six months via its webpage (www.landsd.gov.hk/en/stt/forecast.htm) to allow members of the public and the trade to obtain details of the various sites that will be put up for tender.
(3) When planning for the long-term land development, the TD will normally require the project proponent to conduct and advise on traffic impact assessments. Parking demand and the impact on the existing parking provision (including STT car parks to be resumed for other development purposes) will also be reviewed and appropriate mitigation measures will be taken to make up for the shortfall in parking spaces as far as possible. For example, the TD will require project proponents to explore and study the feasibility of providing public parking spaces in the development projects.
In addition, to assist affected car park operators and the transport trade, the TD will continue to communicate closely with the LandsD, and having regard to local demands for parking and available land resources, identify suitable sites (if any) for STT car parks, in order to reduce the impact caused by the closure of STT car parks as a result of the development project. Moreover, as mentioned in the first paragraph above, the Government has implemented diversified measures to increase parking spaces, including revising the HKPSG to better respond to the parking needs of CV drivers living in subsidised housing, with a view to increasing the supply of parking spaces in various districts.
Ends/Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Issued at HKT 15:50