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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (November 4):
Question:
It has been reported that parking spaces are in tight supply in the territory, and the shortage of private car parking spaces is particularly severe. For instance, more than 500 people have recently queued up, before dawn while the amber rainstorm warning signal was in force, to apply for renting monthly private car parking spaces in a government car park in a certain district. According to the information in the Hong Kong Fact Sheets, as at the end of June this year, while there were 509 207 licensed private cars in Hong Kong, there were only around 24 100 public parking spaces provided by the Government (including around 6 100 parking spaces in government car parks and around 18 000 on-street metered parking spaces) and only around 197 000 public parking spaces in commercial, residential and industrial buildings, indicating a shortfall in parking spaces. Regarding the supply of and demand for parking spaces for various classes of vehicles, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective current shortfalls in parking spaces for various classes of vehicles in each District Council district, in accordance with the standards and guidelines on parking facilities set out in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines; the specific plans the authorities will put in place in the next five years to increase the numbers of parking spaces for various classes of vehicles to meet the relevant standards and guidelines, and the respective percentages by which the numbers of parking spaces for various classes of vehicles will increase upon the implementation of such plans;
(2) given that in its Report on Study of Road Traffic Congestion in Hong Kong published in December last year, the Transport Advisory Committee recommended an increase in the first registration tax and annual licence fee of private cars in order to curb the growth of private cars, whether the authorities have assessed the impact of increasing the first registration tax rate and annual licence fee by various degrees on the number and growth rate of private cars; if they have assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the authorities' specific plans to implement the various recommendations in the Report in relation to the supply of and demand for parking spaces;
(3) given that the parking spaces provided by the Government are very popular among motorists due to their lower fees, whether the authorities have plans to build more multi-storey car parks in order to meet the public demand for parking spaces; if they have such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) whether it will expeditiously review the standards and guidelines on parking facilities set out in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, with a view to setting a higher standard for the provision of parking spaces;
(5) of the current utilisation situations of the park-and-ride car parks managed separately by the Transport Department and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL); whether the authorities will urge MTRCL to provide more park-and-ride concessions for motorists so as to encourage them to avoid driving to those areas where traffic is more congested; and
(6) given that the parking spaces in various districts are in severe shortage at present, and it is learnt that the numbers of the sites which are originally used for temporary car parks and available for developing multi-storey car parks are dwindling due to the "grabbing of land" by the Government in a bid to increase the supply of residential sites, of the authorities' measures to tackle the shortage of parking spaces, including the introduction of parking systems that make better use of space (such as the rotary parking system widely used in Japan) to increase the number of parking spaces, and the adoption of real-time parking space information systems to enable motorists to obtain information on vacant parking spaces nearby, so as to enhance the utilisation rate of parking spaces?
Reply:
President,
The land resources in Hong Kong are limited. Currently, the Government's policy in the provision of parking spaces is to accord priority in considering and meeting the parking demand of commercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles (in particular goods vehicles and coaches) serve the function of carrying passengers and goods and have substantive demand for parking spaces in their daily operations. They have been playing an important role in the logistics industry, tourism industry, as well as the overall economy. In respect of private cars, the Government will provide an appropriate number of parking spaces if the overall development permits, but in the meantime not to attract passengers to opt for private cars in lieu of public transport, thereby causing road congestion in the vicinity.
My replies to the various parts of the Hon Chan Han-pan's question are as follows.
(1) The Transport Department (TD) has been monitoring the supply and demand for parking spaces in Hong Kong. As at June 2015, the total number of parking spaces in the Hong Kong is around 724 000, which is higher than the total number of licensed vehicles of around 676 000. Around 645 000 are parking spaces for private cars (including public parking spaces provided by the Government, privately operated public parking spaces and parking spaces solely for private use), which is also higher than the total number of licensed private cars of around 550 000. As for commercial vehicles, depending on their classes and lengths, some of them could also use private car parking spaces or park in working places (e.g. private school buses operated by schools could park within school premises). The number of parking spaces in various districts in Hong Kong is at Annex 1. As there is no fixed demand for parking spaces in various districts, the TD does not have the relevant information.
As for the utilisation rate, according to the TD's information, the average utilisation rate of short-term tenancy car parks in various districts of Hong Kong during night time is about 70% (see Annex 2), and that of the 12 Government stand-alone multi-storey car parks managed by the TD is about 67%. On the whole, the supply of parking spaces is acceptable.
The TD will continue to review the guidelines on the supply of parking spaces in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) from time to time to ensure that an appropriate number of parking spaces shall be provided in new development or redevelopment projects. The TD will also implement the following measures in a timely manner to increase the number of parking spaces:
(a) requiring the provision of an appropriate number of public parking spaces in suitable private development projects through land grant conditions;
(b) maintaining close contact with relevant departments to identify suitable sites for use as temporary car parks as far as possible and when necessary;
(c) monitoring the utilisation of temporary car parks. If the demand for parking spaces of individual vehicle class is particularly high, the TD may suggest to relevant departments to designate some short term tenancy temporary car parks for the exclusive use by certain vehicle classes when renewing the contract so as to relieve the demand for those types of parking spaces; and
(d) providing additional on-street parking spaces at locations where there is a parking demand, on the condition that traffic flow, road safety and other road users are not affected.
The number of new parking spaces provided by new development or redevelopment projects depends on their specific development parameters (such as the number of flats and the flat areas, the distance from railway stations, the plot ratio, the traffic situation of the district concerned and the utilisation of the carparks nearby, etc.). The completion dates of individual projects will change in the light of the planning of the projects and also the market situation. Therefore, the TD can hardly provide an accurate number of new parking spaces under planning in various districts in the coming five years and the respective percentages of increase in parking spaces for various types of vehicles.
(2) and (4) We have already indicated at the meeting of the Legislative Council Panel on Transport in May this year that the Government agrees in principle with and plans to take forward in phases the recommendations for alleviating road traffic congestion made by the Transport Advisory Committee (TAC). When finalising details of these measures, we will take into account various factors, including public sentiments and stakeholders' views, the availability of resources, and the latest technology and overseas experience, etc., with modifications and supplementary measures as appropriate.
Concerning the fiscal recommendations including the adjustments of first registration taxes and annual licence fees, the effectiveness of these measures depends on various factors, such as the level of increase, the public's dependency on private cars, the availability of alternative public transport and the overall economy, etc.
As for parking spaces, we plan to commence a review on parking policy in a timely manner as recommended by TAC. We will accord priority in considering and meeting the parking need of commercial vehicles. Depending on the review results, we will explore improvement measures, including to consider whether there is a need to update the HKPSG.
(3) Regarding the number of parking spaces, the Government's role is mainly to determine the standards for the provision of parking spaces, and to require individual development projects to provide appropriate numbers of parking spaces in accordance with their development parameters. The standards for provision of parking spaces are also set out in the HKPSG. At present, if the number of parking spaces in a new planning application is different from that stipulated mentioned in the HKPSG, we will consider each case according to the justifications provided by the developer.
Regarding the government multi-storey public car parks that are under the management of the TD, the TD has been reviewing from time to time the parking fees, taking into account their utilisation rate, the fee level of the privately-operated car parks nearby and other factors.
Generally speaking, sites suitable for car park uses have also the potential for other development purposes. Integrating public car parks into development projects is the best means to maximise the use of land and bring the most benefit to the community as a whole. As such, the Government does not have plan to build new stand-alone multi-storey car park in the short-term.
(5) Park-and-Ride (PnR) car parks allow drivers to park their cars at transport interchanges and switch to public transport, with a view to reducing the amount of road traffic entering congested areas. Currently, there are 11 car parks providing PnR service in various districts (including urban and rural areas), providing a total of 3 871 parking spaces. These car parks are located at or near MTR stations, including Sheung Shui Station, Hong Kong Station, Kowloon Station, Tsing Yi Station, Choi Hung Station, Kam Sheung Road Station, Hung Hom Station, Olympic Station, Hang Hau Station, Wu Kai Sha Station and Tuen Mun Station, to facilitate drivers to switch to MTR. PnR users (i.e. those who park their cars and switch to MTR to travel to their destinations) can enjoy a parking fee discount of about 30% at these car parks. Other drivers (i.e. those who park their cars but do not switch to MTR) can also use these car parks, but will not enjoy such PnR concessions.
Currently, among the aforementioned car parks, seven are managed by the TD and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) (i.e. those located at or near Sheung Shui Station, Hong Kong Station, Kowloon Station, Tsing Yi Station, Choi Hung Station, Kam Sheung Road Station and Hung Hom Station), providing a total of 2 886 parking spaces and were patronised by over 3 380 users per day on average in the second quarter of 2015, with PnR users accounted for more than 40% of the total number of users.
According to the guidelines in the HKPSG, the Government encourages the provision of PnR car parks at suitable locations. In taking forward individual railway projects, as well as urban renewal and new development projects, the Government will consider introducing more PnR facilities at suitable locations. The Government has also requested MTRCL to promote wider use of its existing PnR facilities, and extending the provision of PnR concessions to certain car parks which are near to MTR stations but currently not offering such concessions.
(6) The Government will review to see if advanced parking system and real-time parking space information system should be introduced in Government car parks, after considering factors like cost effectiveness, resources required and the technical feasibility, etc. We have been communicating with operators of commercial public car parks to encourage wider use of information technology, including the use of mobile applications to disseminate real-time information on vacant parking spaces in the car parks operated by them. We also encourage the operators to disseminate relevant information to the public free-of-charge via the Government's information platform so as to facilitate motorists in finding vacant parking spaces.
Ends/Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:01
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