2003-12-29 12:59 Police will implement special traffic arrangements and crowd management measures in Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay on New Year's Eve (December 31) to facilitate the public to celebrate the New Year. "Members of the public are urged to follow the advice and instructions given by Police officers who will direct them from places which have already been overcrowded," a Police spokesman said. The special traffic arrangements will be as follows: Lan Kwai Fong ------------- Pedestrianization: A section of D'Aguilar Street between Wyndham Street and Wellington Street; Wo On Lane and Lan Kwai Fong will be closed from 5 pm on December 31 to 4 am on January 1, 2004 for pedestrian precinct. Road closure: Depending on the crowd density, special traffic arrangements will be implemented in phases from 6 pm on December 31 onwards. Phase I - A section of Wellington Street between Wyndham Street and D'Aguilar Street will be closed. Phase II - When the whole of D' Aguilar Street is packed with people, the crowds will be directed to queue up along Wellington Street west of D'Aguilar Street and then back to Pottinger Street, Stanley Street and Queen's Road Central. The whole of D'Aguilar Street will then be sealed off for all vehicular traffic. Phase III - To ensure a smooth dispersal, Wyndham Street from Glenealy to Queen's Road Central will also be closed. The on-street motorcycle parking spaces and green mini-bus (GMB) stands along Wellington Street between Wyndham Street and D'Aguilar Street; and the motorcycle parking spaces on On Lan Street will be suspended between 5 pm on New Year's Eve to 6 am the following day. All bus stops on D'Aguilar Street will be suspended from 7 pm until the re-opening of all roads. Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts of the special traffic arrangements will be towed without prior warning and/or may be subject to multiple ticketing. Causeway Bay Area ----------------- To facilitate a countdown at Times Square, the following traffic arrangements will be implemented at 5 pm on New Year's Eve: A section of Russell Street between Percival Street and Canal Road East will be closed; The following arrangements will be implemented from 6 pm on New Year's Eve: (a) A section of Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Leighton Road; a section of Canal Road East between Hennessy Road and Sharp East Street; a section of Yun Ping Road between Lan Fong Road and Kai Chiu Road; a section of Lee Garden Road between Hennessy Road and Lan Fong Street will be closed; and (b) Sharp Street East, Matheson Street, Tang Lung Street, Yiu Wa Street, Kai Chiu Road, Pak Sha Road, Foo Ming Street and Jardine's Bazaar will be closed. The inner lane of westbound Hennessy Road between Jardine's Bazaar and Canal Road East; the inner lane of eastbound Hennessy Road between Percival Street and 50 metres east of Canal Road East; and the western traffic lane of Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Lockhart Road will be closed at 7 pm. The following arrangements will be implemented from 8 pm on New Year's Eve: (a) Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Gloucester Road; Canal Road East between Gloucester Road and Lockhart Road; Lockhart Road between Canal Road West and Cannon Street; Jaffe Road between Canal Road West and Cannon Street; and Cannon Street will be closed; (b) Vehicles on Gloucester Road will be prohibited from turning into Canal Road East; and (c) Vehicles travelling along northbound Canal Road West will be prohibited from turning into Canal Road East. The following road closures will be implemented from 11 pm on New Year's Eve: (a) A section of Canal Road West between Sharp Street West and Hennessy Road; Sharp Street West between Morrison Hill Road and Canal Road West; and Wan Chai Road between Morrison Hill Road and Canal Road West will be closed; (b) Cheung Woo Lane and Bowrington Road will be closed. During the implementation of the special traffic arrangements at Times Square, tram service will continue to be maintained on Hennessy Road unless it is necessary to close Hennessy Road during the departure of crowds after midnight. The following GMB and taxi stands will be suspended from 6 pm on New Year's Eve and will remain closed as long as road closure is still in effect: (a) Taxi stands on Russell Street, Yun Ping Road, Bowrington Road and Percival Street; (b) GMB Stand on Pak Sha Road, Tang Lung Street and Percival Street. The following parking meters, on-street parking, including motorcycle spaces and car-parks will be suspended between 3 pm on New Year's Eve and 4 am the following day: (a) Parking meters on Yun Ping Road, Lockhart Road east of Marsh Road and Jaffe Road east of Marsh Road; and (b) The car parks at Hennessy Centre, Times Square, Leighton Centre and on Yiu Wa Street. To facilitate The 38th Hong Kong Product Expo held at Victoria Park, the following traffic arrangements will be implemented on New Year's Eve: The following roads will be pedestrianised from 4 pm onwards: (a) A section of Lockhart Road east of Cannon Street; (b) East Point Road; (c) A section of Great George Street west of Paterson Street. The following road closures will be implemented from 6 pm onwards: (a) Sugar Street; (b) A section of Paterson Street between Kingston Street and Great George Street; (c) A section of southbound Gloucester Road between Causeway Road and the ramp leading down from Victoria Park Road Flyover; (d) Traffic from Victoria Park Flyover will be diverted to westbound Gloucester Road; and (e) The whole of Kingston Street and northbound Gloucester Road will remain open for vehicular traffic from northbound Tai Hang Road Flyover until 8 pm. From 7 pm onwards, Hing Fat Street will be closed for vehicular traffic except franchised buses. The following road closures will be implemented from 8 pm onwards: (a) Kingston Street will be closed; (b) The section of Paterson Street between Kingston Street and Gloucester Road will be closed; (c) Cleveland Street will be closed; (d) One lane of westbound Gloucester Road service road between Victoria Park Flyover and Cannon Street and northbound Tai Hang Flyover may be closed at short notice if necessary to facilitate the dispersal of crowd; (e) A section of Hing Fat Street between Causeway Road and Lau Sin Street may be closed to all traffic at short notice or at 11.30 pm if necessary; (f) Except franchised buses and vehicles of residents of Park Tower, all other vehicles will not be allowed to use the section of Electric Road between Yacht Street and Lau Sin Street if necessary. By then, Lau Li Street may be routed from one-way eastbound to one-way westbound except public light buses; and (g) Except franchised buses, Tsing Fung Street will also be closed at short notice if necessary. Suspension of bus terminus and maxicab stop: Between 6 pm on December 31 and 4 am on January 1, 2004, the bus terminus and GMB stops at Park Tower will be suspended. Franchised buses will be relocated to the lay by at Tung Lo Wan Road near King's Road whilst the GMB stops will be relocated to Ngan Mok Street near Yacht Street and westbound King's Road near Lau Sin Street. Suspension of bus stops: The following bus stops will be suspended from 7 pm until the situation allows them to be re-opened: (a) All bus stops on Hennessy Road between Canal Road East and Causeway Road; and (b) The bus stop on eastbound Victoria Park Road at the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter. Suspension of tram stops: The following tram stops will be suspended from 7.30 pm: (a) At the junctions between Hennessy Road and Percival Street; Yee Wo Street and Paterson Street; Yee Wo Street and Sugar Street; and (b) At eastbound and westbound Causeway Road opposite Gate 1 of Victoria Park. Suspension of public carparks: (a) Between 12 noon on December 13 and 12 noon on January 2, 2004, Hing Fat Street public carpark will be suspended except for police vehicles and vehicles bearing special permit issued by the organiser; and (b) Between 6 pm on December 31 and 4 am on January 1, 2004, the access to public carparks at Great George Street will be prohibited. Vehicles parked in these car parks and hotel will not be permitted to leave until the closed roads are re-opened. Suspension of taxi, GMB and public light bus (PLB) stands: Between 7 pm on December 31 and 4 am on January 1, 2004, the following parking facilities will be suspended: (a) The taxi stands at Lockhart Road near Cannon Street; Paterson Street near Kingston Street; Ngan Mok Street; Lau Li Street; and Electric Road near Park Tower. (b) The GMB stand at Paterson Street near Kingston Street; and (c) The PLB stand at Sugar Street. Suspension of on-street metered parking: Between 5 pm on December 31 and 4 am on January 1, 2003, all metered parking spaces at Tung Lo wan Road between King's Road and Wun Sha Street will be suspended. Learner driver prohibition: Between 6 pm and 11.30 pm on December 31, learner drivers will not be permitted to access the following roads: (a) Eastbound Leighton Road; Tin Lok Lane; Tung Lo Wan Road; Hing Fat Street; northbound Morrison Hill Road; Causeway Road; and (b) A section of Electric Road between Wing Hing Street and Yacht Street; Hennessy Road east of Marsh Road; and a section of Tin Hau Temple Road between Fortress Hill Road and Causeway Road. During the period of road closures, hotels may make use of the bus stop outside Sino Plaza on Gloucester Road to pick-up and drop-off guests taking the Airport Shuttle. Midnight Gun Ceremony --------------------- The cul de sac at the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter will be closed at 10 pm and any illegally parked vehicles will be removed promptly. It is expected that some chauffeur driven cars conveying guests to the location will arrive after 10.30 pm. These vehicles will be allowed to pull up into the slip road entrance, set down their passengers and then depart. |