Crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
The Police announced today (December 23) that crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements will be implemented on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon from December 24 to 25 to facilitate Christmas celebrations. The Police urge members of the public to plan their journeys in advance and to make use of public transport as far as possible.
Hong Kong Island
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A. Crowd safety management measures
In anticipation of large crowds in the Lan Kwai Fong area, the Police will implement crowd management measures based on the prevailing conditions. Members of the public should exercise tolerance and patience, look after the accompanying children and elderly, and follow the instructions given by police officers on site. The Police also remind members of the public to refrain from carrying or discharging aerosol spray in the area to avoid posing safety risks to those present.
B. Road closure
Phase I
No vehicles are allowed to enter the following roads from 2pm on December 24 to 5am on December 25, until the roads are re-opened to traffic:
- D'Aguilar Street between Wellington Street and Wyndham Street;
- Lan Kwai Fong;
- Wing Wah Lane;
- Wo On Lane;
- Wellington Street between Wyndham Street and D'Aguilar Street; and
- On Lan Street.
Phase II
Depending on traffic conditions, vehicles may not be allowed to enter the following roads from 9pm on December 24 to 5am on December 25, until the roads are re-opened to traffic:
- Part of the northbound traffic lanes on Garden Road;
- Queen’s Road Central between Garden Road and Pottinger Street;
- Bank Street;
- Duddell Street;
- Ice House Street between Lower Albert Road and Des Voeux Road Central;
- Westbound Lower Albert Road between Garden Road and Upper Albert Road;
- Pedder Street between Queen’s Road Central and Des Voeux Road Central;
- D’Aguilar Street between Wellington Street and Queen’s Road Central;
- Wellington Street between D’Aguilar Street and Cochrane Street;
- Stanley Street between D’Aguilar Street and Cochrane Street;
- Cochrane Street between Wellington Street and Stanley Street;
- Wyndham Street between Glenealy and Queen’s Road Central; and
- Lyndhurst Terrace.
Phase III
Depending on traffic conditions, vehicles may not be allowed to enter the following roads, until the roads are re-opened to traffic:
- Pottinger Street between Connaught Road Central and Des Voeux Road Central;
- Queen Victoria Street between Connaught Road Central and Des Voeux Road Central;
- Wyndham Street between Arbuthnot Road and D’Aguilar Street;
- The slip road from Cotton Tree Drive to Queensway, except for franchised buses; and
- Northbound Arbuthnot Road.
Depending on the crowd condition after the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Joseph’s Church, the rightmost lane of Garden Road between Kennedy Road and Upper Albert Road will be closed at any time.
C. Traffic diversion
Depending on traffic conditions, vehicles along Upper Albert Road may not be permitted to turn left to Lower Albert Road from 9pm on December 24 to 5am on December 25.
D. Suspension of on-street parking spaces
All on-street parking spaces on the following roads will be suspended from 1pm on December 24 to 5am on December 25:
- Stanley Street near D’Aguilar Street;
- On Lan Street; and
- Wyndham Street between Arbuthnot Road and D'Aguilar Street.
Kowloon
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The Police may implement temporary crowd safety management measures and special traffic arrangements in Tsim Sha Tsui at short notice, including road closures and diversions, to maintain public order and safety. Members of the public should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions given by police officers on site.
All vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts mentioned above will be towed away without prior warning, and may be subject to multiple ticketing.
Photo source: reference image
Online pre-registration for public observation for third round of evidential hearings of Independent Committee in relation to fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po
The following is issued on behalf of the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po:
The Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po announced today (April 2) that members of the public may pre-register for selected hearings of the third round of seven evidential hearings that they wish to observe via the online system from 10am on April 8 to 10am on April 11.
The Committee will hear evidence in the evidential hearings on matters in accordance with its terms of reference. The Committee aims to clarify the relevant facts through oral evidence, written submissions, and other forms of evidence presented by witnesses. This will provide an important basis for the preparation of its report and recommendations.
The evidential hearings will be conducted in Cantonese from 10am to 1pm and from 2.15pm to 4.30pm at the Multi-purpose Hall, 3/F, City Gallery, 3 Edinburgh Place, Central. Simultaneous interpretation in Putonghua and English will be provided in the City Gallery.
The schedule for the third round of seven evidential hearings as announced earlier is as follows:
Date |
1. |
April 20 (Monday) |
2. |
April 21 (Tuesday) |
3. |
April 22 (Wednesday) |
4. |
April 23 (Thursday) |
5. |
April 24 (Friday) |
6. |
April 27 (Monday) |
7. |
April 30 (Thursday) |
In the third round of evidential hearings, the Committee will continue to receive oral evidence from witnesses. The Committee will release the list of exact witnesses who will be giving evidence at each date of hearing on its website (www.ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk/eng/timetable.html) nearer the time.
Some seats for the hearings will be reserved for the involved parties, and some seats will be open to the public to observe the proceedings. To allow more members of the public to attend the hearings, the proceedings will be broadcast simultaneously in transmission areas set up on the ground floor of the City Gallery and in the Lecture Theatre of the Hong Kong Central Library. Arrangements will be made for some members of the public to observe the hearings in these two areas. A total of about 360 seats will be available for public observation in the main venue and the two transmission areas. About half of the seats will be set aside for residents of Wang Fuk Court on a priority basis. Separate arrangements will be made for the media.
To avoid members of the public queuing outside the venue for a long time, and to allow those who wish to observe the hearings to have certainty of whether seats have been secured before the day of the hearings, for the third round of hearings, individuals (including Wang Fuk Court residents) are required to pre-register online (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ic-hearing/en/) from 10am on April 8 to 10am on April 11. Registrants should select on the online registration form the dates they wish to observe (one or more sessions can be selected) and submit the duly completed form. The Secretariat of the Committee will allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis according to the system's record of the time the pre-registration forms are received.
Successful registrants will receive a "Confirmation of Successful Registration" for the third round of hearings issued by the Secretariat of the Committee by April 16. An SMS notification will be sent from the sender name "#IC-hearing". If an email address is also provided during pre-registration, an email notification will be sent from hearing@ic-wangfukcourtfire.gov.hk. Pre-registration will be considered unsuccessful for those who have not received a notification by that date. Each person can only pre-register for each day of hearing once. Duplicate registrations will not be processed.
According to the current plan, the Committee will continue to hold evidential hearings in May. Details (including the specific dates of the hearings, the witnesses who will be giving evidence, and the pre-registration arrangements for public observation) will be announced separately on a later date.
The Chief Executive established the Committee to review the causes of the fire at Wang Fuk Court and related issues, and to make recommendations to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. The Committee formally commenced its work on December 19, 2025, and the evidential hearings on March 19 to hear oral evidence from witnesses (including oral evidence from Wang Fuk Court residents and the involved parties).
Source: AI-found images
