Special traffic arrangements for Halloween
The Police announced today (October 29) that special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Central from October 30 to November 1 to facilitate the celebration of Halloween.
The Hong Kong Police Force. Photo source: reference image
A. Road closure
Phase I
The following roads will be temporarily closed to all vehicular traffic on October 30 and 31:
From 2pm on October 30 to 5am of the following day
- D’Aguilar Street between Wyndham Street and Wellington Street;
- Lan Kwai Fong;
- Wing Wah Lane;
- Wo On Lane;
- Wellington Street between Wyndham Street and D’Aguilar Street; and
- On Lan Street.
Depending on crowd situation, the following roads may be closed to all vehicular traffic:
Phase II
From 7pm on October 30 to 5am of the following day
- Queen’s Road Central between Pedder Street and Pottinger Street;
- Duddell Street;
- Ice House Street between Lower Albert Road and Queen’s Road Central;
- Lower Albert Road westbound between Garden Road and Upper Albert Road;
- 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
From 8pm on October 30 to 5am of the following day
- Jubilee Street;
- 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 Glenealy;
- The slip road leading from Cotton Tree Drive southbound to Queen’s Road Central westbound;
- The slip road leading from Garden Road to Queen’s Road Central westbound; and
- Arbuthnot Road northbound.
B. Banning of turning movement
All vehicles will be temporarily prohibited from making left turns from Upper Albert Road to Lower Albert Road westbound from 7pm to 5am of the following day on October 30 and 31.
C. Suspension of motorcycle parking spaces
The motorcycle parking spaces at the following roads will be suspended from 1pm to 5am of the following day on October 30 and 31:
- Stanley Street near D’Aguilar Street;
- On Lan Street; and
- Wyndham Street between Arbuthnot Road and D’Aguilar Street.
Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts mentioned above will be towed away without prior warning, and may be subject to multiple ticketing.
The Police will implement appropriate arrangements subject to the prevailing traffic and crowd conditions. Members of the public are advised to exercise tolerance and patience, and take heed of instructions of police officers on site.
Source: AI-found images
Statement by ExCo Non-official Members
The following is issued on behalf of the Executive Council Secretariat:
Non-official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo Non-official Members) today (October 29) issued the following statement on the Government's follow-up work in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court:
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government today released the report of the Independent Committee in relation to the fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. The Chief Executive and Principal Officials also held a press conference to give an account of relevant matters to the public. ExCo Non-official Members expressed full support for the Government in facing up to the problems, shouldering responsibility, and pursuing comprehensive reforms.
The Convenor of ExCo Non-official Members, Mrs Regina Ip, said, "The Chief Executive and Principal Officials have clearly explained to the public the Government's follow-up work, and, on behalf of the HKSAR Government, apologised to the residents of Wang Fuk Court and the community, demonstrating sincerity and political commitment. The Chief Executive also called on his team to continue to give their utmost in their respective positions in pressing ahead with various reforms and the extensive work ahead, while drawing lessons from the incident and better exercising leadership to step up the implementation of the result-oriented governing approach. I support this position."
"The Government's plans to implement comprehensive reform on the basis of the Independent Committee's report are comprehensive and pragmatic, addressing the crux of the issues. I concur with the seven major directions of systemic reform put forward by the Government. These include combatting bid-rigging in building maintenance and renovation projects, establishing a cross-departmental task force to combat crimes related to bid-rigging in such projects, establishing a Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, reforming the operation and regulatory system for building maintenance and renovation, reforming the structure of the Buildings Department, establishing a centralised data system and reforming the complaint mechanism, and establishing a steering committee chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration to follow up on the Independent Committee's recommendations."
As regards accountability, the Government has demonstrated its determination to pursue responsibility comprehensively and enforce accountability at various levels. On criminal liability, law enforcement authorities have successively instituted prosecutions against the companies and individuals involved in the incident. The Government has also initiated the Administrative Responsibility Two-tier Investigation Mechanism under the Heads of Department Accountability System, and is strictly following up on the administrative responsibility of the civil servants concerned. As for political accountability, the Chief Executive, having considered a wide range of factors, decided that the Secretary for Housing should take political accountability, and has accepted the Secretary's resignation.
The fire at Wang Fuk Court has exposed a number of long-standing inadequacies at different systemic levels, and the issues involved are complex and intertwined. Properly addressing these issues requires firm resolve as well as precise and decisive decision-making. ExCo Non-official Members will give their full support to the Government in taking forward comprehensive reforms and will continue to fully support its governance. ExCo Non-official Members firmly believe that, as long as society works together with dedication to turn grief into the strength to move forward, learns from the experience, and thoroughly implements systemic reforms, similar incidents can certainly be prevented, making Hong Kong a safer and better home.
