AL Plenary | Consensus on limiting number of vehicles difficult to reach

Traffic pass residential buildings in Macau

Several lawmakers called on the government to limit the number of vehicles in Macau, but the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, acknowledged yet again that it is difficult to reach widespread consensus in society.
The focus of yesterday’s Legislative Assembly (AL) plenary meeting revolved around traffic woes, with several lawmakers delivering enquires on the rising number of vehicles on Macau’s roads, as well as frequent traffic congestion.
Wong Kit Cheng called on the administration to promote social consensus and to progressively implement a cap on the number of new vehicles. She recalled that so far the government has only implemented economic measures, which have included an increase in parking lot fees, and vehicle taxes. Wong questioned whether or not these measures will be both effective and just.
The secretary clarified that these measures are not intended at limiting the number of vehicles. “It’s just an update on fees and taxes, which in some cases have not been subject to any updates over the past 19 years,” he recalled.
Mr Rosário further acknowledged that the increase in fees and vehicle taxes is in fact quite low. “Everyone agrees that MOP2 per hour is fairly cheap. This is a fair update. We have 38 public parking lots under DSAT’s management. [The increase in public parking fees] will be introduced within three or four phases (…) Parking fees and vehicle taxes had not been updated for quite a long time,” he stressed. “Limiting the number of private vehicles requires social consensus – which has been difficult to reach but we’ll keep trying,” the secretary added.
Lawmakers, however, raised further criticism and demanded measures be taken to help Macau cope with a rising number of vehicles and a scarce number of parking spaces.
“Will there be any limit to the number of vehicles in 2020?” asked lawmaker Melinda Chan. Gabriel Tong added that, “these measures aren’t able to help Macau cope with a growing number of vehicles.” “If the government is determined enough to control and reduce the number of vehicles… it should be adopting more effective measures,” he added.
The secretary pledged to encourage civil servants and government officials to use public transportation when possible. He also promised to reduce the number of parking spaces currently occupied by public administration vehicles.
Moreover, Raimundo do Rosário said that services under his portfolio will be required to avoid increasing current vehicle fleet. Departments are authorized to replace vehicles but they haven’t been given the green light to acquire more cars.
Spoken enquiries presented by Melinda Chan and Zheng Anting focused on traffic congestion on the Cotai Strip, as a new wave of casino resorts is under development.
Melinda Chan called on the government to implement measures easing traffic congestion, particularly on border checkpoints between Macau and Hengqin.
“There haven’t been any developments regarding vehicles with Macau license plates entering Hengqin Island,” she said, adding that the government is yet to make any progress on commencing the expansion of the Flor de Lotus border’s current facilities and its surrounding streets.
The secretary said that the local government will continue to engage in further discussions with the Guangdong province government regarding Macau’s vehicles entering Hengqin Island. He acknowledged that adequate infrastructures would need to be put in place, the specific nature of which would depend on what both governments will agree on.
Traffic congestion on Macau’s islands, and in particular around the Cotai Strip roundabouts, is also of great concern, lawmakers stressed.
Zheng Anting recalled that as a new wave of Cotai resorts takes shape, the number of people living in the area is likely to rise. “This will have a direct impact on traffic around Cotai,” he said in his spoken enquiry.
The problem, he reiterated, is particularly severe when it comes to traffic surrounding Cotai’s roundabouts. Secretary Rosário said that DSAT will maintain close communication with competent services to continuously monitor traffic on the Cotai Strip.
He revealed that the government commissioned a study to a consultancy company on traffic in Macau’s islands between 2009 and 2010 in order to develop solutions to improve traffic in the area, namely by building viaducts or tunnels. The Secretary did not present the study’s findings, but reiterated that some infrastructures currently under development for the LRT will be completed by the end of August or the beginning of September.

Existing car park monthly passes to be maintained

Raimundo do Rosário has further clarified the government’s official stance on monthly public car park passes. He reiterated that current monthly pass holders will be able to continue using their passes, but no additional passes will be issued. “I have to be very clear on this issue as I believe there have been some misunderstandings. Those who currently own car park monthly passes will be allowed to keep them. But we will no longer be issuing additional monthly passes,” he stated. Last April, the government announced that it would be putting forward a proposal to cancel the issuing of monthly passes, while increasing parking lot fees within eleven local public car parks.

Galaxy to build overpass near roundabout

The Secretary for Transport and Public Works informed lawmakers yesterday that an overpass will be built to ease the traffic congestion surrounding the roundabout located near the Galaxy resort. Mr Rosário added that the gaming concessionaire will be responsible for the overpass construction works.