DSAT set to install parking meters in Hac Sa Beach car park

The Transport Bureau (DSAT) has confirmed that it is installing parking meters in the Hac Sa Beach car park area. Coloane residents and beach-goers have been complaining of difficulties in finding a parking space there, as the public car park is often used as a ‘dumping site’ for unwanted vehicles.
“Having inspected the site and sought opinions from local residents, DSAT is planning to install 79 two-hour parking meters and 150 five-hour parking meters in the parking area along Estrada Nova de Hac Sa and Avenida de Luís de Camões, to improve the situation of long-term occupancy and increase flexibility,” DSAT told The Times in an email.
Some of the parking meters were installed a few weeks ago, mainly at the entrance and left side of the parking area.
Last December, the Times reported that abandoned cars covered in pine needles, wrecked cars, and even vehicles with Transport Bureau notices on the windshields had been parked near Hac Sa beach for a long period of time.
Macau resident Georgia Creeden, who lives near the Hac Sa beach area, counted a total of thirty-nine cars parked long-term in the Hac Sa Beach car park early this week.
“With the development and rising population of Coloane, traffic and parking pressure in the district is becoming more significant. DSAT has received various opinions regarding this matter. As many residents enjoy driving to Coloane and Hac Sa Beach on vacations and festivals, there is a high demand for the parking area,” DSAT stated, adding that it has, “actively looked for spaces to alleviate the pressure.”
The parking meters’ installation is being carried out in stages, according to DSAT, who plans to complete the operation within the first half of this year.
The bureau has pledged “to continue looking for suitable [areas for parking] and optimize the traffic environment of Coloane.” DSAT added that it will remain in close communication with the Public Security Police Force (CPSP) to ensure the prosecution of illegal parking.
The illegal parking is, indeed, what drove residents, restaurant owners and beach-goers to previously complain of the car park situation around the Hac Sa Beach area.
Ms Creeden told the Times last December that, “some of the cars and wrecks had been there for months.” The resident added that some of the cars appear to belong to people living in Taipa, who park their second car in Coloane “free of charge and use it occasionally.”
She emailed DSAT last year alerting authorities to the high number of abandoned cars parked for an extended period in the Hac Sa beach parking area.
The Times also reported on the issue in April 2013. DSAT urged the public not to use public car parks as car dumps and alerted citizens to the appropriate measures for disposing of older vehicles. DSAT urged owners of vehicles no longer in use to apply for the cancelation of their vehicle at the bureau by presenting their ID card, an original copy of the vehicle’s registration card and vehicle disposal documents, as well as the Property Registration Card, among other documents.