The Transport Bureau (DSAT) has highlighted that 74% of opinions in the public consultation for general land transport planning for 2021 to 2023 support the government’s proposal.
A total of 20,840 opinions have been received during the consultation period which ran from May to August.
It must be reiterated that the consultation period was lengthened due to its overlapping with the June 18 Covid-19 outbreak that put the city under around 10 days of de-facto lockdown.
DSAT organized six consultative sessions, with three catering to the general public, two to local associations and the remaining session to the transport industry, attracting a total attendance of 215 people.
Sessions for lawmakers and members of the Transport Advisory Committee were also held. Online channels were also used to gather opinions.
The issues of greatest concern were increasing pedestrian channels and progressing the development of railways.
In fact, the current Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system has been widely blamed for its station arrangements and unpopularity.
In the meantime, DSAT pointed out that the public was most supportive of intelligent bus services, improving transport at border checkpoints and developing smart car parking systems.
Smart car parking entails the use of parking space sensors and indicators to improve the experience of street-side parking and shorten the time a driver needs to find a spot.
In the consultation document, DSAT pledged to improve local traffic signals. For example, it plans to allow connectivity between signals and systems to equally allot passing and stopping times.
Some data scientists, however, doubt whether this will help ease Macau’s traffic during peak hours when most parts of the city are usually packed with pedestrians and cars.
The new 10-year plan (2021-2030) for transport in Macau is a result of the government’s learning from Hong Kong, Singapore, and mostly, Chongqing city in Sichuan Province, the director of the DSAT Kelvin Lam Hin San previously said.
As Lam noted, the government wants to continue building a system in which public transport has a predominance over private transport, and in which the LRT system, as well as a pedestrian network, take the main roles.
The plan forecasts that by 2030 the urban population of Macau will be around 791,000 people, which will make the total volume of commutes in Macau reach on average around 3.02 million per day.
