Gov’t to reduce street parking spots

The government will reduce the number of street parking spots to widen streets and sidewalks, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, told the Legislative Assembly yesterday.

Rosario announced the proposal after lawmakers Leong Sun Iok, Ella Lei and Zheng Anting asked about parking lots, fees, and the possibility of enlarging some street parking spots.

“We are not going to increase the number of street parking spots, it’s the opposite. The trend is to reduce the number of car parks to allow us to widen the sidewalks for pedestrian circulation and the circulation space [for cars],” said Rosário.

Kelvin Lam, the director of the Transport Bureau (DSAT), also noted, in response to Zheng, that street parking spots are a minimum of about five meters long, which suits the parking needs of most Macau vehicles.

Zheng had previously suggested the government enlarge the street parking spots so residents could park larger vehicles, as most people in Macau prefer SUVs and 7-seater vans to city cars.

Zheng has also proposed the government modify the parking lot fare system to make it “fairer.”

He noted that with the current hourly charge, drivers who stay for 1 hour and 1 minute in a parking lot must pay for a full MOP2 fare. Zheng wants the government to charge the first hour as a minimum fee and, after that, to charge in 15 minute periods.

Rosário said this could be done in a future revision of the public parking regulations, but warned that such a system, which exists in other countries and regions, could cause a parking fee increase. He said that before being implemented such a proposal needs to consider society’s opinions.

Gov’t wants point system for traffic infringements

Yesterday’s AL also learned the government wants to introduce a new “demerit point system,” similar to that which exists in other countries and regions, among other changes.

The system subtracts points from a driver according to his record of traffic infringements, the accumulation of which may lead to additional penalties and/or loss of driving privileges.

Many countries use the system although there are variations and different penalties.

To link LRT payment with buses ënot an easy taskí

Responding to lawmakers, Secretary Rosário said linking the payment of bus tickets (via Macau Pass) with the LRT for potential discounts on the complementary use of both systems in a journey is “not an easy task.”

Rosário said the two systems are very different and the methods of operation of the companies, one being public and the other private, also creates complexity.

The idea was to link the use of both public transport systems in the same journey, enabling travelers to benefit from discounts, an idea the Secretary said is unlikely to happen.

In the neighboring region of Hong Kong using the equivalent of the Macau Pass (Octopus Card) it is possible to link several transportation methods including the MTR, buses and the railway with the payment being calculated according to the station or point of entry and exit.

Another proposal, raised by lawmaker Leong Sun Iok, was to add to the LRT payment methods some of the major online payment platforms from the mainland so that tourists could easily use the system.

The idea also seems far from implementation with Rosário noting that it “was already hard enabling payment using the Macau Pass that is now possible.”

Little interest in Urban Renewal Program so far

The public has so far shown little interest in the government’s program to revitalize the old districts by rebuilding old buildings.

The government plans to make the old buildings more habitable and, in some cases, exchanging the land plot where some old buildings are located for others in a different area, the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, admitted to inquiries from lawmakers.

According to Rosário, only about 10 proposals have reached the government and not all of them were feasible. He noted there is little the government can do on this aspect.

“This depends ultimately on the private unit owners. The government cannot force them in any way to accept this program,” he remarked.