Transport bureau to cut 110 motorbike parking spaces

The 110 free-of- charge parking spaces for motorbikes along a section of Avenida de Artur Tamagnini Barbosa near the Border Gate will be removed to create a wider sidewalk, announced Lam Hin San, director of the Transport Affairs Bureau (DSAT).
With certain parts of the walkway measuring only 0.3 meters in width, the DSAT director considered the sidewalk too narrow for pedestrian use.
Currently, there is a string of 110 parking spaces for motorbikes on the road along the sidewalk, where parking is free-of-charge.
The public is usually vocal about the DSAT’s decisions to remove the parking spaces. This time, however, Lam does not think there will be a huge response. That is because there will be an extra 172 parking spaces for bikes added to the public parking lot at the Workers’ Stadium after its renovation.
The official also found the current parking spaces to be dangerous for motorcyclists, who have to walk on the road after parking their bikes, as the sidewalk is blocked off by fences.
Meanwhile, 12 metered parking spaces on Rua de Lei Pou Ch’ôn will also be removed as part of the sidewalk revamp. The new subsidized housing estate at Ilha Verde has a parking lot can provide parking for a maximum of 1,400 light vehicles and 1,600 motorbikes. This will more than compensate for the reduced number of spaces, the official said.
Praça de Ferreira do Amaral in front of Hotel Lisboa will also undergo a revamp. Shelters will be installed at the bus stops on ground floor. In the future, five bus routes will be moved to the underground motorbike parking lot. Motorbike parking will be moved to first underground level, which is currently closed to the public. However, the official said there is no timeline for the relocations.
The DSAT will also adjust 27 zebra crossings. Diagonal zebra crossings will be tested at two intersections – Rua da Tribuna and Rua da Serenidade, and Avenida do Almirante Lacerda and Estrada do Repouso. AL