Page 25 of 142
T 16 PAPER HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The following paper was laid on the table:---
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of April 1982.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. HOWARD H. W. YOUNG asked the following question (in Cantonese): Regarding the case of a woman being injured by a model vehicle in Victoria Park last month, what rules and regulations do we have at present to prevent such incidents? If there are any, how are these enforced? Does this incident warrant any review of safety measures at parks in general, and in particular related to model vehicles?
THE HONOURABLE F. K. HU, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question concerns the control of model vehicles in Urban Council parks and is in two parts: firstly, the rules and regulations for the prevention of accidents and their enforcement; and secondly, the possible need for a review of safety measures.
The answer to the first part of the question is that there are no regulations specifically covering model vehicles in Pleasure Grounds. However, considering the problem in a more general way, Pleasure Ground By-law 18 empowers the Council to set apart parts of Pleasure Grounds for the purpose of specified games and, where this is done, to prohibit such games in other parts of the playground. In the case of model vehicles, this By-law has not previously been employed and, in general, they do not seem to have caused annoyance or injury with the exception of the single case which has prompted Mr. YOUNG's question. In reply to the second part of the question, I feel that we should not over-react to a single incident and that the Council should aim to keep restrictions on the use of Public Pleasure Grounds to the minimum. However, the department will be asked to consider the possibility of restricting model cars to particular areas of Urban Council playgrounds at particular times. If it is decided that such measures are necessary and practical, appropriate notices would be erected for the information of the public and appropriate enforcement will be provided by park-keeping staff of the Urban Services Department.
2. MR. HOWARD H. W. YOUNG asked the following question (in English): How much damage was done to Urban Council property by soccer fans in the vicinity of Hong Kong Stadium after a match on 15 April?
THE HONOURABLE F. K. HU, VICE-CHAIRMAN of the RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question concerns the damage done to Urban Council property by soccer fans in the vicinity of the Hong Kong Stadium after a match on 15 April.
The damage on this occasion occurred along the approaches to the Hong Kong Stadium and outside the South China Athletic Association building. Hooligans kicked litter bins and threw them about and also set fire to their contents. Four metal litter containers and four metal ash trays were damaged and two ash trays were removed. An attempt was also made to pull down the fibre-glass screen round the off-street refuse collection point in Caroline Hill Road and to set it on fire. As a result, two fibre-glass partition boards were badly damaged and the paint work on an iron gate was also damaged. The estimated cost of the damage is altogether around $6,000.
The department is discussing with the Police what measures should be taken to reduce the risk of damage to Urban Council property in future. This discussion will cover the approaches to all Urban Council grounds where disturbances might occur and, in general, it may be necessary to remove inflammable and breakable material from the areas concerned, either permanently or temporarily.
MR. YOUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, since the incident which occurred on 15 April, have we heard of any further incidents of a similar nature?
MR. HU (in English): Not to my knowledge.
3. DR. KIM Y. S. CHAM asked the following question (in English): Is the Council aware of any noise nuisance generated by the musical and singing entertainment programmes in the MacPherson Playground? What improvements can be made to reduce noise nuisance at night in this particular location?
The Honourable F. K. Hu, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question concerns the possible noise nuisance created by entertainment programmes in the MacPherson Playground and the need for measures to reduce it.
At present, the Urban Council uses the MacPherson Playground for the staging of free outdoor entertainment programmes on three or four evenings a month. This Playground is the only venue in the Mong Kok District suitable for this type of presentation. Attendance records indicate that the Playground is a very popular venue, with each performance attracting an audience of from 1,500 to 2,000 people. However, because of the proximity of the Playground to residential buildings, music played during performances can be heard by the residents of these buildings even when the volume is set at a reasonable level.
There is clearly a conflict of interests here. On the one hand, it is desirable that residents of the Mong Kok District should be able to enjoy the free entertainment organized by the Council at regular intervals but, on the other hand, the nuisance to residents must be kept to a minimum. The best that we
Page 25
Page 26
Page 26 of 142