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4.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MR. FUNG KWONG-CHUNG asked the following question (in Cantonese):- Recently on Hong Kong Island, a big tree fell down after a heavy rain, blocking the traffic for several hours. I learned that the Department is responsible for the clearance of fallen trees. I have therefore the following questions:
(a) Is there any section under the Department specifically responsible for the task of trimming the trees on the roadside in urban area?
(b) Does the Department regularly check the growing conditions of the roadside big trees and study their possible effects on vehicles passing along the roads?
(c) As the rainy season of Hong Kong has come, does the Department have any special measures to prevent the re-occurrence of the above incident?
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU, Chairman of the Recreation Select Committee, replied as follows (in Cantonese):
The question is in three parts and I shall answer each of them separately.
The first part of the question is whether there is any section under the Department specifically responsible for the task of trimming the trees on the roadside in the urban area.
The Leisure Operations Division of the Department is responsible for maintaining roadside trees within 5 metres of the edge of a public carriageway maintained by the Highways Department. The work is undertaken by two Tree Sections, one for Hong Kong and one for Kowloon with a combined work force of 58 staff. Maintenance of trees beyond the 5 metres distance and on unleased Government land, however, is the responsibility of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department. As regards the recent collapse of a tree at the junction of Queensway and Queen's Road East, the tree involved was a large banyan about 9 metres in height. It collapsed following heavy downpour and caused serious traffic disruption. Although the tree, strictly speaking, was located 10 metres from the roadkerb and therefore outside the jurisdiction of USD, the Regional Tree Section (Hong Kong) acted in good faith in response to request for assistance from the Police, and helped to clear the fallen tree.
The second part of the question is whether the Department regularly check the growing conditions of the roadside big trees and study their possible effects on vehicles passing along the roads.
All roadside trees under the maintenance of the Department are inspected once every three months. In cases where trees are identified to be overgrown and cause obstruction to traffic, pruning will be done to cut back the overgrown branches to ensure no inconvenience would be caused to the vehicles.
The third part of the question is whether the Department have any special measures to prevent the re-occurrence of the recent incident in view that the rainy season has come.
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Each year before the rainy season comes, the tree section staff will carry out pruning of the overgrown big trees under the Department's responsibility to reduce their crown weight so that they would not be so easily tipped over by strong wind or rain.
MR. MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese):-I have a follow-up question on this particular question. Apart from tipped over trees, we also see that in the urban areas some trees are wilting. I would like to ask is there any policy under the Council that trees in the urban areas are properly managed?
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU (in Cantonese): In the once every three months inspection, the Department will also pay attention to those wilted trees which may be likely to collapse.
5. MR. LI WAH-MING asked the following question (in Cantonese):- Whenever the General Duties Team withdraws from the town centre of Kwun Tong in the evening, unlicensed cooked food stalls there start their business immediately. The situation has now deteriorated to such a state that not only residents in the neighbourhood are seriously affected by the noise nuisance, but also pedestrians have to risk their lives on the roadways as the pavements are fully occupied by the cooked food stalls.
I really want to know what contingency measures will be taken by the Council to tackle the worsening situation?
MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):
The question asks what measures the Department will take to tackle the late night illegal cooked food hawkers in the Kwun Tong Town Centre beyond the normal GDT duty hours.
At present, the Department is making every effort to optimize its available resources with a view to keeping the hawker situation in Kwun Tong District under control. Existing enforcement actions in containing illegal hawking activities in Kwun Tong Town Centre, with emphasis on illegal cooked food hawkers, include daily patrols and raiding by the GDT. A number of General Duties Teams in Kwun Tong are normally on duty at the Town Centre up to 9.45 p.m., to keep the situation under control. Illegal cooked food hawkers who emerge after the GDT have left the field have been tackled by special operations with the Police which are organized from time to time. These operations are prone to confrontations with the hawkers and the GDT squads may be exposed to unnecessary risks unless the raids are carried out with support from the Police. For the past 6 months, 8 late night joint operations with the Police were carried out resulting in 59 arrests and 35 seizures.
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