HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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(17) Car Parking Facilities—the Council is now implementing a new policy for providing, where possible, car parking facilities for market-goers at the market venues. This should greatly improve usage of our markets, particularly in areas where access by public transport is less convenient.
The proposed ways ahead are:
(a) Locate, build and design markets under a revised policy—to enhance the convenience and comfort of market-goers thereby increasing patronage of our markets, the Urban Council should conduct a comprehensive review of the objectives and practice with a view to devising a new policy to improve the existing standard, design and layout in accordance with the above proposals.
(b) Renovate the older markets—the Council should also identify some of the older and inviable markets for carrying out renovations according to the new policy. The Causeway Bay, Pei Ho Street and Hung Hom Markets have already been renovated to replace the old and sub-standard markets. Others in the pipeline are the Smithfield Road Market and the very old North Street Market in the Western District. These markets are in good catchment areas and should be very viable, but they are of outdated design and poor visibility, and the Council should expedite the progress of these renovation projects. As regards newly approved projects, these include the markets in Sai Ying Pun, Ap Lei Chau and Yee On Street in Kwun Tong.
(c) Suggestions in the previous market design competition—the market design competition held recently by the Urban Council has given rise to some useful findings and suggestions which should be taken into account in designing our future markets.
(d) Update the Hawker policy—to update the current hawker policy so as to meet the public needs, it is necessary to gradually reduce on-street hawker trading by cancelling the category of itinerant hawker licensees by March 1996, restricting hawking in on-street fixed hawker pitches at suitable locations, completing the 'Hawkers' Licence Buy Back Scheme' by March 1996 and resiting hawkers into new markets. Confining hawking in specified areas will result in a cleaner and healthier environment, and will be in the interests of our community.
(e) Other recommendations—where reprovisioning is impossible for certain markets, the following improvement measures may be considered:
(i) convert space vulnerable to abuse into other uses (e.g., turn the open space underneath escalator into store room to prevent illegal trading);
(ii) re-design temporarily the stall areas;
(iii) strengthen the existing market management teams;
(iv) form market consultative committees in each market;
(v) enhance publicity programme to increase public awareness of Urban Council markets and thereby improve their viability;
(vi) improve building maintenance;
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