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HONG KONG PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
Mr. Wu mentioned that the surfaces of the tennis courts in Tung Chau Street Park were mottled. In fact, the surfaces of Tung Chau Street Park's tennis courts are free from any bumps or holes. The mottling look is owing to the fading in colour or peeling off of the green paint on certain parts of the court surfaces with the passage of time. In fact, the courts are entirely safe for use. Besides, the ASD has planned to renovate the surfaces of these tennis courts in 1998/1999. Mr. Wu also mentioned that the floodlights at the tennis courts at Kowloon Tsai Park were not bright enough. Since the entire Kowloon Tsai Park is on the aircraft taking off and landing zone of the present Hong Kong International Airport, the Department cannot increase the luminosity of the floodlights in these tennis courts otherwise the taking off or landing of the aircrafts will be affected. Nevertheless, the Department will ask the ASD to check the luminosity of the floodlights in these tennis courts again to ensure that illumination is maintained at an acceptable level. When the Hong Kong International Airport has moved to Chek Lap Kok, the Department will review the situation.
On renovation of recreational facilities, the Department has to consider various factors, including the general condition of the facilities, compliance with latest safety standards, popularity, and date of last renovation, etc.
Under normal circumstances, the Department will carry out regular renovation and improvement works for recreational facilities under its management about every three years. If the venue facilities are found during routine checks to have become dilapidated due to high utilization rate before the scheduled time for regular renovation, repair or renovation works for such facilities will be carried out by way of minor works projects.
MR. WU CHI-WAI (in Cantonese): I have a follow-up question. Recently, the Urban Council has been actively promoting basketball games on a half-court basis, such as the 'Street Fighters' Basketball', but no consideration has ever been given to allowing users to book half of the basketball courts in its indoor games halls. From the reply document, we can see that the Department has all along insisted on safety being the reason. May I ask the Chairman of the Select Committee whether the Department will consider providing adequate space as the safety buffer in basketball courts in new indoor games halls so that users may book only half of the court?
In fact, paragraph 4 of the reply document indicates that the Department has never received any request for half-court booking. This is natural because such an arrangement is not allowed by the Department at all. As a result, no such complaints have ever been received. Nevertheless, I have noticed that in the street-side basketball courts within our areas, a lot of people are mainly having the game on a half-court basis. In fact, it is easier to form teams for basketball games on a half-court basis. I would therefore like to ask the Chairman of the Select Committee whether the Department will consider
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