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PROVISIONAL URBAN COUNCIL
are managed by the Government and are commonly known as 'public streets'. Comprehensive cleansing services are provided by the USD, ranging from street-sweeping, street-washing, provision of litter bins and dog excreta collection bins, pest control and back alley cleaning. The remaining 6.5% streets are privately owned streets, which are not provided with the above municipal services by the Department. Take a wider area, the entire Eastern district, for instance. Private streets represent 19% of the total number of streets, but as far as North Point East with a population of 19,000 is concerned, no municipal services are provided. In other words, the number of people affected is rather great. Based on the rough estimate that for every 200 or more private streets, hundreds of thousands of people are affected. I consider that the problem is worth the Department's consideration and the Council's review.
According to my analysis, there are four reasons why services are not provided by the Department for private streets:
(1) In the process of land development, although flat owners are willing to hand the streets over to the Government for management and the streets have met the requirements for resumption by the Government, the developers are reluctant to hand them over for commercial benefits and for the sake of sustained development. An example is Westlands Road in Quarry Bay. I consider that the Council and the Department should study the possibility of requiring those principal landlords or developers who refuse to turn the streets over to assume full responsibility for their environmental hygiene;
(2) For some land developments, the developers' construction of private streets has so far not met the standards required for government resumption, resulting in the Government's reluctance in resuming them. Examples are Peacock Road and Ming Yuen Western Street in North Point;
(3) In past land developments, either the private streets did not meet the prevailing general standards required for government resumption or the owners did not hand them over to the Government in time before they left the place. When the time came for resumption by the Government, they no longer met the standards required. Furthermore, the ownership keeps changing hands or is being scattered and therefore there are certain difficulties in handing them over to the Government. It is not easy to arrange for their maintenance either. Examples are Nation Street and Mercury Street in North Point; and
(4) For some streets, although they have met the requirements for resumption, for some historical reasons, there are overhanging structures such as balconies extending into the streets, giving rise to the problem of overlapping ownership. The Government has therefore refused to take them back. An example is Fort Street in North Point. Resumption was discussed but eventually the Executive Council decided not to take over.
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