XN000022-1996-12-11 — Page 38

End

(c)

14 -

At present, the contractor does not expect that the removal of additional spoil would affect the opening of the Route 3 Expressway in July 1998. The proposals he is now considering are prudent contingency measures just in case that the present disposal arrangement would not be able to take care of the additional spoil without causing serious delay.

Control on overhanging signboards

Following is a question by the Hon Yum Sin-ling and a reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

It is reported that in the recent catastrophic blaze that broke out in Garley Building, the neon signs and signboards erected on the external walls of the building and the vehicles parked nearby have caused obstruction to both rescue and fire- fighting operations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council

whether:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

it will introduce regulations to regulate the dimension of signboards, the distance between signboards and other related issues; and whether such regulations will restrict the number of signboards and their dimensions in each building according to the floor area of the building and the width of the adjoining streets;

it will introduce a licensing system to tackle the problem of an increasing number of large signboards;

there is any plan to carry out inspections of the streets in the territory in the near future, with a view to identifying those streets having similar potential hazards; and

it will set up an inter-departmental task force responsible for the inspection, on a long term basis, of signboards erected on buildings and facilities in the ground floor and in the adjoining streets (including legal parking spaces), so as to ensure that no obstruction is caused to the operation of fire engines; if so, what the details are?