CAR-PARKING IN HOUSING BOARD ESTATES

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng asked the Minister for National Development whether he plans to modify the car-park charging system to encourage children to visit and spend more time with their parents who are living in Housing and Development Board flats.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Mr Speaker, Sir, HDB car parks are meant for the use of residents, visitors and those who have business within HDB estates. Apart from residents who pay season parking rates, other users are charged uniform rates for hourly parking. It will be very difficult to justify and implement a system of different parking charges to favour a specific category of users, namely, children visiting their parents who live in HDB flats.

The existing hourly parking fee of 40 cents per hour at HDB car parks outside the Central Area is not exorbitant. It is unlikely that this rate of parking fees is deterring children from visiting their parents in HDB estates.

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: Mr Speaker, Sir, is the Minister aware of complaints that fines are too readily meted out to people who bring their children to their parents' house to be taken care of in the morning?

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Sir, if they have paid the parking charges, then there will be no fine.

Mr Eugene Yap Giau Cheng: Sir, they only park for five minutes and they have to pay 40 cents.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Sir, I do not think so. Usually we give a five-minute grace and sometimes the five-minute grace stretches to 10 minutes.