FREE PARKING ON SUNDAYS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

Mr Teo Chong Tee asked the Minister for National Development whether the pilot six-month free parking scheme on Sundays and public holidays, which has been tried out in Ayer Rajah Constituency, has been found successful and whether the scheme will be implemented immediately in some selected constituencies or in all other constituencies.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: The pilot scheme at Ayer Rajah Constituency to test out the feasibility of free parking on Sundays and public holidays was monitored closely by the Housing and Development Board during the past six months. The results revealed that during the free parking days on Sundays and public holidays:

(a) there was an increase of about 17% in occupancy level of the car parks;

(b) the number of vehicles found parked indiscriminately on a Sunday/public holiday increased from an average of 74 to 130 vehicles, i.e. an increase of 76%.

It was evident from the pilot scheme that free parking on Sundays and public holidays may give rise to more congestion and indiscriminate parking, especially in car parks where the demand for parking space is high. It is, therefore, not surprising that not all residents in HDB housing estates want to have this free parking scheme. In view of this, the Advisers to the grassroots organisations have been asked whether they want to implement the scheme in their constituencies. If they wish to have the scheme, they can write to me or my Senior Parliamentary Secretary. The scheme can be implemented within one month of request.