ILLEGAL PARKING IN CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (Summonses issued to motorcyclists)

Mr Chng Hee Kok asked the Minister for Home Affairs how many summonses were issued to motorcyclists for illegal parking in the Central Business District in the first week of January 1999.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, a total of 31 summonses were issued against motorcyclists for illegal parking within the CBD in the first week of January this year. Most of these motorcyclists parked either along the side of the road or on the pavement.

Mr Chng Hee Kok (East Coast): Sir, the Minister of State is aware that despatch riders perform an essential service. They are part of the business structure. Is his Ministry working with some other authorities to alleviate their problem to ensure that some form of short term parking or temporary parking is available so that these activities of theirs can continue?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, the URA informs us that there are sufficient parking spaces in the CBD for motorcyclists. It is important to keep in view the object of the exercise, ie, to clean up illegal parking. This is because they can be a danger to other road users as well as an obstruction to other road users. In any case, while people who have been affected must make the necessary adjustments, on our part we have looked at whether or not more parking spaces can be created. Wherever possible, URA working with Traffic Police and LTA, will create more parking spaces. In the meantime, we have been informed that in the CBD area, there are already sufficient parking spaces.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Would the Minister of State agree that this illegal parking, as it is called, would only be for the duration of the time taken to deliver a letter or an article by the person who is asked to convey it, and that to ask him to go and park his motorcycle in a parking area which might be some distance away would only add to the time factor?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, the time factor may not be very long, depending on what he delivers and for how many people he delivers. It could be five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes or 20 minutes. But the point is that if enough people do that, then the mischief that is being sought to be addressed by the new measures would still be there.

Mr Jeyaretnam: Would the Minister of State say whether there is any policy not to prosecute the motorcyclists who leave their motorcycles only for two to three minutes or under five minutes and they are genuinely carrying out some delivery work?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: I think Mr Jeyaretnam should appreciate the intent behind the scheme, in other words, the meaning of the single zig-zag line and the double zig-zag lines which are carefully chosen in terms of which areas they would be put. The Traffic Police has studied and assessed the situation. I think the House will agree that the problem has been a long standing one which must be resolved. If it is a single zig-zag line, the law says you can stop just to alight or to pick up a person and then you have to go. If it is a double zig-zag line, you cannot even stop. So whether it is for one minute, two minutes or three minutes, the law would have been flouted.