Onus on heavy vehicle owners to find appropriate parking: MND
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of National Development is looking into ways to help heavy vehicle owners and workers find more convenient parking lots, Senior Minister of State Desmond Lee said in Parliament on Friday (Jan 29).
However, he added that it is the responsibility of business owners to find parking solutions for the vehicles they own, and to work out with their drivers the appropriate transport options to commute to work.
Mr Lee was responding to a question by Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef, who asked whether the number of heavy vehicle parking lots matched up with demand, and if there were plans to review the location and availability of the lots. She also brought up cases where drivers ended up sleeping in their vehicles because they could not find a lot.
Mr Lee said that there are 34,400 heavy vehicles plying the roads in Singapore, and 44,170 heavy vehicle parking lots island-wide - of which 76 per cent are provided by the private sector.
Mr Lee also noted that the Land Transport Authority requires every heavy vehicle to have a Vehicle Parking Certificate (VPC) before it can be registered, before the road tax is renewed, and before the ownership of the vehicle is transferred. This means that every heavy vehicle that operates in Singapore already has a designated parking lot.
Nonetheless, the MND is also looking into ways to help businesses and drivers who still face issues, even though each heavy vehicle has its own lots, said Mr Lee.
To help business owners park their vehicles near their businesses, the ministry plans to increase more heavy vehicle parking in industrial estates where there is a lot of demand, said Mr Lee.
"URA and JTC will continue to mandate the building of heavily vehicle park in private industrial developments," said the Senior Minister of State, noting that since 2014, successful tenderers for Government land sale sites for industrial development have been required to build, and co-locate a multi-storey heavy vehicle park in their industrial development.
For new industrial estates and older industrial estates being redeveloped, both the Housing and Development Board and JTC will build more heavy vehicle parking.
"This will be be particularly useful for HDB industrial estates being redeveloped because they are not that far from some of our HDB estates," said Mr Lee.
REDUCING "PHANTOM LOTS"
Mr Lee also noted that there are situations where businesses have a VPC, but the lot that is registered for their vehicle has been misused.
He called for drivers to report these "phantom lots", and that while "it is a VPC on paper … but for all purposes the owner does not have a lot, and the driver bears the brunt of it".
As for situations where drivers wish to park near their own homes, Mr Lee said the ministry is looking into how best to get companies and businesses to meet the transport commuting needs of drivers. For example, the Urban Redevelopment Authority is looking into placing bicycle racks for drivers who wish to cycle home.
But he added that there are "practical difficulties" in providing lots near housing estates, due to noise and safety concerns, as well as how built up estates are.
He also said that businesses need to look for vehicle parks that are convenient.
"If companies know that the driver lives in Jurong, they should try to look for a heavy vehicle park that is not too far away," said Mr Lee. "I think businesses can play a part and they can have a conversation with their drivers and get a better sense of where their needs are."
- CNA/av