Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region – 4
The 15th National Games (NG) of the People’s Republic of China “The China Telecom Trophy” Athletics (Marathon) Competition will be held on November 15. The Head of the National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong) (NGCO), Mr Yeung Tak-keung, representatives from the Hong Kong Police Force and the Transport Department (TD) held a press conference today (November 12) to brief media on relevant arrangements, including competition details, temporary traffic control measures and clearance arrangements at boundary control points (BCPs).
The event will be the first cross-boundary marathon in the history of the NG, spanning across Hong Kong and Shenzhen by making use of the Shenzhen Bay Bridge as the track. The entire track is 42.195 kilometres long, of which the section in Hong Kong is 21.85 kilometres. Setting off from the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center, the races will enter Hong Kong via the Shenzhen Bay Port, run along the Shenzhen Bay Bridge and Kong Sham Western Highway Viaduct, then turn back to the Shenzhen Bay Port through the same route, and finally end at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center. The event is comprised of men’s and women’s races, with the participation of 71 athletes consisting 38 male athletes and 33 female athletes. Among them, 2 male athletes and 3 female athletes are from Hong Kong. The men’s group will depart at 7am and the women’s group at 7.30am. The athletes will enter the Hong Kong section upon completion of approximately 2 kilometres of race route. Both groups are expected to spend around two hours in the Hong Kong section.
Given that part of the track is within the Frontier Closed Area, no public viewing zone will be set up in Hong Kong in order to keep the event unaffected and well-managed. Members of the public can watch the broadcast on televisions.
To facilitate the smooth running of the race, clearance services of the Shenzhen Bay Port (including all passenger and cargo clearance services) will be suspended during part of the morning on the event day, while temporarily control measures will be implemented on the Shenzhen Bay Bridge and other related roads that day. Relevant arrangements are set out as below:
　　
(1) Clearance service arrangement
Arrival and departure clearance services at the Shenzhen Bay Port will be suspended and passengers and vehicles will be prohibited from entering the port from 2am to 11am on the event day. Travellers should choose other control points to Shenzhen.
Cross-boundary vehicles (including good vehicles, passenger vehicles and private cars) with valid closed road permits for the Shenzhen Bay Port may arrive and depart via the Lok Ma Chau (Huanggang) Control Point, Heung Yuen Wai Control Point or Man Kam To Control Point according to the operating hours of the relevant control points on the event day during the suspension of arrival and departure clearance services at the Shenzhen Bay Port. Subject to the actual completion time and time requiring for safe re-opening of roads to vehicular traffic, the Shenzhen Bay Port is expected to be re-opened at around 11am. The above special arrangement will cease upon the re-opening of the Shenzhen Bay Port.
(2) Road control measures
Temporary control measures for the Shenzhen Bay Bridge, the Kong Sham Western Highway and other related roads
On the event day, temporary control measures will be implemented on Shenzhen Bay Bridge, Kong Sham Western Highway and Ha Tsuen Interchange from 2am to 11am. During the temporary control period, the Shenzhen Bay Bridge, the Kong Sham Western Highway and Ha Tsuen Interchange will be closed to all vehicular traffic from eastbound and westbound of Yuen Long Highway and Ha Tsuen Road.
During the suspension of the Shenzhen Bay Port arrival and departure services, the TD expects the roads leading to the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang, Man Kam To and Heung Yuen Wai BCPs, including San Tin Interchange, San Sham Road and Lok Ma Chau Road, etc, will be busy with traffic. Therefore, the TD appeals to cross-boundary private cars and other drivers to avoid driving to the above districts during the relevant hours. Depending on the prevailing traffic conditions in the area, the Police will deploy appropriate manpower and implement corresponding crowd management measures or special traffic arrangements at the affected control points and relevant road sections. In case of traffic congestion, please exercise tolerance and patience and drive carefully, and follow the instructions of Police on site.
　　The full clearance services at the Shenzhen Bay Port are expected to resume gradually at around 11am. It is anticipated that traffic will be relatively busy. Travellers and drivers who plan to use the port on that day are advised to plan their trips in advance.
(3) Public transport arrangements
Cross-boundary coach services running between Hong Kong and the Mainland via Shenzhen Bay Port as well as local public transport services serving Shenzhen Bay Port, including franchised buses, green minibuses (GMB), and Urban and NT Taxis will be suspended during the implementation of the temporary control at the Shenzhen Bay Port, the Shenzhen Bay Bridge and the Kong Sham Western Highway on the day of event. The bus companies and GMB operators will display notices at termini and en-route stops of the affected routes to inform affected passengers.
The TD has notified the affected operators of cross-boundary and local public transport services to strengthen services to expedite the dispersal of passengers around the resumption of operation of Shenzhen Bay Port. Bus companies will also deploy additional staff at major bus termini and bus stops to assist passenger in need. The Marine Department will liaise with cross-boundary ferry operators, with a view to working out manpower and sailing schedule arrangements for ferry services to and from Shenzhen in advance.
During the temporary control period, travellers should consider using other BCPs for their journeys between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. The TD has coordinated with public transport operators including MTR, franchised bus, green minibuses, Lok Ma Chau-Huanggang cross-boundary shuttle bus (Yellow Bus), and cross-boundary coaches to strengthen services at other BCPs including Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau (Huanggang) and Heung Yuen Wai, with a view to catering for upsurge of passenger demand.
(4) Restricted flying zone
To accommodate the event and ensure public safety, a 2-kilometer extension of the Hong Kong section will be set up by the Police as a temporary restricted flight zone (RFZ) from 6am to 11.30am on the event day. No small unmanned aircraft, except those authorised, will be permitted to enter the zone. Details of the temporary RFZ will be shown on the electronic portal for small unmanned aircraft “eSUA”.
The 15th NG triathlon event will be held on November 15 and 16 at the Central Harbourfront and Victoria Harbour.
The event comprises the men’s individual, women’s individual, and mixed relay events. A total of around 90 athletes from the Mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao will compete in the events. The women’s individual and men’s individual races are scheduled for 8am and 10.45am respectively on November 15. The mixed relay race to be participated by 15 teams will take place at 2pm on November 16. The starting point of the races will be located at the waterfront of the Wan Chai Temporary Promenade. Athletes will first complete the swimming segment, followed by the cycling segment, and finally the running segment.
The athletes will run through a number of Hong Kong landmarks during the races. The cycling route will pass through the business district in Central, such as the Central Government Offices, the Legislative Council Complex, and the Hong Kong Observation Wheel; the running route will mainly loop around the Central Harbourfront Promenade, with the finish line located at the Central Harbourfront Event Space.
Individual athletes will complete a 1.5km swim, a 37.8km bike ride and a 10km run. For mixed relay race, a team is composed of four athletes (two men and two women), and each athlete needs to complete a 0.3km swim, an 6.6km bike ride and a 1.8km run.
To prepare for and facilitate the events, from November 12 to 16, special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented in phases on the following road sections in Central and Wan Chai districts.
1. Road closures
(i) From 10am on November 12 to 6pm on November 16, the section of Expo Drive between Legislative Council Road and Expo Drive Central will be temporarily closed;
(ii) From 4am to 7am on November 14, intermittent road closures will be implemented by the Police in the vicinities of Central Harbourfront and Wan Chai North (including Lung Wo Road, Yiu Sing Street, Lung Hop Street, and Lung Tat Path); and
(iii) From midnight to 2pm on November 15 and from 6am to 6pm on November 16, road closure measures will be implemented in the road sections mentioned in (ii) above. Affected motorists should divert via Fleming Road, Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road or Gloucester Road as appropriate.
2. Public transport arrangements
Since temporary road closures and traffic control measures will be implemented at the Central Harbourfront and in the vicinity of Wanchai North, three franchised bus routes (Citybus route Nos. H1S, H2 and H3) passing through Lung Wo Road will be diverted from start of service on November 15 and 16. The bus stop located at the opposite side of Two International Finance Centre on Man Yiu Street will also be temporarily suspended due to the road closures. The relevant affected bus routes and bus stops will resume normal operation after roads re-open. The bus companies will display notices to advise affected passengers of the suspended bus stops and temporary diversion arrangements.
In view of the restricted zones set up at waters off Wanchai during the competition, services of the ferry route traveling between Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui is expected to be temporarily adjusted from around 7.50am to 8.20am and from around 10.35am to 11.05am on November 15, and from around 1.50pm to 2.10pm on November 16, subject to the actual circumstances. The route of Water Taxi departing at 1.55pm on November 16 from Tsim Sha Tsui East to Central will not stop at Wanchai.
Members of the public are advised to make use of public transport services as far as possible to avoid traffic congestion and unnecessary delays. During the event, the TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation. The Police may adjust the traffic arrangements subject to the prevailing crowd and traffic conditions in the areas. Members of the public should pay attention to the latest traffic news through radio, television or the “HKeMobility” mobile application.
For details of the special traffic and transport arrangements for the Athletics (Marathon) Competition and triathlon event, members of the public may refer to the TD’s relevant notices (Athletics (Marathon) Competition: www.td.gov.hk/en/traffic_notices/index_id_83680.html; triathlon event: https://www.td.gov.hk/en/traffic_notices/index_id_83698.html), its mobile application “HKeMobility”, and passenger notices issued by the relevant public transport operators.
A spokesperson for the NGCO said as the NG is the country’s highest-level event, this marathon event and triathlon event has to meet stringent requirements in terms of the selection of the race course and the organisational arrangements to ensure the safety of athletes. Relevant departments will work together to facilitate the special traffic and transportation arrangements to minimise the impact on the public and travellers. The spokesperson thanked members of the public and travellers for their understanding, as well as the contributions of various organisations and departments in implementing the relevant arrangements.