A government proposal to drastically raise the fines for illegal parking is long overdue. At current levels, the fines are clearly not sufficient to deter illegal parking, which is described by some traffic police as an "epidemic".

Illegal parking by vehicles in busy streets not only worsens traffic congestion but, more seriously, endangers the safety of pedestrians. The worst offenders, including some private cars and commercial vans, often park on sidewalks. They force pedestrians to brace traffic by taking the necessary detour.

Those fines were set years ago and have never been inflation-adjusted. As such, they are no longer considered by many motorists as punitive enough to stop them from choosing the convenience of parking illegally.

To be sure, parking spaces, especially in the busy commercial districts, are in limited supply, while the number of private cars has soared to over 500,000 and rising. But that should not be cited as an excuse for illegal parking, as some opponents to the proposed fine increase have claimed.

In land-scarce Hong Kong there will never be enough parking spaces in most commercial districts, including Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok. Obviously, many families consider the fines for illegal parking as part of their outing expenses. Otherwise, there is really no reason to drive the family to, for instance, Causeway Bay in the evening for dinner.

Hopefully, the increased fines for illegal parking will persuade motorists to leave their cars at home and take public transport to work or entertain in the crowded commercial areas during busy hours. That would spare some parking spaces for commercial vehicles for quick pick-ups and deliveries to the many shops and caterers.

Let us assume that nobody really wants to park illegally. Offenders do it simply because the convenience outweighs the cost of punishment. The only thing the government can do to address this "epidemic" is to raise the fines to punitive levels.

(HK Edition 12/18/2015 page7)