The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) yesterday urged residents not to damage location points on hiking trails.
According to a IAM statement, the bureau has been installing location points along hiking trails in recent years to ensure hikers’ safety and assist in their navigation. The statement urged residents not to damage the location points as it would defeat their purpose of saving lost hikers.
The statement noted that the bureau has been improving facilities on hiking trails, including installing maps, name tags and various kinds of location points, for hikers to gain a better understanding of the trail. The location pointers, according to the statement, also include the distance to the next location point and information for lost hikers.
The statement pointed out that Macau has 14 hiking trails – with a total length of 37 km. For safety reasons, the statement added, the bureau installed a location point every 200 metres. The bureau said that there are three meanings to the numbers on each location point – the area, the trail and the distance – in order to better locate hikers who need help. The statement said as long as a hiker in trouble tells the police the nearest location pointer’s number, they will be able to narrow down the area and arrive as soon as possible.
According to the statement, when IAM officials were patrolling along hiking trails recently, they found that many of the location points were damaged and the information was no longer legible. Therefore, the bureau urged residents to take better care of the location pointers.
Meanwhile, the bureau also urged residents not to leave any rubbish or kindling behind, stressing that the environment must be protected.
This undated handout photo provided by IAM yesterday shows a damaged location point.
