Except for special vehicles such as public buses
The Transport Bureau (DSAT) announced yesterday that from tomorrow vehicles with a width of over 2.2 metres will be barred from travelling through the narrow Rua da Barra, except for special vehicles, as “numerous” cases have occurred in which large vehicles accidentally hit the exterior wall of the heritage-listed Mandarin’s House.
In addition, yesterday’s DSAT statement said, there have also been “numerous” cases in which large vehicles were unable to get round bends or corners in streets when travelling in the neighbourhood.
The statement pointed out that Rua do Padre António and Rua da Barra, as well as various nearby streets in the neighbourhood are all narrow.
Rua do Padre António runs from the heritage-listed São Lourenço Church to Largo do Lilau (Lilau Square), from where Rua da Barra runs until the heritage-listed Moorish Barracks. Both are one-way streets. Rua da Barra passes outside the exterior wall of the Mandarin’s House.
With the aim of preventing large vehicles using the streets in the neighbourhood by adversely affecting the traffic there, the statement said, the bureau has decided to implement certain restrictions on vehicles travelling in the neighbourhood.
From tomorrow, according to the statement, vehicles with a width of over 2.2 metres will be barred from travelling through Rua da Barra, except public buses, Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) vehicles, as well as vehicles of Macau Waste System Company Limited (CSR), the city’s cleaning and waste collection concessionaire.
As vehicles with a width of over 2.2 metres will be barred from using Rua da Barra, such vehicles coming from Rua do Padre António will have to turn left into Rua da Penha, the statement said.
Moreover, the statement said that from tomorrow vehicles with a length of over seven metres will be barred from travelling through Travessa do Colégio and Calçada da Paz, except CSR vehicles.
Travessa do Colégio and Calçada da Paz are one-way streets, running from Rua da Penha back to Rua do Padre António.
Initially, after the new measures are implemented, the statement said, the bureau will set up special road signs at the respective locations reminding drivers about the new restrictions.
According to previous news reports, a traffic accident occurred in the neighbourhood last month, when a tourist coach knocked down pavement barriers while turning left from Calçada da Paz into Rua do Padre António. However, the driver did not stop and subsequently the coach hit the exterior wall of the Mandarin’s House, only after which the driver reported the case to the police.
This undated aerial photo downloaded from the government’s cultural-heritage special website yesterday shows the Mandarin’s House, an exterior wall of which is located on Rua da Barra.
