Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said.
A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm.
Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is to be completely closed off, while City Hall Road, Songzhi Road and Xinyi Road would be limited to outbound traffic only.
At 9:40pm, the entire control zone is to be sealed off, with no vehicles allowed to enter or exit until 10:25pm. After that time, most roads would be reopened, although parts of Songshou Road is to remain restricted until 11:30pm.
Pedestrian restrictions would also be enforced. From 9pm to 10:25pm, sidewalks around Taipei 101 and Nanshan A21, as well as the walkway from Xinyi Road by the World Trade Center to the Grand Hyatt footbridge would be off-limits for stopping or gathering.
Exits 4 and 5 of the Taipei 101/World Trade Center MRT station would be closed between 9:40pm and 10:25pm, and nearby YouBike stations would also be temporarily offline.
Public transport is to be adjusted, too. A total of 34 bus routes, including the Xinyi and Chengde express lines, would skip 16 stops near City Hall, including “City Hall (Shifu),” “City Hall (Songshou),” and “City Hall (Songren)” to speed up the frequency and transportation of people from the celebration area.
Passengers are advised to board at nearby stops or take the MRT Tamsui-Xinyi and Bannan lines, the department said.
The best viewing spots would be Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and City Hall Square, which are within walking distance from MRT stations.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
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