An Austrian architect with personal experience of living in Hong Kong suggests a monorail system for Central and Mid-levels as a relief to the colony's future transportation problems.
ELEVAYOR
one way to free the roads
by Herbert F. Loidolt
Mr. Loidolt, presently assistant to Professor K. Schwanzer at the Technical University of Vienna, lived in Hong Kong in 1965 and worked as an assistant with the Department of Architecture, HKU. He graduated from the University of Vienna in 1962 and later won a Master of Architecture and Urban Design degree from Washington University, St. Louis.
COMPLETION of Hong Kong's cross- harbour tunnel in 1972 will bring to- gether the car traffic of two agglo- merations. This, together with the al- ready rapid growth of car ownership, will affect the whole structure of the city in a way which can hardly be pre- dicted today.
Just how the central areas of Hong Kong will cope with this added traffic burden remains to be seen. A rapid transit system will be a help but not a solution, and it is timely to consider any method that will take-away from the central area unnecessary car traf- fic.
One such method which I think might be worthy of full consideration is the Elevayor - a system of mechani- cal pedestrian movement which could be adopted for various areas on the island. Of course the earlier the city planners take account of this or any
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other system in their present and fu- ture planning, the more useful and economic it will prove.
Keeping distances short
The high-density apartment hous- ing on the steep northern slope of Victoria Peak is spatially very close to the high-density working area of the central business district (CBD), whereas the actual connection by traf- fic has to follow considerable detours on roads winding up or down the hill, step by step. Pedestrian movement up and down the steep slopes is particu- larly trying during the summer.
For these reasons a mechanical transportation system, which could be described as a raised inclined elevator, could be of considerable benefit in keeping physical distances short. The system comes somewhere between a lift and rope-way of cable car, as
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exemplified in the existing Peak Tram. It differs from the latter however in dimension, mechanical and steering systems, and in location.
The provision of a conveyor-type system is favoured by the given fac- tors: high densities with different functions at both ends, short distance in the vertical line, convenient ap- proach to the stops following the con- tours, direct access with short distribu- tion to the densely packed central area and vice versa.
But it is not sufficient to consider only the technical aspects of the sys- tem. For it to be a success much de- pends on the planning of the termini.
The upper (housing) terminus should be integrated as far as possible into the surrounding area. First it should be part of a large new apart- ment building which would form the initiating core. This structure would also provide for branch services of vari- ous city functions like shopping, post office, banks, etc. Secondly the termi- nus should branch out as far as possi- ble by giving convenient and protected access from other buildings. It should also have good links with all forms of public transport and should be deve-
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Fig. 1: key plan of area considered for ELEVATOR
Far East BUILDER, March 1971
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