already established, which may well be desirable in places of aesthetic, his- toric or architectural interest, or to change radically the existing form.
In the former case one solution would be to reduce traffic to the capa- city of the existing road structure, or to a desirable limit, by restrictive or- dinances and at the same time to institute a new mass transportation system. Many cities are having to adopt a system of "park-and-ride" which involves the construction of peripheral parking areas to the urban area. related to interchange stations. where travellers may change to the mass transportation system.
In the case of cities prepared to change their pattern, as Tokyo, con- siderable reduction of transportation movement may be achieved by good planning, based on a shortest-distance- to-work policy. This may mean the abandonment of outworn zoning prin- ciples and instead of continuing to as- sociate similar functions in even larger conglomerations. There would be de- veloped new areas duplicating, triplic- ating and so on, existing urban func- tions.
Hong Kong has been driven to an extreme in this kind of development, all the urban functions except rela- tively large industrial operations are mixed
residential. commercial. small industrial, educational and ad- ministrative existing side by side, and indeed one above the other in multi- storey constructions.
This is largely due to the lack of a suitable public transportation system. which is in turn due, as has already been stated, to the lack of a planning policy, both for general growth and for renewal.
Peak Loads
In communities of low economic status, not only is convenience im- portant but also cost of transporta- tion. Situations may arise when it is more economic for a man to empty dust-bins in his home area than to be a technician in a far-off factory or a clerk in an office, requiring a long trip using ferries and buses.
In such environments which are probably very much more run down than their counterparts in the well- developed countries of the world, and require renewal or redevelopment, the urban pattern that should be accepted is one that occurs from the applica- tion of the shortest-distance-to work principle.
It is apt to be overlooked that this to-and-from work traffic load is the greatest that a city has to deal with in any normal 24-hour period: this is the one that will influence the Plan to the greatest extent. There are other minor peaks the to-and-from school travelling peaks, which have in some parts of Hong Kong as much effect as
commuter traffic and the shopping peaks.
Existing transportation methods may be made more effective by stag- gering these peak traffic loads, which can be done by staggering the open-
ing and closing times of various func- tions fortunately in Hong Kong. office and school hours already do not coincide.
It was suggested at the conference that staggering peak traffic hours could also be applied to industry in areas already subject to journey to work congestion, and where further industrial development is aggravating the situation. Such staggering might also tend to spread the normal indus- trial traffic more evenly throughout the day to advantage.
Transportation problems do not only arise out of the purely functional requirements of urban areas, but also in many countries out of the recrea- tional Lise of transport particularly where a high proportion of the popu lation is car-owning,
We do not experience, in Hong Kong yet, the continuous nose-to-tail traffic that stretches from inland towns to the nearest seaside resort or recreational area and which John Citi- zen has to face when taking his family for a drive on a Sunday. It was pointed out at the conference that the general Sunday and holiday exodus from the cities is a manifestation of considerable dissatisfaction with the urban environment. The inference is clear, planners must provide for the normal recreational needs within the urban areas
an indirect influence of transportation characteristics on the urban pattern.
Accessibility
This raises the perennial question of the private use of the motor vehicle. It is quite clear as Buchanan has said, that we must come to terms with it. Either the urban areas are going to be made wholly accessible to the motor, or partly or not at all.
In the first case the urban area has to be designed for total accessibility and the costs involved would be dis- proportionate to the ability of the res- ponsible authority on the community to accept, and it is doubtful if any old established urban area in any de- veloped country or in many undeve- loped countries is even capable of ac- commodating satisfactorily the num- ber of vehicles that is endeavouring to use it, let alone the increases that will inevitably occur in the future.
Each transport route, of whatever kind, has a certain determinable capa- city for any given acceptable rate of progress: an increase in the capacity results in an unacceptable rate of pro- gress. It is as simple as that and no wishful thinking or optimism will im- prove the situation.
In the second case, partial accessibi- lity would appear to be the most logical, giving the most flexible ar- rangement. But the administrative problems such as the determination and award of access priorities or the tight peripheral control of entry routes are great. Conceive of a situation in which, say, one is allowed to take a car into town for one week in every four or of being stopped on the route
Far East Architect & Builder November, 1966
into town, because it has accepted its full quota of vehicles. These ideas may sound far-fetched, but drastic control measures will have to be adopted if transportation is not kept within the capacity of its routes.
It
Perhaps. therefore, where complete acceptance of the motor vehicle is un- wanted, inappropriate or impossible to achieve, the concept of total non- acceptance is the most attractive. should be explained that reference is only being made to private means of transportation and that the service transport required to maintain the functions of the city or urban areas must be given access, and of course this includes mass transportation sys- tems. In fact a non-private-car-access- city must provide highly efficient economic public transport instead, which includes suburban services to the urban area, as well as a distribu- tion system within it.
Transportation Survey
It may be wondered in the present context why, so far, no mention has been made of the mass transportation survey that is being carried out in Hong Kong at the moment. There is not much to be said until the report is published, except that the consul- tants must have a specially difficult task.
The existing urban pattern is large- ly new, it is of a high density mixed function type, and has been evolved without consideration of the multi- ferous transportation needs that it generates. This gives rise to the de- velopment of ad hoc transportation systems, such as the New Territories "taxi" service and the "pak pai" taxi service to which the authorities turn a blind eye and which create new pro- blems.
Considerable development has been allowed to occur on main traffic routes in recent years, even to the extent of building resettlement estates astride them, denying them their proper func- tion, which means new routes will have to be found for whatever trans- portation systems are proposed; the only possible routes within the urban areas would appear to be underground.
The regional problem is not SO great, and requirements are more pre- dictable, since one is concerned more with mass data that is known and the territory outside the existing urban areas of Victoria and Kowloon is re- latively less developed.
The existing transportation system is mainly decrepit to say the least. The two services in both Victoria and Kowloon, which are not really fulfill- ing the mass transportation require- ment, are using vehicles that are out of date and unsuitable. The tram service in Victoria, which is acting like a continuous slow moving hori- zontal conveyor belt. seriously con- flicts and impedes motor vehicle trans- portation. The motor vehicle, both commercial and private, cannot oper-
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