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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 13 January 1988
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Water Supplies Department and so on. Will the Government set up a department to co-ordinate such applications to ensure that the number of excavations. minimised?
SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS: Sir, the function which Mr. CHAN has just described is performed by the three road-opening co-ordinating committees― one for Hong Kong, one for Kowloon, one for the New Territories-which comprise all the different interested parties in road opening-that is, the public utilities, the Highways Department, other government departments such as Water Supplies Department, the police and on some occasions, Transport. I do not think anything much would be achieved by setting up a special department for this because the road is also part of the highways system; highways maintenance has to be for the purpose of repairing excavations and for other purposes and I do not think it would be efficient to set up a new organisation.
MR. EDWARD Ho: Sir, would the Government inform this Council whether for major traffic routes a study has been made into the feasibility of constructing service tunnels under roadways to minimise road excavation, and, likewise, the construction of removable panels in footpaths to avoid digging up of footpaths?
SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS: Sir, a study was made in the early planning of Tuen Mun New Town as to the possibility of the town being served by common-user ducts, but the utilities which must go under roads are varied and cannot all be put very close to each other, particularly telephone lines and electric cables, and each utility requires a certain amount of room round it to effect repairs. The result is that the duct to cover all utilities must be quite a substantial tube into which workmen can enter. At the time when this was considered for Tuen Mun it was found that this would even in the context of the new town being built on a green field site-add very substantially to the cost of the road and it was for that reason discarded. I feel that it is necessary to look at this one again, particularly in the context of just those roads which Mr. Ho has mentioned those main highways where it is important to keep the traffic going, because, in spite of the expense, the accumulated nuisance over the years. of excavations must have also a very high cost.
HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary for Lands and Works has a very popular subject for the questions this afternoon. I have five Members already down for further supplementaries. Again, I will draw a line at that point. Professor POON.
PROF. POON: Sir, it is not uncommon to find in local highways that roadwork signs are erected only at relatively short distances from the work sites, thus causing potential danger to motorists. Would the Secretary inform this Council if there are any statistics on traffic accidents arising from this source?
SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS: Sir, not that I know of.
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