COMMUNICATIONS
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The increased traffic volume has led to a considerable expansion of the activities of the traffic engineering section of the Roads Office which is responsible for the planning and design of new roads and improvements to the existing traffic network. Due to the unusually high intensity of development in the urban areas and resulting high land values, it is most important that maximum capacity from the road system within the limited land space avail- able should be secured and, to this end, the application of first- class traffic engineering techniques is necessary. Many schemes for improvements such as one-way street systems, signal installations, improved carriageway markings and other safety devices were considered and implemented.
Preliminary planning and design for two major schemes on the Island was completed. They are the new Waterfront Road linking the Central district with the North Point area and the Garden Road improvements scheme, and a grade-separation scheme for the heavily congested Waterloo Road/Argyle Street/Nairn Road intersection in Kowloon.
The improvement and extension of the public street lighting system continued with the installation of 1,613 new lamps (Island 597, Kowloon 742 and New Territories 274). This included the replacement of 70 gas lamps on the Island and marked the end of their use for illumination on major traffic routes.
The Roads Office operates two quarries producing high quality aggregate for use mostly in road making materials such as con- crete, rolled asphalt and bituminous macadam. The existing quarry on the Mainland has reached the end of its useful life and various sites are being investigated for its possible reprovisioning. The quarry section of the Roads Office continued to deal with dangerous boulders and to advise on private quarries and super- vise quarries let as Roads Office contracts.
CAR PARKS AND METERED ZONES
The two car parks holding 629 vehicles and managed by the Urban Council were increased during the year to six with a capacity for 2,249 vehicles. On the Island the existing multi-storey car parks at the Star Ferry and the City Hall were augmented by