COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
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Kowloon City Roundabout, the approach roads to the cross-harbour tunnel, and the roads along the north side of Hong Kong Island, all have pedestrian bridges or subways. A start has also been made on an elevated walkway system in the Central District which will eventually cover the whole area from the ferry piers to the business centre.
Proposed Mass Transit Railway
During the early part of the year, a government working group continued its consideration of the Hong Kong Mass Transit Further Studies Final Report and duly presented its findings and recommendations to the Governor in Council.
In early June, it was announced in the Legislative Council that the government had decided after most careful consideration that, if the demand for movement in Hong Kong in the late 1970s and thereafter was to be satisfied, the surface public transport system would need to be augmented, if at all possible, by an underground mass transit railway.
To work out the best methods of resolving the major outstanding problems, namely finance, the letting of contracts and the operation of the system, a small 'steering group' was set up and proposals were invited from interested parties on all aspects of the system. By the end of the year, the 'steering group' had completed its findings and was on the point of presenting its recommendations to the Governor in Council.
In order that no time would be lost, certain essential pre-construction work started in July at a rate of progress that would permit construction to start early in 1974.
The small PWD unit controlling the project was expanded and the consulting engineers were re-appointed to start the final design of Stages 1 and 2 of the system, i.e. a line from Choi Hung, linking the resettlement estates of Wong Tai Sin, Lo Fu Ngam and Shek Kip Mei with the Nathan Road corridor and then running under the harbour to the central business district of Hong Kong to terminate at Western Market. To provide the information necessary for preparing detailed layouts and design, particularly at the large stations, comprehensive land surveys and soils in- vestigations were carried out.
Work continued throughout the year on the examination of all public and private development proposals along the proposed route to ensure that they did not conflict with the construction of the project. Preliminary consideration was also given to the acquisition of land and property required for the project and associated works sites.
In addition, the drafting of legislation commenced as did the co-ordination of the utility services and the public works associated with the project.
Postal Services
There was a slight decline in the total postal traffic handled in 1972 as compared to the trend in previous years. The increase in the minimum local printed paper rate