148
TRANSPORT
a new dual carriageway road linking Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin as well as the improvement of Tai Po Road from Tai Wo Ping interchange to Tai Wai. In Sai Kung, the detailed planning for improvement of Hiram's Highway to dual carriageway standard between Clear Water Bay Road and Ho Chung was completed while planning for the remaining section from Ho Chung to Sai Kung was in hand.
Road Links with China
The bridge at Man Kam To is the only road link with China and traffic has been growing rapidly. In the first eight months of 1983, goods vehicle and coach traffic increased by 30 per cent and 15 per cent respectively over the same period in 1982. During 1983, the number of closed road permits for the private cars of businessmen with investments in Shenzhen was increased to 200. Operational issues and measures to maximise the use and efficiency of the existing road link were discussed regularly at the Hong Kong Government's and Shenzhen authorities' Joint Working Group on the Control at Entry/Exit Points.
A Memorandum of Agreement signed in 1982 between the government and the Shenzhen authorities includes the improvement and development of road links with China. The construction of a second bridge at Man Kam To (and expanded immigration and customs facilities) will begin in early 1984 and be completed by mid-1985. The planning and procedures for a bridge at Sha Tau Kok are also under way, and discussions continue about a bridge at Lok Ma Chau following the agreement on a bridge alignment.
Planning for the Future
A series of transport studies was carried out to assess existing and future travel demands, notably covering the northwest and northeast New Territories, Junk Bay, Tsuen Wan, Lantau Island and Ma On Shan. These studies, undertaken by several international consultancies and monitored by the government, are designed to select the best develop- ment options for balanced new townships well provided with industrial, commercial, social, educational and transport facilities. A study of the transportation requirements of Mid-Levels and Central District and a traffic study for North Kowloon was in progress.
The Planning and the Traffic and Transport Survey Divisions of the Transport Department carried out in-house traffic studies and provided economic and statistical surveys. They included a study to forecast public transport demand on Hong K
Kong Island in anticipation of the advent of the Mass Transit Railway Island Line in 1985–6, a comprehensive study of the local ferry operations of the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company, and public transport patronage forecasts for Tuen Mun New Town. A study to integrate buses and the railway along the Kowloon-Canton corridor in the New Territories was in progress.
New Town Development
To ensure that an efficient and integrated public transport network is provided for each of the new towns in the New Territories, comprehensive transport studies are carried out. Most of the new town transport plans reflect the policy objective of economical use of roads, giving priority to the development of off-road systems.
Tsuen Wan's accessibility has been greatly improved since the Mass Transit Railway Tsuen Wan Extension became operational in 1982. The electrified Kowloon-Canton Railway, the first phase of which opened between Kowloon and Sha Tin in 1982, was extended in 1983 to the border at Lo Wu and serves the new towns of Tai Po and Fanling en route. Progress in the planning of the proposed light rail system for the Tuen Mun and