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individual housebuilders), it may be worth while for the Government to form and make up the roads and then lease off individual plots at 'developed estate' values. In no case in the future should the Government make miles of expensive hillside roads leading to a single house or to a small group of bungalows by the seashore.
47. Road improvements in a closely built-up area, such as the coastal strip of Hong Kong and the tip of Kowloon Peninsula are not easy to carry out major proposals, indeed, are dependent upon two external changes which it will be assumed are to take place; the removal of the Naval Dockyard in Hong Kong and the alteration to the railway in Kowloon.
48. The urbanised part of Hong Kong consists of one long ribbon through which passes traffic, to and fro; there are insignificant traffic exits at each end-Kennedy Town and Sau Ki Wan and two intermediate exits over the mountain barrier at Garden Road and Stubbs Road (branching as they get higher up). There is a short length on the level, between the Naval Yard and the Barracks where the whole of this urban ebb and flow passes along a single road. If the Naval Yard and Barracks were removed, this bottle-neck could be relieved by duplication: but the solution is not an easy one as the business town centre would wish to extend over any area that is freed and it would not, consequently, be helpful to cut the area up with traffic routes.
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49. In the western and larger urban area what is wanted is to make one of the three longitudinal roads, Connaught, Des Voeux or Queen's, the principal traffic artery. Des Voeux (with its break connected up) would seem the best for this purpose, leaving Connaught for dockside and Queen's for local shopping traffic. But it is of no avail to label
a road traffic artery unless something is done for this purpose; and the only way in which Des Voeux Road can be made to serve as the traffic artery of this part of Hong Kong, is by closing as many as possible of the side roads opening on it, by prescribing a slower speed along Connaught and Queen's Road and introducing further police control.
50. East of the Dockyard, Hennessy Road appears the most suitable for the same function, continuing with a new road across Causeway Bay, to join up with King's Road. It cannot be pretended that these are very remarkable improvements, but it must be remembered that strictly speaking there is no through traffic-it is all engendered within the urban ribbon. The Tunnel entrance (see next section) will certainly concentrate traffic at the centre point, but there will be vacant ground for this to be properly distributed. It is unfortunate that the landward roads on the higher level (e.g. Kennedy Road and Bowen Road) which, with some minor improve- ments, can make excellent and attractive cornice roads continuous from Bonham Road near the University site to Stubbs Road overlooking the Race Course, cannot be of much service as a by-pass for commercial traffic: this cannot be persuaded to mount up the steep roads, at right angles to the contours, to join them, and use the cornice roads.
51. Though the traffic at either end of the urban strip, Kennedy Town and Sau Ki Wan is, as stated, comparatively insignificant, improvements are nevertheless needed. At the west end, if Des Voeux Road is to be the main road, it will require a better connection to the Pok Fu Lam Road: there is also possibility of considerable suburban development at Mount Davis. The country road beyond Shaukiwan will become the main approach to the new developments (see Section 9) at Tai Tam. Steps must be taken
to ensure that no ribbon building continues along this road.
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52. In Kowloon there is much more opportunity for road improvement. The only through traffic of the Colony, which is in this case approach traffic from Canton, is encountered here and this with the Tunnel, will link up with the centre of Hong Kong. Obviously this volume of through traffic, from the centre of Hong Kong to China, should not pour down Nathan Road, wide though it is. Nathan Road, in fact, should perform exactly the function of Des Voeux, Hennessy and King's Roads in Hong Kong, as the central artery of urban traffic; and for this purpose its northern extension should not be Tai Po Road (reserved for main approach traffic) but Cheung Sha Wan Road. This latter and Nathan Road should be given all the same aids to efficiency that have been recommended for Des Vœux Road.
53. For the Canton-Hong Kong traffic a complete by-pass is possible which can be treated as a really modern arterial road (from Tai Po Road near the Service Reservoir to the Tunnel entrance at Tsim Sha Tsui.
54. This can be done by utilising the existing railway line from near the Diocesan Boys' School. There can be few opportunities in any town of comparable size for so magnificent an approach road and there is hardly a single building to be demolished. The southern portion could run parallel to, but at a different level from, Lower Chatham Road (which will be retained for riparian building and also to give access to the reclaimed land in Hung Hom Bay).
55. There is not much road improvement otherwise required in Kowloon, which has a number of excellent wide roads laid out, owing partly to topography, on a free bold pattern. Several important, but minor matters will of course have to be settled e.g. the approach to the new Railway Station; and the best approach to the new satellite north of Kai Tak through the Ma Tau Kok Trading estate (the central Kowloon City Road, or the two bounding roads, Ma Tau Wei or To Kwa Wan Roads). The chief difficulties will be found at the intersections.
56. The large community units (enumerated in Section 2) have been carefully disposed so that in no case are they invaded by any of the existing or proposed main roads: indeed their actual size has in several cases been dictated by the bounding lines of existing main roads. The hilly district east of Ho Mau Tin (the 'A' area of 200 acres) will give an excellent opportunity of showing how it is possible to develop a site, making full use of a detailed geological survey. There is probably a considerable amount
of decomposed granite here, combined with hard rock: a terraced treatment, making full use of the softer rock but not attempting to quarry away the hard (as is being done at Morrison Hill) should produce an interesting and economical result.
57. One of the most important aspects of road planning is the provision of car parks: as the central area is rebuilt car parks should be insisted upon under all new office buildings. The Tunnel entrance would naturally give access to large public car parks at both the Hong Kong and Kowloon entrances these should be operated on the mechanised principle, so as to save space.
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7. THE TUNNEL.
58. A Tunnel from the centre of Hong Kong to the tip of Kowloon is the biggest single town planning and engineering feature for consideration in connection with the development of the Colony. Various opinions have been expressed as to what it would serve, whether for example it would supersede to any great extent the transhipment of cargoes by lighters,
(1) See Sir Alker Tripp's definition.
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