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trouble is in design of the road networks and lack of co-ordination between
We are naturally concerned about congestion on our roads. Part of the
departments involved. For example, on Hong Kong Island, at the bottom of
Cotton Tree Drive, traffic grinds to a halt at peak hours simply because traffic
lanes from all directions meet there. If the H.M.S. Tamar installations had
been moved elsewhere when it was redeveloped or part of the newly built
Far East Finance Centre and Admiralty sites set back, it would still have been
possible to have extra flyovers to ease traffic movement.
At last month's Kowloon City District Board Meeting we were told that in
order to rebuild Princess Margaret Road flyover it was necessary to divert
west-bound traffic for about 2 years via Pui Ching Road into narrow Soares
Avenue with sharp U turns in Argyle Street and uphill to Kadoorie Avenue for
Prince Edward Road. Anyone who knows the area would be horrified at the
tortuous route. The suggestion that widening of Wylie Road giving direct
access more or less on level ground in a straight line to Prince Edward Road
was rejected, on the ground that it involved lengthy negotiations for
resumption of a strip of land bordering Wah Yan College playing fields.
Common sense should prevail. The rebuilding of Princess Margaret Road
flyover was planned many years ago. Was it not possible to co-ordinate the
action?
Singapore, often referred to as our twin city and held as a good example for
Hong Kong to imitate had in operation a far more simple system of charging
a fee for vehicles entering congested city streets at certain times. However,
even this had not been entirely successful. Last November the Singapore
Government was still asking its citizens to give them ideas on how to
discourage the growth of vehicles which were clogging its streets and
overtaking their extensive road building programme. Would it not therefore
have been wiser for Hong Kong to use the $35 million towards completing
our programme of roadworks? Before leaving this subject, I must also voice
my concern that millions of dollars have been spent on feasibilities studies by
consultants which are then subsequently overtaken by still more feasibility
studies, as in the case of the Lei Yue Mun Bridge project. As long as the
airport is not removed, there is no sense in carrying on endless studies on
this project. Surely the money should be channelled into less glamorous but
more practical solutions to relieve our present traffic problems.
With these words, Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.
DR. KIM Y. S. CHAM (in English):--Mr. Chairman,
The Centenary
The past year has been of great significance to the Council. It marked a
century of distinguished service to Hong Kong. As Chairman of the
Centenary Committee, I have much pleasure to report that the celebration
activities were a great success, remarkable for its excellent variety yet made
possible out of
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a modest budget. A special vote of thanks must be conveyed to all those who
have contributed their valuable assistance—and in particular, our staff.
The celebrations started on April 18 with a special meeting in the Council
Chamber, which resolved to commend the zealous efforts of our predecessors
and the Council's contribution to society. The meeting was followed by a
gala show at the City Hall which featured the cultural presentation by the
Council's performing companies. All of us who were present there that
evening would agree that the events were gracefully conducted yet at the
same time enjoyable. To the staff of the Urban Services Department, the
Council presented an extremely entertaining show highlighting Ms. Francis
YIP who fascinated the audience with her charm, wit and artistic talents.
During the year, the Council mounted cleansing exhibitions, cultural and
entertainment performances as well as international sports events. These
presentations drew good attendance as well as wide public acclaim. The
November firework display, generously sponsored, left a lingering imprint on
the memory of all who were there to appreciate the magnificence of the
creative patterns and colors. The Centenary Carnival in December was well
supported by the district boards and by a turnout as big as 55,000, whose
enthusiasm was really festive and overwhelming.
Behind all these spectacular glamours lies the very hard work of all select
committees. Their efforts had blended the normal events of the year with a
special flavour of prominence. For this quality of service, I propose a
special vote of thanks.
We always caution ourselves against lavish spending, although the pleasure
it brought to the massive number of Hong Kong people clearly justifies the
festive celebration. In this connection, the Centenary Committee has
devised ways and means to economize expenditure in its operation.
Moreover, additional revenue was secured during the year, when souvenirs
such as key chains, first day covers, T-shirts and silver medallions were sold
to meet popular demand. With the exception of the silver medallion, the
Centenary Committee had to rush urgent orders on these items to cope with
the impressive volume of sales.
The silver medallion was worth special mention. With a restricted mint
quantity, the issue was over-subscribed. This level of public response might
have been partly induced by the Hang Seng Bank which served as its selling
agent. The Centenary Committee gratefully acknowledged such kindness, to
which I propose a vote of thanks. Balanced against the sale of the silver
medallions and souvenirs, net total expenditure is less than $600,000.
Needless to say, this spending represents good value for money.
Punctuating these colorful events of the year were two contests. One was
the selection of the staff baby born on the evening of the Centenary
celebrations. The other, perhaps more significant was the location of the
oldest person in