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Urban Council or the U.S.D. contemplate to reduce the noise pollution? If the situation is that difficult, does it mean that we will leave the problem alone and allow the people to be affected? What can be done to reduce the nuisance for these people?
CHAIRMAN (in English): Would you like to repeat your answer or would you like to amplify on it in the response to the last supplementary?
Mr. Kenneth Lo (in English): Mr. Chairman, perhaps I would amplify, I certainly cannot hold out any hope of any straight and easy solution. Noise pollution is not something that is easy to control. When you have about 3 dozens radios all blaring out noise it is very difficult to say which particular one is causing the noise, you cannot charge them jointly and so on and it is not going to be easy to control.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I am afraid I am not satisfied with the reply so far, and I do not think the public will be satisfied. My question is that on the beach after 11 p.m., we have a By-law saying that people who cause noise will be prosecuted, have we sent Urban Services staff over to enforce this By-law?
MR. KENNETH Lo (in English): As far as I know, the answer is no.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, why do we not enforce this By-law and allowing people to cause nuisance?
MR. KENNETH Lo (in English): Staff limitation, Mr. Chairman, we will have to redeploy various staff to do this, and it is not just eleven o'clock, it could be two or three o'clock in the morning.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, can we excuse ourselves because of staff limitation, will this be sufficient to reply to all questions?
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese): Please repeat once more.
MR. JOSEPH CHAN (in Cantonese): Can we excuse ourselves due to staff limitation, can you solve all problems by saving that?
MR. KENNETH Lo (in English): No.
MR. HOWARD YOUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, Mr. Lo in his answer admits that the barbecue pits at Repulse Bay are very popular but that he has come to the conclusion that they are in the wrong place. Is he implying that whilst we are going to remove the particular source of complaint, in this instance, he did also mean that we will consider putting in barbecue pits at other beaches where the location is suitable?
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MR. KENNETH LO (in English): Mr. Chairman, I said in my reply that they will be removed and done away with. At present, there is no proposal to site pits anywhere else in the vicinity of beaches.
MISS YEUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I would like to know when these barbecue pits are removed, will there be appropriate public notices informing the public when barbecuing facilities will cease and also warning them not to bring along their own pits.
MR. KENNETH LO (in English): Certainly, suitable publicity will be arranged.
3. MR. SHUM CHOI-SANG asked the following question (in Cantonese): This Council is the authority for designating the names of streets and thoroughfares, what is being done to give a more fitting name to the magnificent harbourside expressway which opened recently under the title of ‘Island Eastern Corridor”?
DR. KIM Y. S. Cham, Chairman of the Administration Select Committee, replied as follows (in Cantonese): This question asks what has been done to give a more fitting name to the new harbourside expressway generally referred to as the 'Island Eastern Corridor'. The Urban Council is indeed the authority for road naming in the urban area. The question of selection of a name for this particular road was the subject of a discussion at yesterday's meeting of the Council's Administration Select Committee and the Committee selected the name 'Island Eastern Corridor'. The reasons for favouring this name were that a large body of opinion was in favour of adopting this name, and the members of the Eastern District Board had not expressed any disagreement to it.
MR. SHUM (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, now we decide to call it Island Eastern Corridor, I want to know that when you discussed this issue, did you consider other alternatives? Another question is that the discussion was held yesterday, but in fact, the name has been used for a very long time, so I hope that when similar cases arise in future, you will select the name at an earlier date.
DR. CHAM (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, yesterday we did consider other alternatives, but after discussion we decided upon this name. As for the second part of the question, about the similar cases arising in future, it is a fact that the naming of roads will be influenced by the habit of the residents, so we have to know the views of the residents before we can decide on the name and then we have to consult the district organizations before we decide on a name and, of course, before we decide we will consider all possible alternatives.
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