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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1977
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL
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THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HAS JUST STARTED A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ON THE REQUIREMENTS FOR TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL ON THE NETWORK OF HIGH GRADE ROADS NOW BEING PLANNED AND CONSTRUCTED IN HONG KONG.
THE STUDY, COSTING $2 MILLION, WILL TAKE ABOUT TWO YEARS TO COMPLETE.
AT THE END OF THE INVESTIGATION, RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE MADE FOR A TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL SYSTEM WHICH AIMS TO IMPROVE SAFETY, EXPEDITE ATTENTION TO ACCIDENTS OR BREAKDOWNS ON THE ROADS, AND MINIMISE DELAYS TO OTHER ROAD USERS.
A FIRM OF CONSULTANTS, MAUNSELL CONSULTANTS ASIA (M.C.A.) HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY THE P.W.D. TO ASSIST THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE IN CARRYING OUT THE STUDY.
AN AGREEMENT WAS FORMALLY SIGNED TODAY AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
MR. J.W. THOMAS, GOVERNMENT HIGHWAY ENGINEER (TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT), SAID THAT A STUDY TEAM, CONSISTING OF TWO ENGINEERS FROM THE TRAFFIC CONTROL AND SURVEILLANCE UNIT OF THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE AND TWO FROM M.C.A., HAD BEEN SET UP.
THE TEAM, HE SAID, WOULD STUDY SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL SYSTEMS ABROAD AND EVALUATE THEIR APPLICABILITY TO HONG KONG.
+APART FROM RECOMMENDING AN APPROPRIATE SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR THE ROAD NETWORK OF HONG KONG, THE TEAM WILL ALSO MAKE PROPOSALS FOR TRAFFIC ENGINEERING STANDARDS,+ MR. THOMAS SAID.
+AMONG THE THINGS TO BE CONSIDERED WILL BE THE PROVISION
OF HARD SHOULDERS, SAFETY BARRIERS AND SIGNS,+
RECOMMENDATIONS WOULD ALSO BE MADE ON METHODS OF PATROLLING AND DEALING WITH BREAKDOWNS AND ACCIDENTS ON HIGH GRADE ROADS.
IN ADDITION, THE STUDY TEAM WOULD INVESTIGATE WHETHER A LINK UP BETWEEN A TRAFFIC SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM AND AREA TRAFFIC CONTROL SCHEME IS DESIRABLE.
AS FAR AS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ANY SURVEILLANCE OF CONTROL SYSTEM RECOMMENDED BY THE STUDY TEAM WAS CONCERNED, MR. THOMAS INDICATED THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY TAKE THREE YEARS FROM THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE A SYSTEM BECAME OPERATIONAL.
+ IT IS MUCH TOO EARLY TO INDICATE THE LIKELY COST OF ANY SYSTEM WHICH MAY BE INSTALLED, BUT IT WOULD BE VERY SMALL COMPARED TO THE COST OF ROAD CONSTRUCTION, +HE SAID.
MR. THOMAS