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TUESDAY, JULY 5, 1983
+ROAD PRICING+ SEEN AS MOST EFFECTIVE RESTRAINT
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+AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION, THE GOVERNMENT HAS COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT ROAD PRICING IS POTENTIALLY PERHAPS THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF RESTRAINT YET DEVISED, THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT'S CHIEF ENGINEER (TRAFFIC ENGINEERING/KOWLOON DIVISION) MR PANG HO-CHE SAID TODAY (TUESDAY).
SPEAKING AT THE ROTARY CLUB OF KOWLOON EAST, MR PANG SAID THAT ROAD PRICING WAS GENERALLY LOOKED UPON AS A MORE EQUITABLE RESTRAINT BECAUSE THE RESTRICTION WAS ON USAGE AND NOT ON OWNERSHIP OF VEHICLES.
HE SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT WOULD ONLY DECIDE TO IMPLEMENT THE FULL SCHEME IF THE FINDINGS OF THE TWO-YEAR PILOT STAGE PROVED IT TO BE BOTH PRACTICAL AND BENEFICIAL,
MR PANG OUTLINED THE VARIOUS WAYS IN WHICH GOVERNMENT HANDLED TRAFFIC CONGESTION PROBLEMS. THEY INCLUDE THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE ROAD SYSTEM, THE EXPANSION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND THE MORE ECONOMIC USE OF ROADS.
BETWEEN 1977 AND 1982, A TOTAL OF HK$2 569 MILLION WAS SPENT IN EXPANDING THE ROAD NETWORK, INCREASING THE TOTAL LENGTH OF ROADS IN HONG KONG FROM 1 088 KILOMETRES TO 1 208 KILOMETRES.
THE GOVERNMENT RECENTLY ANNOUNCED ITS INTENTION TO SPEND HK$6 300 MILLION IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS ON MASSIVE ROAD PROJECTS.
+WE MUST ALSO CONSIDER EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM TO CARRY MORE PEOPLE SWIFTLY FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER.
+THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT MEASURES TO EASE TRAFFIC FLOW AT A CERTAIN PROBLEM SPOT IS ALSO A COMMON TECHNIQUE TO HANDLE CONGESTION,+ MR PANG SAID.
FOR EXAMPLE THE CLEARWATER BAY ROAD TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT MEASURE INVOLVED THE DIVERSION OF 13 BUS ROUTES AND THE CLOSURE OF A SECTION OF THE CARRIAGEWAY AT THE JUNCTION OF CLEAR WATER BAY ROAD/LUNG CHEUNG ROAD TO ELIMINATE UNDESIRABLE TRAFFIC CONFLICTS PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED THERE.
+AND FOR THE GREATER BENEFIT OF HONG KONG COMMUTERS, PRIORITY HAS TO BE GIVEN TO PUBLIC TRANSPORT MODES OVER THE PRIVATE ONES. A VARIETY OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT PRIORITY MEASURES HAVE BEEN
THE MOST DEVELOPED AND IMPLEMENTED OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. NOTABLE ONE IS THE KING'S ROAD GYRATORY SYSTEM PROJECT, COSTING A TOTAL OF APPROXIMATELY HK$9 MILLION, MR PANG ADDED.
/THE GOVERNMENT