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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1987
ONB-WAY TOLL FOR LION ROCK TUNNEL TO START NEXT MONDAY
FROM THE EARLY MORNING OF NEXT MONDAY (NOVEMBER 23), NO TOLL WILL BE CHARGED FOR ALL KOWLOON-BOUND VEHICLES USING THE LION ROCK TUNNEL BUT THOSE TRAVELLING TO SHA TIN VIA THE TUNNEL WILL HAVE TO PAY A TOLL OF $8.
ANNOUNCING THIS TODAY (MONDAY), A TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN SAID THE ONE-WAY NO TOLL EXPERIMENT IS SCHEDULED TO LAST FOUR WEEKS, FROM 3 AM NEXT MONDAY TO 3 AM ON DECEMBER 21.
TUNNEL
THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL DECIDED LAST MONTH TO CARRY EXPERIMENT TO ASSESS WHETHER TRAFFIC FLOW THROUGH THE IMPROVED.
UNDER THE SCHEME, SOME OF THE TOLL TUNNEL WILL BE CLOSED AND TRAFFIC WILL BE PORTAL.
OUT THE CAN BE
BOOTHS ON THE
CHANNELLED TO
SOUTHBOUND THE TUNNEL
"THIS WILL REDUCE THE PRESENT MERGING PROBLEM IN THE TUNNEL PLAZA, THEREBY ENSURING SMOOTH TRAFFIC FLOW INTO THE TUNNEL. MOTORISTS ARE ADVISED TO FOLLOW ADVISORY SIGNS PUT UP IN THE PLAZA AREA AS WELL AS ON THE TUNNEL APPROACH ROADS," THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
HE URGED MOTORISTS TO DRIVE WITH CARE ESPECIALLY WHEN ENTERING THE TOLL BOOTHS WHICH WILL NOT BE REMOVED DURING THE EXPERIMENT.
A GOVERNMENT WORKING GROUP COMPRISING REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE TRANSPORT BRANCH, THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT, THE POLICE, THE CONSULTANT STUDYING OPTIONS TO RELIEVE CONGESTION AT THE LION ROCK TUNNEL AND OTHER CONCERNED GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS HAS BEEN SET UP TO MONITOR THE TRAFFIC SITUATION ON THE ROAD NETWORK AFFECTED BY THE EXPERIMENT.
"IF SEVERE TRAFFIC CONGESTION OCCURS, THE EXPERIMENT WILL BE DISCONTINUED AT ANY TIME AND THE PUBLIC WILL BE NOTIFIED THROUGH THE MEDIA," THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT AND THE CONSULTANT WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EXPERIMENT. IT IS EXPECTED THAT PRELIMINARY FINDINGS WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL EARLY NEXT YEAR.
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