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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1989
SCHOOL NOISE ABATEMENT PRIORITIES EXPLAINED TO PARENTS
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PRIORITIES FOR THE NOISE ABATEMENT PROGRAMME ARE GIVEN TO SCHOOLS WORST AFFECTED BY AIRCRAFT AND TRAFFIC NOISE, THE PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION AND MANPOWER, MR CHRIS GODWIN, TOLD A GROUP OF TSUEN WAN SCHOOL PARENTS TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
THE EXPLANATION WAS GIVEN AT A MEETING HELD BETWEEN PARENT REPRESENTATIVES AND OFFICIALS FROM THE EDUCATION AND MANPOWER BRANCHI, THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DEPARTMENT TO DISCUSS THE NOISE PROBLEMS FACED BY THE SCHOOLS LOCATED NEAR ROUTE
5.
IN RESPONSE TO THE POINT THAT THE SCHOOLS WERE AFFECTED BY ROADWORKS CONSTRUCTION NOISE, MR GODWIN SAID HE WAS SYMPATHETIC GIVEN THE SITUATION BUT POINTED OUT THAT THE TSUEN WAN SECTION OF ROUTE 5 WOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
"SINCE NOISE ABATEMENT WORK COULD ONLY BE CARRIED OUT DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAYS, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT TREATMENT OF THESE SCHOOLS CAN BE COMPLETED BY THE TIME THE CONSTRUCTION PROBLEMS HAVE DISAPPEARED, HE SAID.
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"BESIDES, ACTION HAS ALSO BEEN TAKEN BY THE PROJECT MANAGER (TSUEN WAN) TO CONTROL THE LEVEL OF NOISE GENERATED BY THE ROAD WORKS.
MR GODWIN SAID SCHOOLS AFFECTED BY SEVERE AIRCARFT NOISE WERE BEING TREATED UNDER THE NOISE ABATEMENT PROGRAMME AND PLANS WERE IN HAND FOR TREATING 92 SCHOOLS AFFECTED BY TRAFFIC NOISE OF 75 DECIBELS AND ABOVE, STARTING IN SUMMER THIS YEAR.
"AT PRESENT, THE SIX SCHOOLS LOCATED NEAR ROUTE 5 ARE EXPOSED TO TRAFFIC NOISE BETWEEN 62 AND 76 DECIBELS,
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RESPONDING TO THE POINT THAT THE SCHOOLS WOULD BE EXPOSED TO A PROJECTED TRAFFIC NOISE OF 76 DECIBELS IN 1996 AFTER ROUTE 5 WAS FULLY OPERATIVE AND SHOULD THEREFORE MERIT EARLY TREATMENT UNDER THE NOISE ABATEMENT PROGRAMME, MR GODWIN EXPLAINED THAT ABOUT 69 SCHOOLS WERE ALREADY EXPOSED TO TRAFFIC NOISE OF 77 DECIBELS AND ABOVE.
"ADVANCING THE TREATMENT OF THE ROUTE 5 CASES WOULD
BE UNFAIR TO THE 59 SCHOOLS CONCERNED AS TRAFFIC NOISE ALONG ROUTE 5 IS STILL COMPARATIVELY TOLERABLE, HE SAID.
"HOWEVER, THE PRIORITY OF SCHOOLS 15 REASSESSED WHENEVER NECESSARY SO THAT NEW DEVELOPMENTS SUCH AS AN INCREASE IN TRAFFIC NOISE ASSOCIATED WITH THE OPENING OF ROUTE 5 CAN BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AT THE APPROPRIATE STAGE," MR GODWIN ADDED.
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