XN000022-1982-03-25 — Page 7

THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1982

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CURB VEHICLE GROWTH CALL

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THE HON STEPHEN CHEONG TODAY URGED THE GOVERNMENT TO CONTAIN THE GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ON THE ROADS.

GREAT STRIDES HAD BEEN MADE TOWARDS ACHIEVING EFFICIENT AND RAPID MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE AND GOODS THROUGHOUT HONG KONG BY AN INTEGRATED NETWORK OF HIGHWAYS, RAILWAYS AND THE UNDERGROUND RAIL SYSTEM, HE NOTED, BUT ARE WE AS SATISFIED AS WE SHOULD BE WITH THE PRÉSENT STATE OF SURFACE TRANSPORT AND TRAFFIC?+

+ARE WE SATISFIED THAT AFTER SPENDING SOMETHING LIKE $10 BILLION ON THE MTR MODIFIED INITIAL SYSTEM AND THE TSUEN WAN EXTENSION WITH A VIEW TO RELIEVING CONGESTION ON OUR URBAN ROAD SYSTEM, WE STILL NEED TO SPEND BETWEEN $1 BILLION AND $2 BILLION EVERY YEAR ON THE HIGHWAYS PROGRAMME?+ HE ASKED.

MR CHEONG SAID HE REALISED THAT A GOOD PART OF THIS EXPENDITURE WAS TO PROVIDE ROADS TO OPEN UP NEW AREAS FOR DEVELOPMENT. AND A GOOD PART OF THIS EXPENDITURE WAS ALSO ALLOCATED FOR WORKS THAT WOULD IMPROVE THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC ON THE ROAD SYSTEM AS IT EXISTS AND TO ENABLE IT TO ACCOMMODATE THE RAPIDLY INCREASING VOLUME OF TRAFFIC.

+THE QUESTION IS WHETHER SIMPLY BY ALLOCATING AN INCREASING AMOUNT OF OUR RESOURCES ON SUCH ROAD IMPROVEMENTS WOULD PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO OUR CONGESTION PROBLEMS,+ HE SAID.

POINTING OUT THAT SPACE IS +RARE LUXURY+ IN HONG KONG, MR CHEONG WARNED THAT IF THE CURRENT GROWTH OF VEHICLES AT MORE THAN 30 000 ANNUALLY IS NOT CONTAINED, CONGESTION ON OUR ROADS WILL SURELY WORSEN.

+ IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THERE MUST BE A LIMIT TO WHICH WE COULD AND SHOULD MAKE FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS TO CATER FOR A GROWING VOLUME OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC, AND THAT OTHER PERHAPS MORE DRASTIC MEASURES SHOULD BE INTRODUCED.

+ IT MAY WELL BE THAT WE SHOULD SEEK TO CONTAIN, RATHER THAN TO ACCOMMODATE, THE GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC,+ HE SAID.

MR CHEONG ALSO URGED THE GOVERNMENT TO FURTHER IMPROVE HONG KONG'S TRANSPORT LINKS WITH THE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE IN SHENZHEN.

HE FELT THAT THE RAPID GROWTH OF OUR TRADE WITH CHINA IN RECENT YEARS HAD ALREADY EXERTED CONSIDERABLE STRAIN ON OUR TRANSPORT LINKS WITH CHINA.

THE INDUSTRIAL