XN000022-1994-01-13 — Page 11

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 1994

USED RIGHT HARBOUR ABOUT 87,000 THOUGH ANY FIGURES (I MUST OUT OF THE IS TO

I'M

THE

THE HONOURABLE MEMBER IS QUITE RIGHT, THOUGH I THINK HE PERHAPS WITH LINEAR RAISES INADVERTENTLY THE PROBLEMS SOMETIMES ASSOCIATED

BUT HE'S PROJECTION, OR WITH ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT EXPONENTIAL GROWTH.

OUR EXISTING RIGHT FIRST OF ALL IN POINTING OUT THE EXTENT TO WHICH

THE CROSS HARBOUR TUNNEL IS CROSS HARBOUR LINKS ARE INADEQUATE. BY ABOUT 180,000 VEHICLES EACH DAY. IT'S OPERATING, I THINK I'M

THE ABOUT 20% SAYING,

CAPACITY. BEYOND ITS IN

EASTERN IS ALSO BEING EXTENSIVELY USED. IT'S USED BY CROSSING VEHICLES A DAY AND THOSE FIGURES WILL INCREASE SLIGHTLY, INCREASE WHEN YOU'RE ALREADY CONGESTED IS SIGNIFICANT. THOSE WILL INCREASE SLIGHTLY BECAUSE OF THE NECESSARY PHASING OUT LEARN HOW TO PUT THIS IN MY EAR) THE NECESSARY PHASING CENTRAL-JORDAN VEHICULAR FERRY SERVICE. THE IMMEDIATE ANSWER COMPLETE THE WESTERN HARBOUR CROSSING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND SURE THAT THAT WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL EFFECT ON THE PRESSURE ON

IF I MAY JUST SAY IN OTHER TWO CROSSINGS, THE OTHER TWO TUNNELS. PARENTHESIS, I RECALL THAT THERE WERE THOSE WHO VIGOROUSLY OPPOSED THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE WESTERN HARBOUR CROSSING, ONE OR TWO OF THEM OF BUILDING STILL AMONG THE RANKS OF THOSE WHO CRITICISE THE AIRPORT AND THE AIRPORT RAILWAY WHICH PERHAPS PUTS THEIR CRITICISM

THE CURRENT

WE'VE ALSO IN ADDITION TO COMPLETING CONTEXT. HARBOUR CROSSING AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, GOT AS WE ARE, GOT TO

IN AS WE'RE DOING, GOT TO TAKE MEASURES TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

TAKEN WE'VE

A NUMBER OF то RELATION

THE EXISTING TUNNELS. BOTH

TRAFFIC LIGHTS WHICH MEASURES SUCH AS THE PROVISION OF MORE LIGHTS,

ONE CAN HAVE MADE A BIT OF AN IMPACT THOUGH THERE'S A LIMIT TO WHAT

NOW IN THE BACK TO EVENINGS GOT THREE FILES OF TRAFFIC MOVING FROM THE ISLAND

THAT KOWLOON WHICH MEANS THAT PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO MOVE MORE RAPIDLY IN

MAKE THOUGH DIRECTION. THOSE ARE ALL LIMITED MEASURES THAT ONE CAN THEY'RE USEFUL.

DO. WE'VE, I THINK, ON THE EASTERN HARBOUR CROSSING,

ARE THE

IN

WESTERN

TAKE,

WHETHER.

WHEN

WE'VE

GOT A THIRD CROSSING,

A

WE'LL REQUIRE FOURTH, I THINK IS DIFFICULT AT THIS MOMENT TO PREDICT, THOUGH PERHAPS THE IT'S NOT TOO SOON TO TRY TO CONSIDER FUTURE TRAFFIC DEMAND ACROSS HARBOUR. I HAVE AN INSTINCT MYSELF THAT THERE DOES COME A POINT WHERE POINT YOU DON'T NEED TO GO ON FASING THE SHOE, THAT THERE DOES COME A

IF WE NEED A FOURTH,

FIFTH, WHERE WE SHOULD HAVE SATISFIED DEMAND. SIXTH CROSS HARBOUR CROSSING, THEN I SUGGEST THAT WE'LL HAVE FAILED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION WHICH I RAISED FARLIER ABOUT CAR OWNERSHIP AND ITS IMPACT

I ON OUR OVERALL ENVIRONMENT. I DON'T THINK, EVEN HONG KONG, THINK CAN GO

WITH ON

MORE AND MORE TRAFFIC DON'T INFRASTRUCTURE WITHOUT PEOPLE ASKING SERIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT HONG KONG WAS MEANT FOR PEOPLE OR FOR CARS.

RELATED WHETHER

CIRCULAR

MR GOVERNOR, NOW WHEN A PASSENGER MR ALFRED TSO (THROUGH INTERPRETER): GOES FROM TSUEN WAN TO THE TUEN MUN HIGHWAY TO THE YUEN LONG

50 MINUTES. IF ROAD TO THE NORTH AND TO THE BORDER, IT TAKES HIM

WE CAN ROUTE THREE IS COMMISSIONED IT WILL ONLY TAKE 15 MINUTES, SO

BUT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SEE THAT ROUTE THREE IS VERY COST-EFFECTIVE. FROM THE PLANNING STAGE UP TO THE TENDERING STAGE, TEN YEARS HAVE BEEN RECENT SPENT AND THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS IN

AND CONGESTIONS

THE YEARS

WESTERN IN

*THINGS SERIOUSLY. OFFICIALS STILL TAKE THINGS EASY AND DO NOT TAKE SO, THERE ARE DELAYS IN THE WHOLE PROCESS. MR GOVERNOR, JUST NOW YOU DECISION MENTIONED THE IMPORTANCE OF ROUTE THREE BUT HOK ABOUT WRONG MAKING,

NT THERE HAVE BEEN

TRAFFIC

ABOUT PODP PERFORMANCE BY OFFICIALS" WILL YOU PUNISH THEM TO IN ENSURE THAT NT RAIL SYSTEM AND ROUTE TURFE CAN GO ON AS SCHEDULED? THIS WAY THE CITIZENS THERE WILL NOT SUFFER FROM CONGESTION WIDER PUBLIC WILL ALSO BE CONVINCED.

AND THE

/GOVERNOR: