XN000022-1997-01-29 — Page 39

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Reply:

Mr President,

We do have plans to widen to dual-2 lane standard Castle Peak Road between Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun in stages. Work on some sections has already been completed. Plans are being drawn up to widen the sections from Sham Tseng - Tsuen Wan Area 2, from Ka Loon Tsuen - Sham Tseng, from So Kwun Tan - Siu Lam, and from Siu Lam to Ka Loon Tsuen.

The widening of Castle Peak Road improvement is aimed at coping with traffic demand resulting from developments on both sides of the Road. Where possible in our design, we should provide space for lay-bys. However, given the primary function of Castle Peak Road as a busy transport artery between Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan, the hilly topography and severe site constraints, there are limitations to the provision of purpose-built lay-bys en-route to allow the drivers to stop and park their vehicles.

Mr President, the Government is well aware of community interest in viewing the spectacular Tsing Ma Bridge, which is going to be a new landmark for Hong Kong. In the proposed widening of Castle Peak Road between Ka Loon Tsuen and Area 2 of Tsuen Wan near Bayview Garden, we will take the opportunity to expand the lay-by facilities and to provide more parking areas along the road, wherever possible. 8 new lay-bys each of 30 metres long can be provided along this section. These extended lay-bys can cater for both buses and coaches for boarding and alighting of visitors. We will also consider in our feasibility studies to provide more parking areas by making use of some of the discarded carriageways after the road has been realigned.

As regards viewing the Tsing Ma Bridge, the best location is at the Airport Core Project Exhibition Centre at Ting Kau and also at north-west Tsing Yi, where a purpose-built viewing platform with over 100 parking spaces for coaches, private cars and motorcycles will be provided. This new strategic viewing facility is scheduled for commissioning in May. We are confident that it will become a major tourist attraction, for both local and overseas visitors. In addition, we are considering the possibility of widening the north-west Tsing Yi Island site further, so that it will, in the longer term, become the tourist centre for looking at the Tsing Ma Bridge.

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