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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
gramme, although demands were made for this years ago, we are getting more squatters from condemned houses. Our Old Resettlement estates are bursting at their seams, the inhabitants are overcrowded to an intolerable degree. Although anywhere else in the world 35 sq. ft. per person is regarded as minimal we do not regard the inhabitants of our estates as overcrowded until they have less than 16 sq. ft. per person. I wonder why Government does not regard the enormous backlog of resettlement requirements as constituting a state of emergency and requisition the many idle building lots in the city, compensate the owners and build multistory resettlement blocks on these areas? Is it absolutely necessary to have resettlement blocks segregated in Estates? I also think much more serious consideration should be given to admitting that our present seven storey blocks in the old estates are as out of date as were the Bowring Bungalows and in the same way they should be pulled down stage by stage just as the Bungalows were and built up again at 14 or 20 storeys similar to our new blocks and in keeping with the general trend in private building throughout our city. Besides, our old estates are dirty and smelly--the open drains are now known to be a bad feature--the communal toilets are a worse one.
In talking about our old estates I too must touch upon the problems created by the innumerable hawkers who have congregated higgledy-piggledy around and within these estates, each one endeavouring to make a meagre living for himself and his family. We have been much too slow in making organization out of the present chaos and I sincerely hope that properly organized hawker bazaars which will give a fair deal to the hawkers and the residents of these resettlement estates will indeed be implemented this year. The control of Hawkers by the Hawker Control Force has, perhaps fortunately for the hawkers not yet extended to the resettlement estates. This force which should have been an ideal one has unfortunately been ruined in reputation by bad and corrupt members to the extent that many of us here have received petition-like requests from groups of hawkers for its abolition. These licensed hawkers, instead of receiving some measured discipline and considerate and educative help from the Control Force find it is all too often intolerant, unfair and extortionistic. This force must be drastically cleaned up and all corrupt or suspected corrupt members dismissed forthwith and after that I would like to see this force turned out to prevent the unlicensed hawkers as well as controlling the licensed hawkers who already are comparatively law abiding within the restriction of their licences. The general public often tends to group together hawkers so that the licensed hawker is often blamed for the bad behaviour of the unlicensed hawker.
Paragraph 41 of the statement of aims is to me a very important one. To seek to increase and improve the Council's representations in traffic matters. I was pleased with the announcement that a Transport Advisory Committee with a Commissioner for Transport and still better including 4 unofficial members from this Council has been set up to replace the Traffic Advisory and Public Transport Advisory Committees, but I would still have preferred to see this Committee as Transport Advisory Committee and Highway Authority--with the Roads Office and Traffic Control Department under its supervision and control. In spite of having or because of having 4 of our Council members on this New Transport Advisory Committee I hope that you Sir will now permit questions on traffic to be asked in this Council, or if necessary seek official permission for such questions to be allowed. Some 10 years ago, I used to ask questions on traffic in this Council until on the instigation of some of the then appointed members, the then Chairman refused permission to ask such questions on the grounds that we had an official representative on the Traffic Advisory Committee and all questions should be sent to that Committee via our representative. This was an instance of slamming closed a door. When questions were asked publically on some defect or bad risk area usually action was taken promptly to put matters right. When questions were asked via our representative on the Traffic Advisory Committee very little attention was paid to them. The door was closed--there was no longer any bad publicity. Only when questions can be asked publically as at our Council meetings do members of the public get kept informed and in touch with what is an everyday concern to them either as pedestrians or motorists, also the newly formed Committee may be glad to know some of the problems which are being faced by the public as raised in this Council. I wish this new Transport Advisory Committee and especially our four representatives every success, I hope that they will give their early attention to our road conditions. Never, I think even at the height of the London Blitz have such conditions existed as do in Kowloon today. Almost every road seems to be dug up for a never ending length of time. I know this digging is necessary because of the tremendous new development everywhere, but I do deplore the tremendously extended time for which the roads and pavements seem to be dug up, and more important, that so little is done to protect our pedestrians at these dug up sections.
At present, a long section of Nathan Road extending from Dundas Street to beyond Boundary Street is dug up, and in the Mong Kok section it is a duel with death to try to cross the road. School children, blind people and other people have to try to weave and force their way in and out of traffic. Two valiant police women risk being knocked down daily in trying to allow pedestrians to cross at Shantung Street. This road work has to go on for at least 18 months. I cannot understand why no temporary pedestrian bridges have been built to enable people to cross in safety. I consider it is negligent and wicked to expect people to risk their lives in the appalling fashion they are having to do at present on this street and others which are under repair I cite for
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1382
Page 240 of 382
458
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
gramme, although demands were made for this years ago, we are getting more squatters from condemned houses. Our Old Resettlement estates are bursting at their seams, the inhabitants are overcrowded to an intolerable degree. Although anywhere else in the world 35 sq. ft. per person is regarded as minimal we do not regard the inhabitants of our estates as overcrowded until they have less than 16 sq. ft. per person. I wonder why Government does not regard the enormous backlog of resettlement requirements as constituting a state of emergency and requisition the many idle building lots in the city, compensate the owners and build multistory resettlement blocks on these areas? Is it absolutely necessary to have resettlement blocks segregated in Estates? I also think much more serious consideration should be given to admitting that our present seven storey blocks in the old estates are as out of date as were the Bowring Bungalows and in the same way they should be pulled down stage by stage just as the Bungalows were and built up again at 14 or 20 storeys similar to our new blocks and in keeping with the general trend in private building throughout our city. Besides, our old estates are dirty and smelly--the open drains are now known to be a bad feature-the communal toilets are a worse one.
In talking about our old estates I too must touch upon the problems created by the innumerable hawkers who have congregated higgelty- piggelty around and within these estates, each one endeavouring to make a meagre living for himself and his family. We have been much too slow in making organization out of the present chaos and I sincerely hope that properly organized hawker bazaars which will give a fair deal to the hawkers and the residents of these resettlement estates will indeed be implemented this year. The control of Hawkers by the Hawker Control Force has, perhaps fortunately for the hawkers not yet extended to the resettlement estates. This force which should have been an ideal one has unfortunately been ruined in reputation by bad and corrupt members to the extent that many of us here have received petition-like requests from groups of hawkers for its abolition. These licensed haw- kers, instead of receiving some measured discipline and considerate and educative help from the Control Force find it is all too often intolerant, unfair and extortionistic. This force must be drastically cleaned up and all corrupt or suspected corrupt members dismissed forthwith and after that I would like to see this force turned out to prevent the un- licensed hawkers as well as controlling the licensed hawkers who already are comparatively law abiding within the restriction of their licences. The general public often tends to group together hawkers so that the licensed hawker is often blamed for the bad behaviour of the unlicensed hawker.
Paragraph 41 of the statement of aims is to me a very important one. To seek to increase and improve the Council's representations in traffic matters. I was pleased with the announcement that a Transport
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
459
Advisory Committee with a Commissioner for Transport and still better including 4 unofficial members from this Council has been set up to replace the Traffic Advisory and Public Transport Advisory Commit- tees, but I would still have preferred to see this Committee as Transport Advisory Committee and Highway Authority-with the Roads Office and Traffic Control Department under its supervision and control. In spite of having or because of having 4 of our Council members on this New Transport Advisory Committee I hope that you Sir will now permit questions on traffic to be asked in this Council, or if necessary seek official permission for such questions to be allowed. Some 10 years ago, I used to ask questions on traffic in this Council until on the instigation of some of the then appointed members, the then Chairman refused permission to ask such questions on the grounds that we had an official representative on the Traffic Advisory Committee and all questions should be sent to that Committee via our representative. This was an instance of slamming closed a door. When questions were asked publically on some defect or bad risk area usually action was taken promptly to put matters right. When questions were asked via our representative on the Traffic Advisory Committee very little attention was paid to them. The door was closed-there was no longer any bad publicity. Only when questions can be asked publically as at our Council meetings do members of the public get kept informed and in touch with what is an everyday concern to them either as pedestrians or motorists, also the newly formed Committee may be glad to know some of the problems which are being faced by the public as raised in this Council. I wish this new Transport Advisory Committee and especially our four representatives every success, I hope that they will give their early attention to our road conditions. Never, I think even at the height of the London Blitz have such conditions existed as do in Kowloon today. Almost every road seems to be dug up for a never ending length of time. I know this digging is necessary because of the tremendous new development everywhere, but I do deplore the tre- mendously extended time for which the roads and pavements seem to be dug up, and more important, that so little is done to protect our pedestrians at these dug up sections.
At present, a long section of Nathan Road extending from Dundas Street to beyond Boundary Street is dug up, and in the Mong Kok section it is a duel with death to try to cross the road. School children, blind people and other people have to try to weave and force their way in and out of traffic. Two valiant police women risk being knocked down daily in trying to allow pedestrians to cross at Shantung Street. This road work has to go on for at least 18 months. I cannot under- stand why no temporary pedestrian bridges have been built to enable people to cross in safety. I consider it is negligent and wicked to expect people to risk their lives in the appalling fashion they are having to do at present on this street and others which are under repair I cite for
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