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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Plans to re-order hawkers in the Southern District of Hong Kong island will resite hawkers from Aberdeen into the new Tin Wan and Yue Kwong Road Markets, due to be completed in May/June this year. It is estimated that 742 hawkers in this district will be involved in the re-ordering exercise. Public reaction to the re-ordering exercise has so far been favourable. In the re-ordered areas, there is generally a cleaner environment, freer traffic and pedestrian flow and better control over hawking activities. The re-ordered hawkers receive a licence which removes their former fear of prosecution for hawking without a licence and the process also puts them in the pipeline for eventual accommodation off-road in a new market. Re-ordering of on-road hawkers is of course a temporary measure until the market reconstruction programme gets into its stride. A major effect of re-ordering is that sites are allocated by ballot, thus removing the opportunity for strong-arm men to attempt to extort money from hawkers in return for putting them into profitable sites.

(Mr. Edmund W. H. CHOW arrived during Mr. SHUM Choi-sang's address.)

MRS. HO (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, judging by the answer given by Mr. SHUM, there are 6 243 fixed pitches for Phase I and Phase II and we have cancelled 2 174 itinerant hawker licences. So, does it mean that we have a net gain of 4 069?

MR. SHUM (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, most of these licences were given to those who used to trade in the areas concerned. So, it doesn't necessarily mean that there are more pitches than there used to be because some hawkers are claiming that they were not there when we carried out the survey. So, it all depends on how many of those claiming that they were there before the survey are confirmed and of course we have also cancelled some doubled up pitches as well. So, I hope there will be enough pitches for the hawkers who claim to be there before the survey.

2. MR. HOWARD H. W. YOUNG asked the following question (in English): – What is the present stage of development of the Science Museum?

MRS. GRACE HO, CHAIRMAN OF THE MUSEUMS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question concerns the development of the Science Museum.

The Science Museum project, which will be financed by the Government, was included in the Public Works Programme in early 1980. A site on Chatham Road East has been reserved for it.

The project is a major one and is likely to take about five years to complete. In view of our young population and the educational as well as the recrea- tional value of such a facility, the Council has decided to construct a

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temporary museum to be accommodated in a two-storey building with a usable area of 2000 square metres on the Chatham Road East site.

The Public Works Department is preparing detailed plans for this building which will eventually form part of the permanent museum complex. This initial development is expected to be completed in 1983.

MR. YOUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, will the construction of a tem- porary museum on the same site that has been reserved for a permanent museum in anyway impede the development of the permanent museum in the long run?

MRS. Ho (in English):-Mr. Chairman, it will not, because this temporary museum will form part of the integral part of the complex and will probably be used for store-room or for ancillary facilities.

3. MR. SHUM CHOI-SANG asked the following question (in Cantonese):- What further mechanization is being considered by the Council for Street cleaning and refuse collection?

DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):-This question concerns the Council's plans for further mechanization of street cleaning and refuse collection services.

As regards street cleansing, the Council already has a fleet of 33 mechanical road sweepers which regularly cleanse flyovers and major roads, where it would be dangerous and slow to employ beat-sweepers. The possibility of expanding this service to cover other types of streets is limited because of the narrowness of many roads and their steepness, traffic congestion, on- street parking and other obstructions of various kinds. The use of mechanical road sweepers is therefore generally confined to elevated roads and dual carriageways. The Council has explored introducing an alternate-day parking system whereby parking in certain roads would be prohibited on alternate days in order to allow for mechanical sweeping. However, this proposal would create considerable practical difficulties and is not supported by the Transport Department and the Police. It has therefore been dropped.

Consideration has also been given to the possibility of using small suction sweepers to clean pavements, promenades and inner-city roads in selected areas with the aim of reducing labour costs. However, this is still at an early stage of consideration.

As regards refuse collection, the Council has 278 refuse collection vehicles on its establishment, and this is sufficient to cover all premises which have vehicular access. Some of the vehicles are fitted with mechanical equipment for lifting refuse bins. The Urban Services Department is currently carrying