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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

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trouble is in design of the road networks and lack of co-ordination between We are naturally concerned about congestion on our roads. Part of the

departments involved. For example, on Hong Kong Island, at the bottom Cotton Tree Drive, traffic grinds to a halt at peak hours simply because traffic lanes from all directions meet there. If the H.M.S. Tamar installations had been moved elsewhere when it was redeveloped or part of the newly built Far East Finance Centre and Admiralty sites set back, it would still have been possible to

have extra flyovers to ease traffic movement.

At last month's Kowloon City District Board Meeting we were told that in order to rebuild Princess Margaret Road flyover it was necessary to divert wes! bound traffic for about 2 years via Pui Ching Road into narrow Soares Avenue with sharp U turns in Argyle Street and uphill to Kadoorie Avenue for Prince Edward Road. Anyone who knows the area would be horrified at the tortuous route. The suggestion that widening of Wylie Road giving direct access more of less on level ground in a straight line to Prince Edward Road was rejected, on the ground that it involved lengthy negotiations for resumption of a strip of land bordering Wah Yan College playing fields. Common sense should prevail. The rebuilding of Princess Margaret Road flyover was planned many years ago. Was it not possible to co-ordinate the action?

Singapore, often referred to as our twin city and held as a good example for Hong Kong to imitate had in operation a far more simple system of charging a fee for vehicles entering congested city streets at certain times. However, even this had not been entirely successful. Last November the Singapore Gover- ment was still asking its citizens to give them ideas on how to discourage the growth of vehicles which were clogging its streets and overtaking their extensive road building programme. Would it not therefore have been wiser for Hong Kong to use the $35 million towards completing our programme of roadworks? Before leaving this subject, I must also voice my concern that millions of dollars have been spent on feasibilities studies by consultants which are then subsequently overtaken by still more feasibility studies, as in the case of the Lye Yue Mun Bridge project. As long as the airport is not removed, there is no sense in carrying on endless studies on this project. Surely the money should be channelled into less glamourous but more practical solutions to relieve our present traffic problems.

With these words, Mr. Chairman, I support the motion.

DR. KIM Y. S. CHAM (in English):--Mr. Chairman,

The Centenary

The past year has been of great significance to the Council. It marked a century of distinguished service to Hong Kong. As Chairman of the Centenary Committee, I have much pleasure to report that the celebration activities were a great success, remarkable for its excellent variety yet made possible out of

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a modest budget. A special vote of thanks must be conveyed to all those who have contributed their valuable assistance-and in particular, our staff.

The celebrations started on April 18 with a special meeting in the Council Chamber, which resolved to commend the zealous efforts of our predecessors and the Council's contribution to society. The meeting was followed by a gala show at the City Hall which featured the cultural presentation by the Council's performing companies. All of us who were present there that evening would agree that the events were gracefully conducted yet at the same time enjoyable. To the staff of the Urban Services Department, the Council presented an extremely entertaining show highlighting Ms. Francis YIP who fascinated the audience with her charm, wit and artistic talents.

During the year, the Council mounted cleansing exhibitions, cultural and entertainment performances as well as international sports events. These presentations drew good attendance as well as wide public acclaim. The November firework display, generously sponsored, left a lingering imprint on the memory of all who were there to appreciate the magnificence of the creative patterns and colors. The Centenary Carnival in December was well supported by the district boards and by a turnout as big as 55 000, whose enthusiasm was really festive and overwhelming.

Behind all these spectacular glamours lies the very hard work of all select committees. Their efforts had blended the normal events of the year with a special flavour of prominence. For this quality of service, I propose a special vote of thanks.

We always caution ourselves against lavish spending, although the pleasure it brought to the massive number of Hong Kong people clearly justifies the festive celebration. In this connection, the Centenary Committee has devised ways and means to economize expenditure in its operation. Moreover, additional revenue was secured during the year, when souveniors such as key chains, first day covers, T-shirts and silver medallions were sold to meet popular demand. With the exception of the silver medallion, the Centenary Committee had to rush urgent orders on these items to cope with the impressive volume of sales.

The silver medallion was worth special mention. With a restricted mint quantity, the issue was over subscribed. This level of public response might have been partly induced by the Hang Seng Bank which served as its selling agent. The Centenary Committee gratefully acknowledged such kindness, to which I propose a vote of thanks. Balanced against the sale of the silver medallions and souveniors, net total expenditure is less than $600,000. Needless to say, this spending represents good value for money.

Punctuating these colorful events of the year were two contests. One was the selection of the staff baby born on the evening of the Centenary celebrations. The other, perhaps more significant was the location of the oldest person in