ENG-1975 — Page 192

COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

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single-deck omnibuses, and goods vehicles of unladen weight not exceeding 40 cwt; and $2 for double-deck omnibuses and goods vehicles of unladen weight exceeding 40 cwt. The cross-harbour tunnel, opened in 1972, is a $320 million project operated by the Cross Harbour Tunnel Company in which the government has a 25 per cent interest. In 1975 nearly 15.3 million vehicles used the tunnel, and revenue from toll fees-which vary from $2 to $20-amounted to $94.2 million.

Traffic Congestion

Although road traffic remains heavy at some locations, there has been a general improvement in traffic flows. This has been brought about by the continued decrease in the number of vehicles registered, increased parking charges introduced in October 1974, and the introduction of more traffic management schemes featuring a ban on kerbside stopping during specified hours. A noticeable improvement has resulted from the scheme introduced in January in Central District, where all vehicles except franchised buses and trams are prohibited from stopping along a busy section of Des Voeux Road Central during peak hours. This has led to a general reduction in journey times in the area.

Construction of the mass transit railway will cause road traffic in some areas to be affected by extensive diversions, particularly in the Nathan Road area in Kowloon. Every effort is being made to minimise inconvenience to motorists and people who use public transport.

Parking

Although Hong Kong still has one of the highest traffic densities in the world, the decrease in registered vehicles and more effective parking controls have brought signs of an improvement in the parking problem.

The government provides off-street parking facilities in eight multi-storey car parks-including a new one opened in November at the Hung Hom railway terminus complex-and in three temporary open-air car parks. The multi-storey car parks have a total capacity of 5,568 vehicles, while there are 927 spaces in the temporary car parks. There are plans to build more government car parks. In April, the Transport Department took over management of all government car parks from the Urban Council. With spaces becoming more readily available for short-term parkers follow- the increased charges introduced in October 1974, a review was undertaken in 1975 with a view to introducing a differential rates system according to the demand at each car park location. As a result, on November 30, charges were reduced at certain multi-storey car parks which were being under-used.

There are also off-street parking facilities for 6,000 vehicles in 11 multi-storey car parks operated by private enterprise, and more are either being built or planned. On-street parking spaces are provided where they do not cause traffic obstruc- tion. Where there are limited available spaces and a high demand, spaces are metered to deter long-term parking. There are about 11,000 metered spaces operating from 8 am till midnight and plans are in hand to extend the days of operation to include Sundays and public holidays.