ENG-1987 — Page 235

TRANSPORT

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18 appointed members, including the chairman and six official members. The Secretary for Transport chairs the Transport Policy Co-ordinating Committee, made up wholly of official members, to oversee the co-ordination and implementation of policies and projects.

The Commissioner for Transport heads the Transport Department, which administers the Road Traffic Ordinance, and other legislation regulating public transport operations other than railways. His responsibilities cover road traffic management, including govern- ment road tunnels, carparks and metered parking spaces, and the regulation of internal road and waterborne public transport. On these matters, he is advised by the Standing Conference on Road Use and the Standing Committee on Waterborne Transport. He is also responsible for the licensing of drivers and the registration, licensing and inspection of vehicles.

The Director of Highways heads the Highways Department. Under the policy direction of the Transport Branch, the Highways Department is responsible for designing and building all highways and roads, and for their repair and maintenance.

The Police Force enforces traffic legislation and prosecutes offenders. However, in April, the Transport Department set up its own Prosecutions Unit, which later in the year took over from the police some of the prosecution duties, namely those involving buses, driving offence points, breach of tunnel regulations and vehicle safety equipment.

A Transport Tribunal, chaired by an appointed member and set up under the Road Traffic Ordinance, provides members of the public with an avenue of appeal against decisions made by the Commissioner for Transport in respect of the registration and licensing of vehicles and the issue of hire-car permits and passenger service licences.

Planning

To improve the long-term transport planning process, the Transport Department is conducting a Second Comprehensive Transport Study to formulate policy options and recommend an implementation programme for the provision of strategic transport facilities in Hong Kong up to the year 2001, taking into account anticipated future travel demands and likely resource constraints. This study is scheduled to be completed in mid-1988.

During the year, studies were carried out on traffic and transport by the Transport and Highways departments and their consultants to assess regional requirements. They included the updating of the Pok Fu Lam Traffic Study, the Western District Traffic Study, the Tsim Sha Tsui Traffic Study and the East Kowloon Joint Traffic Study. The last study also included a preliminary design of the Kwun Tong By-pass and associated traffic management schemes.

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) completed a feasibility study of railway terminal expansion on Hung Hom Bay Reclamation and investigated the financial viability of extending the light rail transit system from north-west New Territories to the metropolitan area. The Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) also investigated a potential MTR extension to Yuen Long.

Work began on the Engineering Feasibility Study of Route 'X', which will link the north-west New Territories with western Kowloon. Detailed planning and design con- tinued on the following projects: the Yuen Long Southern By-pass, the Yuen Long-Tuen Mun Eastern Corridor, the Hiram's Highway Improvement Stage I, the Kwun Tong By-pass Phases II and III. On Hong Kong Island, detailed design was in progress for Victoria Road Improvements, and the Hillside Escalator link between Central and Mid-Levels.