ENG-1987 — Page 239

TRANSPORT

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initial drop of 15 per cent in the number of vehicles using the tunnel, but the figure rose to 115 000 per day by the end of 1987.

Construction work was being carried out on three new tunnels. One tunnel - the Eastern Harbour Crossing, is a commercial venture undertaken by the New Hong Kong Tunnel Company, an international consortium formed specially for the project. It will link Quarry Bay on Hong Kong Island and Cha Kwo Ling in Kowloon by means of an immersed twin-tube crossing incorporating both road and rail (MTR) links. The other road tunnels being built by the government are the Shing Mun Tunnel (formerly known as Route 5 Tunnel), linking Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan, and the Junk Bay Tunnel from Kwun Tong to Junk Bay New Town. All three are scheduled for completion by 1990. In April, the government decided that the Tate's Cairn Tunnel, linking Diamond Hill in Kowloon to Sha Tin in the New Territories, should be built and managed by the commercial sector. When completed in 1992, this tunnel will greatly ease the congestion in the Lion Rock Tunnel.

Traffic Management and Control

On Hong Kong Island, short term traffic management measures were implemented in connection with the upgraded Connaught Road project. In Kowloon, the traffic diversion scheme for the reconstruction of the Princess Margaret Road Flyover worked satis- factorily. To prevent congestion on Ngau Tau Kok Road, public light buses were re-routed to side streets for picking up and setting down passengers. At the New Territories approach to the Lion Rock Tunnel, a 670-metre-long bus-only lane was introduced from Hung Mui Kuk Interchange to the toll plaza southbound resulting in time savings for bus passengers during the morning peak period.

About 690 sets of traffic light signals were in operation in the territory. These included about 240 sets in Kowloon and 90 sets on Hong Kong Island under centralised computer control. Work was being carried out on the expansion of the existing computerised Kowloon Area Traffic Control System into Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong. The system is scheduled to be commissioned in 1989. A contract was awarded in late 1986 for the expansion of the West Kowloon Closed Circuit Television System from 10 camera sites to 24 by 1988. Work was progressing on the installation of a new computer system for the Hong Kong Island Final Area Traffic Control System. When completed, it will be able to provide traffic control to about 170 sets of traffic light signals extending from Kennedy Town to Shau Kei Wan.

Private Car Restraint Measures

Private car licence fees were increased to keep pace with general inflation and to maintain the restraining effect on car ownership. There were no increases in tolls or passage tax at any of the road tunnels during 1987. Despite decreases in the number of private cars licensed since 1982, from about 190 000 to about 146 000 by the end of 1987, the number of other classes of vehicle has increased so that the total number of vehicles remained stable at 270 000.

Parking

During the year, 11 multi-storey carparks, providing 7 112 parking spaces, were being managed on the government's behalf by a private company, while four open-air carparks comprising 520 car and lorry parking spaces and 24 motorcycle spaces were being operated by the Transport Department. Other off-street public parking is provided by the Civil