ENG-2007 — Page 298

246 Transport

O Line. In all, there are 199 000 off-street public parking spaces (excluding those in government car parks).

Road Safety

Traffic accidents involving injury rose by 3.1 per cent in 2007. There were 15 315 traffic accidents, of which 2 376 were serious and 153 fatal accidents. This compares with 14 849 accidents in 2006, of which 2 315 were serious and 135 fatal.

In-depth investigations were carried out at 100 traffic accident blackspots to identify common accident causes. Remedial measures were recommended for 89 of these locations.

To deter red light jumping, the Government has embarked on a project to further expand the red light camera system to facilitate action against offenders. The project provides for 155 road junctions to have red light cameras by 2010. A new law has also been approved to make installation of speed display devices in public light buses a standard requirement. This will go into effect on May 1, 2008. Providing safer seats in newly-registered student service vehicles will also be mandatory from May 1, 2009.

Road safety campaigns, including the promotion of Hong Kong's Road Safety Vision: 'Zero Accidents on the Road, Hong Kong's Goal', and 'Smart Driving with Courtesy', continued to play an important role in the department's publicity strategy. Other road safety publicity and education campaigns, especially on drink driving, safe cycling, safe vehicle reversing and pedestrian safety, have continued.

Public Transport and Environment

Government planning for public transport infrastructure projects is based on sustainable development principles. It strives for the best possible integration of land use, transport and environmental planning. It is also the Government's policy to accord priority to railways which it sees as the backbone of the passenger transport system. Six new railway lines, or extensions of existing lines, were opened between 2002 and 2007, with another two to be opened in the next two years.

Less reliance on road-based transport will alleviate the pressure on transport systems and, in turn, lessen the impact on the environment. At the same time, the rationalisation of bus routes and bus stops and the introduction of pedestrian schemes will continue. These will help reduce the adverse effect of vehicle emissions and noise pollution.

Since late 1998, about 4 200 daily bus trips have been eliminated from the busy traffic corridors of Hong Kong Island's northern shore through service cancellation, frequency reduction, route truncation and route amalgamation. On Nathan Road in Kowloon, about 1 200 daily bus trips have been eliminated since August 2002, enhancing the efficiency of bus operations along that busy road. Bus stops have also been rationalised to reduce the number of stops along busy corridors.

The environmental impact of new transport projects, during both their construction and operation phases, is also carefully monitored. Environmental