Gridlock in Central will grow, say experts
New projects will lead to more people, pollution and traffic
Andy Cheng
19 June 2005
South China Morning Post

Parts of Central district face traffic gridlock and choking pollution from a surge in population due to a raft of major residential and tourist developments in the pipeline, experts have warned.

They said it was up to transport officials to come up with plans to deal with the problem before approving new projects.

District councillors, residents and transport experts agree that traffic jams on roads in Central will become worse in coming years.

They expect Hollywood Road, Wellington Street and Aberdeen Street to be the hardest hit.

The 35-storey, 162-bed Lan Kwai Fong Hotel in Aberdeen Street will open at the end of this year, while Kom Tong Hall near Staunton Street, which houses the Sun Yat-sen Museum, will open late next year.

Central and Western District Councillor Kam Nai-wai expects the museum will attract many tourists, particularly in the first few months after it opens. He said the government had not told the council of any traffic contingency plan.

"The one that will be most affected will be Hollywood Road, which is already very congested all the time. Wellington Street is another," said Mr Kam, who has lived in Central for 44 years.

He said potential traffic problems caused by the developments would be discussed at council meetings.

He also questioned the government's planned urban renewals in Staunton and Graham streets.

"Urban renewal is supposed to improve locals' quality of life. But in the case of Central, where all the developments are crowded together, the renewal seems to lower quality of life for the residents," he said, citing traffic jams.

The renewals will start before or in 2007 with the demolition of 45 dilapidated buildings in Staunton Street and 40 in Graham Street.

Hung Wing-tat, a transport expert from Polytechnic University, warned that the traffic congestion created by the projects could hurt later developments. "The Transport Department will have to take into account any traffic problems created by the developments before approving new projects, including urban renewals."

He said solutions included limiting the number of car parks and street parking spaces in Central, and building escalators linking the area to the nearby Sheung Wan MTR station.

"But Central is the main business area and car parks are needed because big bosses are not going to take public transport," he added.

Long-time resident Roger Ho Yao-sheng believed the district's recent developments would "paralyse" local traffic.

Major Central roads were now more congested than ever and he attributed this to the increase in the number of residential buildings in nearby Caine and Bonham roads.

"It takes me 25 minutes for a minibus trip from Caine Road to Admiralty on normal days. The trip should take about 10 minutes if there is no congestion," he said, adding that the air quality in Central was poor.

The Transport Department said it was too busy with meetings to comment.

Meanwhile, Mr Kam said the Central and Western District Council, along with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Conservancy Association, were gauging public opinion on the future of the former Central police station in Hollywood Road.

He said their position paper, which was earmarked for submission to the government, would be made public next month.

Yikes! Traffic's bad enough there already.

September 1, 2005
Government Press Release
Time to act on the 'missing link'

http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/infrastructureandlogistics/050901/features/html/050901p037jpg.jpg

Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works Thomas Chow does not need a crystal ball to see the daily traffic jams in Central.

"Traffic congestion along the Connaught Road Central-Harcourt Road-Gloucester Road corridor is not something that we forecast will happen many years from now," Mr Chow said. "The problem is already here for all to see. There is a present and compelling need to ease the congestion, and that means building the Central-Wan Chai Bypass."

Immediate problem

"At present, from Sheung Wan on the west of Hong Kong Island, you can travel by car all the way up to the Rumsey Street Flyover. From there on, you have to hit the ground again. You have to travel on Connaught Road Central and then Harcourt Road and Gloucestor Road in order to get to the other side of the island," Mr Chow said.

"Anybody in Hong Kong can see that this corridor is very, very busy. And it is busy at present. We're not talking about expecting congestion in many years from now ! We are talking about congestion right now."

Mr Chow said every conceivable alternative has been investigated and many traffic management measures have already been implemented; yet the need for the bypass remains.

"It is important that the community understand why the various additional traffic management measures that have been proposed, even if implemented, are unable to replace the bypass to resolve the traffic congestion problem."

Alternatives fully explored

Electronic road pricing (ERP) is one such measure. The Transport Department is conducting a feasibility study of ERP and Mr Chow does not dispute that such an option could bring benefits. But it also brings with it a classic 'Catch 22' situation.

"As far as we can see, as in the case of London and Singapore where ERP or congestion charges are imposed, the implementation would require the presence of an alternative route first, and therefore we need the bypass. Just imagine if we introduced ERP on vehicles travelling along this corridor. What it would mean is that if you wanted to go from Sheung Wan to Chai Wan, you would have to pay, because there is no alternative route and that would be unfair to motorists - those who simply wanted to get from one side of the island to the other. The bypass is a prerequisite for the introduction of ERP in Hong Kong."

Mr Chow said another common suggestion is the removal of more buses from the Connaught Road corridor. But most franchised buses run along Des Voeux Road Central instead of the corridor.

"There are a few bus stops along Connaught Road and Harcourt Road, and there are not many franchised buses relative to the number using Des Voeux Road. And since 1999, we have already reduced the number of bus trips going through Central by more than 15%," he said.

"Some have also suggested that we restrict even more the loading and unloading activities along the corridor, but at present, only franchised buses can stop on the corridor. So there isn't much more we can do."

The proposed extension of the MTR to Kennedy Town similarly may reduce traffic congestion on the corridor slightly, but its effect on the highly congested Central-Wan Chai areas would be minimal.

"Some people who are at present using franchised buses or public light buses to commute from Kennedy Town and the Belcher's, for instance, would be attracted to the rail. But the fact is that at present very few buses use the corridor; they use Des Voeux Road Central. So even if we had a diversion of passengers from buses and public minibuses to the West Island Line, Des Voeux Road Central would be less congested, but the benefits to the Connaught Road-Harcourt Road corridor would be minimal," Mr Chow said.

"In fact, we factored in the West Island Line in assessing whether the bypass was justified."

Tax hikes not viable

The fact that around 90% of passenger trips in Hong Kong are made via public transport means that hitting motorists' pockets will have little effect on reducing traffic.

Mr Chow said motorists' annual licence fees and first registration tax are already extremely high, so raising them further is not a viable option. Even if taxes are raised the small number of motorists on Hong Kong's roads will probably be prepared to pay more.

The Expert Panel Forum on Sustainable Transport Planning & the Central-Wan Chai Bypass meets on September 3, and Mr Chow is hopeful a broad consensus can be reached. The forum has been organised by the Sub-committee on the Wan Chai Development Phase II Review of the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee. The forum will take into account the submissions received from a cross-section of the community.

"The bypass has been discussed in the community for months and the HEC has done a lot of work in involving the public in the discussion. So far the discussions held by the Wan Chai Development Phase II Review Sub-committee have been focusing on many different factors," Mr Chow said.

"The transport case for the bypass is only one of them, so this forthcoming expert panel meeting hopefully will help to generate a broad consensus on the transport case for building the bypass."

He said the case for the Central-Wan Chai Bypass was clear to the Government and it treasured the opportunity to share these views with the expert panel and the public.

The bypass is the only missing link in a strategic highway running along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. It will connect the existing flyover near Rumsey Street in Central to the existing Island Eastern Corridor. This means that once completed, vehicles will travel from Chai Wan all the way through to Tuen Mun or the Hong Kong International Airport without having to pass through busy Wan Chai and Central.

"The Government's original idea was to build the bypass largely in the form of a tunnel except the exits and entrances and except for the link with the Island Eastern Corridor, so the land above the tunnel can be put to very effective use. We can use the land to create something and return it to the people and to make use of the opportunity to improve public access to the harbour-front. This would be further reviewed through the public engagement of the HEC."

Mr Chow said the land reclaimed for the bypass could be turned into a vibrant meeting place where people could gather, dine and enjoy the spectacular harbour view.

Economic, environmental benefits

As well as relieving traffic congestion, the bypass plan will also provide a number of other benefits. Among them are the economic spin-offs, both macro and micro. The Government estimates the economic internal rate of return from the bypass at about 28% over a 40-year lifespan.

With the bypass, motorists will spend less time on the roads. And, Mr Chow stresses, without the bypass, the reverse would be true.

"At present during rush hour, it takes about 15 minutes to go from Rumsey Street to Causeway Bay, but if we don't have the bypass by the year 2012, we are looking at about 45 minutes."

Less time on the roads means less money spent on fuel, which eventually will be more environmentally friendly.

"If you have to stop and go, you consume a lot of gas and the vehicles would also produce more air pollutants and of course this is detrimental to the health of the public," Mr Chow said.

"And the other thing is noise. If you have too many vehicles packing together and there is a small traffic accident it will be very noisy because people will blast their horns and so on. This section of the road is already pretty packed and even if there's just one car breaking down, it can create gridlocks miles away from this corridor."

Mr Chow hopes the comprehensive public engagement exercise over the past few months has dispelled most of the misunderstandings about the construction of the bypass. For instance, some in the community argued the bypass could be built on existing land, without the need for further reclamation, but of course all existing land is already in use.

Another misconception is that a tunnel could be built all the way from Rumsey Street to the Island Eastern Corridor.

"But the fact is that the road has to come up somewhere to link up with the IEC, so we will need at least some reclamation to build that link from the bypass to the IEC," Mr Chow said.

"Another thing is that for the bypass to be effective, we have to provide some exits and entrances in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai. Otherwise people travelling along the Eastern Shore will continue to use the corridor."

Community objective

Mr Chow said if there was no practical zero-reclamation option, it was a matter for how best to minimise the amount of land needed for reclamation and how best to utilise that land.

"Of course, if there was a brilliant idea that involved no reclamation, we would more than welcome it," he said. "We share the same objective as the community, which is to reduce the area of reclamation as far as possible. That is our objective and we are going to do it."

He said the Government has given a firm commitment that apart from the current Central-Wan Chai reclamation and the Southeast Kowloon Development there will be no further reclamation within Victoria Harbour. He said the Government will adhere strictly to the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance and the "overriding public need" test established by the Court of Final Appeal on January 9, 2004.

Mr Chow said the HEC will continue with the realisation stage of the public engagement process. The public will be presented with a number of concept plans that reflect their input at the current stage for an informed evaluation.

It is hoped to have a revised Outline Zoning Plan by next year, detailing the alignment of the bypass following a decision on its design. Then the five- to six-year construction of the bypass can start in 2007.

Mr Chow said the sooner building works begin, the better, because congestion will get worse. "This is the last part of a strategic road. We have to complete it."

Information relating to the Expert Panel Forum and all the submissions have been uploaded onto the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee website : http://www.harbourfront.org.hk/

It's very interesting to hear from both sides of the argument, but I'm still siding with the government...

In short, the world moves forward everyday... the new developments around Central are improving Hong Kong, and the bypass is improving traffic... I don't understand why those people are so against it...

Besides, everyone walks in HK! so what if there're more hotels and museums? If anything the convenient location in Central would mean less tour buses and cars coz everyone can walk/take MTR!

It's very interesting to hear from both sides of the argument, but I'm still siding with the government...

In short, the world moves forward everyday... the new developments around Central are improving Hong Kong, and the bypass is improving traffic... I don't understand why those people are so against it...

Besides, everyone walks in HK! so what if there're more hotels and museums? If anything the convenient location in Central would mean less tour buses and cars coz everyone can walk/take MTR!

As if the MTR isnt already crowded between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui.

For the "missing link" i thought they were NOT going to reclaim east of the Convention Centre. If so, just the link between the central reclamation and the convention centre would be filled....

what's happening now?

Looking at this map, I wonder where there's actually room to reclaim east of Central.

http://www.hplb.gov.hk/eng/new/images/reclaim.jpg

If SPH's doomsday scenario does come true, HK would be one crowded harbour.

Wayyyy too many reclamation.

all that proposed reclamation has been halted--


ONLY reclamation considered is wanchai phase II...

:)

LCQ20: Traffic congestion in the urban areas
Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (December 12):

Question:

It has been reported that the car journey speed in the urban areas of Hong Kong had continued to slow down over the past four years from an average of 24.9 kilometres per hour (km/h) in 2002 to only 24 km/h last year, reflecting that the problem of traffic congestion in Hong Kong had worsened. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the traffic congestion data for the major trunk roads in the urban areas (e.g. Nathan Road, Princess Margaret Road, Gloucester Road, Hennessy Road, Des Voeux Road Central, Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road, Queen's Road Central and the Eastern Corridor,etc.) during peak hours and off-peak hours in the past four years;

(b) of the reasons for the worsening traffic congestion in the urban areas, and whether any improvement measures have been formulated to address the problem; if so, of the progress; and

(c) whether the worsening traffic congestion in the urban areas has affected the car journey speed in the three road-harbour crossings; if so, how the crossings have been affected and of the authorities' strategies to address the problem; if not, whether the authorities have analysed why those crossings have not been affected?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) Transport Department (TD)'s survey on vehicle speed shows that there is a trend of reduced vehicle speed on some roads in the urban areas during the morning peak hours. Comparing the 2002 and 2006 situations, between 8:00 am to 9:30 am, vehicle speed of the major roads approaching the business district in Central such as Gloucester Road, Harcourt Road, Hennessy Road and Queen's Road Central approaching Central has reduced by 10%, 4%, 8% and 37% respectively. In the same period, vehicle speed of Princess Margaret Road approaching Tsim Sha Tsui and the Cross-Harbour Tunnel has reduced by 57%. The actual figures on vehicle speed are as follows –

Road Average Vehicle Speed Reduction
in the Morning Peak Hours Rate
(km/hour)
2002 2006
Gloucester Road
(approaching Central) 27.1 24.5 -9.6%

Harcourt Road
(approaching Central) 36.3 34.7 -4.4%

Hennessy Road
(approaching Central) 17.3 16.0 -7.6%

Queen's Road Central
(approaching Central) 23.3 14.6 -37.0%

Princess Margaret Road 20.7 8.9 -57.0%
(approaching Tsim Sha Tsui
and Cross-Harbour Tunnel)

We cannot provide vehicle speed data during off-peak hours because TD does not conduct separate surveys for this.

(b) The decrease in vehicle speed in some roads in the urban areas in 2006,as compared to that in 2002, is probably due to more journeys to and from urban areas made in tandem with the economic upturn in recent years. We have been taking measures on various fronts to improve traffic conditions in urban areas –

(i) We will continue to promote the use of mass transit systems. Railway is the backbone of our public passenger transport system and we are expanding the major railway projects. Among them, the Kowloon Southern Link which links the Nam Cheong Station of the West Rail Line and the East Tsim Sha Tsui Station of the East Rail Line is expected to commence operation by end 2009 to improve the rail link between the New Territories and urban areas. As for the West Island Line, we are now seeking funding from the Council for the detailed design. This railway proposal has also been gazetted for public consultation. In addition, the planning work for South Island Line and Shatin to Central Link is also in progress. With the implementation and completion of these railway projects, road congestion will be significantly relieved.

(ii) On bus services, TD, in collaboration with the franchised bus operators, has rationalised bus routes, particularly those routes with low utilisation rates and operating along busy roads in the urban areas, so as to enhance the efficiency of the bus service network and alleviate traffic congestion. Since 1999 and up to 2006, through TD's bus route rationalisation including frequency adjustments, daily bus trips going in and out of Central had been reduced by over 2,800 trips (about 18%). Bus trips via Yee Wo Street at Causeway Bay had been reduced by 1,900 trips (about 22%), and those via Nathan Road had been reduced by 1,100 trips (about 7%).

(iii) We will continue to plan for the implementation of major road facilities, including the Road P2, Central-Wanchai Bypass, Central Kowloon Route, etc. with a view to further improving the traffic conditions in busy areas. These road projects are in pressing need and have gone through rounds of consultation and examination. We hope that the planning work, as well as the statutory and funding process, can be completed as soon as possible for the early commencement of the road construction. If the Central-Wan Chai Bypass is not in place by 2016, vehicular traffic along the existing Connaught Road Central/Harcourt Road/Gloucester Road corridor would exceed its capacity by about 30%. During peak hours, the vehicle journey time from Rumsey Street to Causeway Bay would sharply increase from 15 to about 45 minutes. Regarding the Central Kowloon Route, as most of the existing east-west trunk roads in Central Kowloon are saturated during peak hours, if the Central Kowloon Route is not in place by 2016, traffic flow at Lung Cheung Road, Boundary Street, Prince Edward Road, Argyle Street, Waterloo Road, Gascoign Road Flyover and Chatham Road North, etc. would exceed their capacities by about 30%.

(iv) Regarding daily traffic management, TD monitors traffic conditions across the territory on a continual basis, and reviews traffic situations at major roads from time to time. Moreover, they also consult and listen to the views of the local community and will implement suitable traffic management measures, such as road diversion, erection of additional road signs, designation of no-stopping restriction zones and lay-bys, as necessary.

(c) The growth in traffic flow puts pressure on the traffic conditions of all cross-harbour tunnels. To improve traffic conditions in these tunnels, we actively encourage the use of the mass transit system. According to the statistics from TD, the daily number of cross-harbour passenger trips on the railway has increased through the years, from 760,000 in 2002 to 850,000 in 2006.

Moreover, TD has also installed the Journey Time Indication System (JTIS) on Hong Kong Island to provide journey time information to motorists, so as to facilitate motorists travelling on the major approach roads to the three cross-harbour tunnels to choose suitable routes on the basis of latest traffic information, and to alleviate traffic congestion in the tunnels. Extension of the JTIS to Kowloon will be completed in 2009.

The construction of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass will help divert the east-west traffic along the Connaught Road/Harcourt Road/Gloucester Road corridor away from the central business district, and alleviate traffic congestion along this corridor and the existing local road networks in the area. It will also further improve the traffic conditions of major approach roads to the three cross-harbour tunnels.

Get the bypass in, then put the ERP up. It will help the traffic in some extend even without WCHT and ECHT lower their fare to match CHT. If all three tunnels' fare can balance, it'll be even better.

^^ yea, they've been having trouble diverting traffic away from the CHT, if the price in the roads rise high enough and travel in WCHT and ECHT is convenient (and affordable) enough, I think this would eliminate at least some traffic