weekly
Written by: Huang Weixin
2020-12-01 18:00
Last update date: 2020-12-01 18:00
The Legislative Council discussed the "Relief of Road Traffic Congestion" motion earlier. Many Members have provided various suggestions on the current traffic congestion plight of Hong Kong: including dispersing different government departments in various districts, using flyovers to run through buildings as much as possible, and referring to the old Singapore Only when cars are scrapped can they be replaced with new ones, and the first registration tax of cars can be adjusted to reduce the number of cars.
Among them, some institutional members have even more rarely criticized the government for failing to provide adequate transportation facilities when planning community development, causing the Admiralty MTR station to be congested like a "dead train" during peak hours.
What surprised the author most was that the council did not focus on discussing the "Fourth Overall Transport Study" that the industry and professional bodies have continuously reflected in recent years.
The Comprehensive Transport Study (CTS) conducted three times in the past is the landmark development in the history of transportation in Hong Kong. Each proposal is also epoch-making and has laid a fundamental direction for Hong Kong's future transportation development.
CTS-1, completed in 1976, proposed the construction of an underground railway system.
(Profile picture)
The coverage of past research has laid down a comprehensive long-term development direction
CTS-1, completed in 1976, proposed the construction of an underground railway system.
The background of CTS-2 completed in 1989 was to cooperate with the implementation of the "Rose Garden Project" and propose a large number of transportation infrastructure, including North Lantau Expressway, Lantau Link, Airport Railway/Tung Chung Line, Tseung Kwan O Extension, West Rail Line, etc. Cooperate with Chek Lap Kok New International Airport, Tung Chung New Town Project and multiple reclamation projects.
The last CTS-3 was completed in 1999.
CTS-3 is more advanced than CTS-1 and CTS-2. Considering that urban development and citizens have higher requirements for quality life at the time, several guiding principles have been added, including priority development of railway transportation, coordination and strengthening of various public The positioning and efficiency of transportation services, the use of new technologies to manage traffic, consideration of pedestrian needs, reducing the impact on the environment, etc., as well as special research, such as controlling vehicle growth, cross-border transportation, intelligent traffic management, environmentally friendly traffic measures, etc.
The author disagrees that some Members have pointed out that Hong Kong’s transportation planning in the past was poor. On the contrary, it depends on the core transportation policy of the CTS that was based on public transportation, with railways as the backbone, and the implementation of related infrastructure projects. Among the major international cities, Hong Kong's transportation network is one of the world's best in terms of convenience and low prices. The 9:1 ratio of public and private transportation makes Hong Kong one of the world's least dependent cities.
Our "railway + property" development model has become a reference and research object for major cities.
The construction problem of Hung Hom Station on the Sha-Central Line has been revealed since 2018. Recently, it has been pointed out that the wall of the north-south corridor has water seepage problems.
(Profile picture)
Considering that the transportation strategy and design of CTS-3 are only applicable to 2016, and the proposed infrastructure such as the Sha-Central Line, Central and Wan Chai Bypass, Central-Kowloon Route, Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel and other infrastructures are almost completed or about to be completed, the author believes that it will proceed. The time for CTS-4 has come.
It takes time to conduct the study and implement the transport proposal, and it can take up to 20 years from the proposal to the completion. It cannot be delayed any longer.
After CTS-3 in 1999, what did the government do in traffic research and planning?
• "Railway Development Strategy 2014" (Transport and Housing Bureau)
• "Public Transport Strategy Study 2017" (Transport and Housing Bureau)
• "Research Report on Road Traffic Congestion in Hong Kong" (Traffic Advisory Committee)
• "Research on Improving Hong Kong's Accessibility 2017" (Transportation Department)
• "Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint 2017" (Innovation and Technology Bureau)
• "Hong Kong 2030+: Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030" (Development Bureau, Planning Department)
Partial implementation of policies is difficult to solve future development needs
These studies have also contributed a little to transportation policies and public transportation services, such as the number of seats in public light buses, smart travel, shared bicycle plans, and improving the ease of travel in Hong Kong. Many of the recommendations are "cut pieces" and scattered in different reports. In China, there is no good coordination with each other, and there is also a lack of a single department to monitor the progress of the implementation of the recommendations of each bank.
Furthermore, most of these suggestions are "minor repairs and minor remedies". There are no changes in population, housing supply and demand, urban planning, sustainable development, gross domestic product, number of vehicles, cross-border traffic, passenger and cargo traffic, etc. Trends, and propose forward-looking and holistic traffic strategies.
These studies have made some contributions to transportation policies and public transportation services, but many recommendations are "cut pieces" scattered in different reports.
(Profile picture)
Regarding the latest challenges and opportunities facing Hong Kong’s modern society, including the sharing economy, smart and healthy living, the impact of the rise of the work-at-home model on commuting, innovation in communication technology, and autonomous driving, the author believes that the government should formulate "Hong Kong 2050+ Urban Development" as early as possible. "Planning Blueprint" allows the community to discuss the needs of future infrastructure projects and deploy them as soon as possible.
The author will give detailed views on other occasions.
Of course, with regard to the CTS-4 that the author recommends that the government proceed as soon as possible, it is also necessary to grasp these future trends in order to put forward appropriate and strategically valuable suggestions.
As far as technology is concerned, with the advent of the 5G era, with faster and closer data connection, the government should study how to use technologies such as V2V (vehicle-to-vehicle) and V2I (vehicle-to-road infrastructure) and master precise navigation technology in the future. Coupled with the long-term study of the three-tunnel diversion, electronic road tolling, the fourth cross-sea tunnel, car sharing, electric vehicle trends, etc., as the future direction of solving road congestion and reducing commuting time of citizens.
CTS-4 should cooperate with the future development direction of smart transportation, suggesting detailed plans for improving infrastructure and parking facilities.
By the way, it is mentioned in paragraph 115 of the latest "Policy Address" that the authorities will "conduct a comprehensive strategic study on transportation...and conduct a "strategic study on railways and major arterial roads across 2030"."
If the research only focuses on citizens’ travel habits, traffic patterns and technologies, and improves public transport services, this kind of report always lacks the holistic and forward-looking excursions of CTS in the past, and it does not take into account the overall social development and lifestyle outside the scope of transportation. Change.
The author strongly recommends that the government should regain its previous professional attitude and stop responding to the industry with piecemeal and "cut piece" research results and perfunctory, but seek truth from facts to set long-term and new directions for Hong Kong's transportation planning in the next few decades for the benefit of Hong Kong. Social needs in various aspects such as future economic, industrial, land and housing development.
Huang Weixin
Candidates for the 2020 Legislative Council Election Functional Constituency (Engineering Sector)
Founder of Hong Kong Federation of Young Professionals, winner of Outstanding Young Engineer, Master of Imperial College London.
He worked in MTR in his early years of graduation, and now works as a senior manager in an engineering consulting company.
Tomorrow Lantau or Dayu?
The key is whether to return to a rational profession
In-depth report on the smart city planning of the traffic jam in Tuen Mun
