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[Hong Kong Re-Planning] When will the "New Territories Bull" push? See also Flood Bridge|01 Weekly

2021-01-28T09:51:00.206Z


The last issue of the "Hong Kong Replanning" series discussed land development along the "Northern Loop Line", but this new railway linking the East Rail Line and the West Rail Line actually involves another important issue related to Hong Kong's planning, that is, how


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Written by: Guo Wende

2021-01-28 17:35

Last update date: 2021-01-28 17:40

The last issue of the "Hong Kong Replanning" series discussed land development along the "Northern Loop Line", but this new railway connecting the East Rail Line and the West Rail Line actually involves another important issue related to Hong Kong's planning, that is, how to balance the various districts. Distribution of occupation and residence.

At present, many residents in the northwestern New Territories need to commute across different districts and often cause serious traffic congestion. The expansion of transportation facilities such as the "Northern Link" is only a "temporary treatment but not a permanent cure". The only way to plan is to arrange a new employment hub nearby. There is hope that the problem can be eradicated, and the Hung Shui Qiao/Xia Village New Development Area is the most suitable for this role.

In June last year, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved a grant of 2.245 billion yuan to start the Hung Shui Kiu/Xia Village New Development Area for the first and second phases of construction site formation and infrastructure works and related land acquisition payments, symbolizing that this new development area project has been wasted for many years It was finally officially launched. However, there is not much difference between the number of 176,000 new residents and 150,000 job opportunities. The authorities claim that the new development area can "provide nearby job opportunities for Hung Shui Kiu, Tin Shui Wai, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. …Will help to improve the uneven distribution of population and jobs in Hong Kong." However, if the proportion of the labor force of new residents is calculated at 60%, if they are all employed in the same area, they will have taken up more than 100,000 jobs, and the remaining less than 5 Ten thousand jobs simply cannot absorb the employment needs of many other New Territories residents.

"Hong Kong 01" has always advocated that the district should be upgraded to a "core business district" in the hope that the government and society can make good use of Hung Shui Qiao's location advantages and continue to create sufficient job opportunities that meet the needs of the employed population, and radically address the needs of residents in the New Territories. The right dilemma of separation of jobs has saved a group of commuters in Hong Kong and Kowloon who are jokingly called "New Territories Bulls" from being forced to drive.

The picture shows the conceptual plan of the Hung Shui Bridge New Development Area.

(Profile picture)

Job imbalance forces "New Territories Bulls" to expand southward to expand transportation and cross-region commuting

As we all know, the imbalance between residences and workplaces in various districts in Hong Kong is becoming more serious. Job market jobs are mostly concentrated in the areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, which are developed first. On the contrary, the New Territories, which has a larger population, offers fewer jobs.

The Census and Statistics Department surveyed the population profile by district board district in 2019 and found that of the approximately 7.42 million land-based population in Hong Kong, 16.56% live on Hong Kong Island, 30.60% live in Kowloon, and 52.84% live in the New Territories. As for the approximately 3.96 million working population, 17.21% live on Hong Kong Island, 30.49% live in Kowloon, and 52.30% live in the New Territories. Among them, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, and North District together account for 19.59% of the land population and 19.06% of the working population.

At the same time, in the third quarter of 2020, the Census and Statistics Department counted the number of employees in major economic activity organizations in various districts, and found that of the approximately 2.7 million non-civil service jobs in Hong Kong, 30.41% came from Hong Kong Island organizations, 39.29% came from Kowloon organizations, and 30.30. % Are from the New Territories, and the three districts, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, and North District, have only 7.14% of institutional positions.

With this population and job structure, a large number of New Territories residents have to travel long distances to work in Hong Kong and Kowloon.

According to the 2016 Population By-census, there are about 733,300 commuters in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon in the New Territories, accounting for 37.8% of the total working population in the New Territories.

They suffer from the uneven urban development pattern of the north-south economy, and they usually have to spend a lot of time commuting across districts every day, which not only puts heavy pressure on the public transportation system, but also causes a lot of social and economic productivity to be lost, especially when citizens are on and off work. The quality of life of people who suffer from the "compulsiveness" in the car, compared to other people who can work in the same district or neighboring districts, will obviously be greatly reduced due to the problem of long-distance commuting.

In recent years, the Hong Kong government has mainly adopted the strategy of building additional transportation infrastructure to relieve the traffic congestion caused by the "New Territories Cattle" commuting across districts. However, the expansion of existing transportation supporting facilities can only serve a temporary role in diverting traffic and people flow, which will solve the overall problem. The benefits are limited.

Take the "Northern Link" as an example. Some people expect it to help divert the commuting needs of residents in the northwestern New Territories. In the future, the West Rail Line will merge with the "Ma On Shan Line" into the Tuen Ma Line, which runs through the Kowloon area. The Hung Hom to Admiralty section of the East Rail Line extension is also about to be completed, so that those who intend to cross the sea to Hong Kong Island can take the East Rail Line, and those going to Kowloon can use the Tuen Ma Line.

Regrettably, the above wishful thinking has overlooked two factors: First, the East Rail Line trains are gradually changing from 12 trucks to 9 trucks in order to cope with the Shazhong line. If the number of trains cannot be increased by 33%, the passenger capacity is bound to decline. ; Second, the Tuen Mun South Extension Line will be completed before the completion of the "Northern Link". By then, more people will be attracted to commute to work on the Tuen Ma Line, which is closer. Therefore, the railways on both sides may eventually be crowded and overloaded.

More importantly, while the transportation facilities are expanding, various development plans in the New Territories continue to be carried out, and more people will continue to move into them; unless the new development area can provide more job opportunities in situ, commuting across districts Traffic congestion will still occur.

Therefore, the expansion of the railway and arterial road network alone cannot eliminate the impact of uneven housing and employment. It is necessary to start with urban planning to resolve the root cause of the problem.

The development of the Northwest Hub is a good strategy, and the planning in the Hongkong Bridge area should be used wisely

If a large-scale new employment hub can be opened up in the northwest of the New Territories, long-distance commuting and the many problems that follow can be easily solved, and the Hung Shui Qiao New District, which is still in the early stage of development and has location advantages, will undoubtedly be the best choice.

The district itself is located between Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai, connected to the Shenzhen Bay Bridge to the north, and facing the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone. In addition, the Hong Kong government has insisted on relying on the development of infrastructure to deal with cross-region commuting difficulties. Crooked traffic has improved the accessibility of the district, and such high accessibility is precisely the primary feature of the "core business district".

With the external conditions in place, the government should review the planned land use in the area before the specific development projects are fully implemented, and then declare Hung Shui Bridge as a new "core business district" in due course to attract more business organizations to deploy. .

However, according to the current planning situation, the Hung Shui Qiao/Xia Village New Development Area may have very limited opportunities to serve as a "core business district", and it is more likely that even the "regional economic and cultural hub" that the government intends to create may not be achieved.

According to the Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Village Outline Zoning Plan approved by the Chief Executive-in-Council in October 2018 (plan number: S/HSK/2), the entire new development area occupies a total area of ​​about 707.42 hectares, and the calculation is related to employment The proportion of relevant land use, commercial land, comprehensive development zone, commercial/residential mixed-use zone and enterprise and technology park total only about 5.81%, government, institution or community land is 9.69%, and industrial land, logistics facilities, port logistics The area used for storage, storage and workshops is also only 10.98% (Table 5). It seems difficult to expect that it will create 150,000 jobs in the end.

Among the new development areas, 16.69% of the rural development area is the most extensive, and it is surrounded by large open spaces.

The authorities explained that this design is mainly to preserve the aboriginal village houses in Hacun Township, reserve land for building "small houses" and prevent the village from being shaded by nearby high-rise buildings. However, these problems only need to be adopted by the former chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, Liu Yeqiang. In response to the "Dingquan" case, the "Dingxia" proposal that was raised when the appeal was straightforward can be easily resolved.

In addition, the current nine commercial plots of 24.12 hectares in the new development area are divided into five sub-regions, with a maximum plot ratio of 1.5 to 9.5 times, that is, the customary upper limit of the New Territories is still used. This arrangement of course limits their ability to provide in the future If you really want to develop the relevant areas into economic hubs, the chief officials should not maintain the established standards, but can make bold attempts to slightly increase their plot ratios.

Relying on its geographical advantages, the Hung Shui Bridge/Xia Village New Development Area has the potential to become a new employment hub and even a "core business district" in Hong Kong.

As long as the government is no longer confined to the old thinking, abandons the unnecessary obsession of centralizing the development of both sides of the Victoria Harbour, and is determined to improve the district's land planning model, it is absolutely possible to fundamentally eliminate the problem of large numbers of residents commuting and traffic congestion.

[Hong Kong Re-planning] The development of the Northern Ring Road has been wasteful for many years. Who will live in the houses along the route?

The above was excerpted in the 250th issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly Report (January 25, 2021).

Also watch Flood Bridge.

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Highlights of the 250 issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly News:

[Cover Report] Saying goodbye to Trump Biden's new deal to fight the epidemic and seek unity, and political reform should not be forgotten

Sino-U.S. relations have entered a new pattern, "international line" fantasy should wake up

Distributing money can’t solve the fundamental problem. Economic governance needs a good government.

Workers actually "post money to scramble themselves" and cancel the MPF hedging

The key to the BNO dispute from changing naturalization conditions from travel documents

Is the theme park becoming a recreational area? Is the ocean park facing a dead end or a way out?

This is how the "epidemic area" must be sealed

Half a century, the relationship between China and Australia has fallen to a freezing point.

The tragic conclusion of the Irish Mother and Child Home sets the final chapter in the decadent Catholic history?

[Hong Kong Re-Planning] When will the "New Territories Bull" push?

Look at Hung Shui Bridge

Hung Shui Kiu Employment and Transportation Urban Planning 01 Weekly Report Tuen Mun

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-01-28

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