Minutes of the 4thMeeting of

Traffic and Transport Committee (2014-15)

Central andWestern District Council

Date / : /

11 September 2014 (Thursday)

Time / : / 2:30 pm
Venue / : / Conference Room
14/F., Harbour Building
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong

Present:Chairlady

Ms CHENG Lai-king*

Vice-Chairman

Mr HUI Chi-fung*(2:30 pm – 4:27 pm)

Members

Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, BBS, JP*

Mr CHAN Choi-hi, MH*

Mr CHAN Ho-lim, Joseph(2:51pm – 5:45 pm)

Mr CHAN Hok-fung, MH*

Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, JP*

Mr CHEUNG Yick-hung, Jackie(3:05 pm – end of the meeting)

Mr IP Kwok-him, GBS, JP(2:51 pm –4:26 pm)

Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH*

Dr Malcolm LAM(2:30pm –3:25 pm)

Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney

Miss LO Yee-hang(2:35 pm –4:00 pm)

Miss SIU Ka-yi*

Mr MAN Chi-wah, MH(2:30 pm –3:26 pm)

Mr NG Siu-keung, Thomas, MH, JP*

Mr WONG Kin-shing*

Mr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP(2:30 pm – 5:47 pm)

Co-opted Members

Mr CHAN Tsz-kwan*

Mr CHAN Wing-ho*(3:45 pm – end of the meeting)

Mr LEE Ching-hang(2:30 pm – 5:17 pm)

Mr LEUNG King-yue, Alex(2:59 pm – end of the meeting)

Mr WONG Sai-kit*

Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing*

Remarks: *Members who attended the whole meeting

( )Time of attendance of Members

Guests
Item 4(i)
MrCHIU Cheuk-siu / Senior Engineer 2/Central Wanchai Bypass, Highways Department
Mr YU Hing-wai / Senior Resident Engineer, AECOM Asia Company Limited
Mr LAU Wai-tang / ProjectManager, Leighton Contractors (Asia) Limited
Item 4(ii)
Mr NG Hon-lai, Patrick / Chief Transport Officer/Bus and Railway Branch, Transport Department
Mr CHIU Ho-ming, Curtis / Senior Transport Officer/Bus and Railway Branch, Transport Department
Mr Mistral SIN / Manager (Planning), Citybus Limited/New World First Bus Services Limited
Mr Brian NG / Senior Planning Officer , Citybus Limited/New World First Bus Services Limited
Ms Joyce WAN / Senior Public Affairs Officer , Citybus Limited/New World First Bus Services Limited
Item 5
Ms May TSANG / General Manager, Peak Tramways Company Limited
Mr Joseph SIN / Head of Engineering & Operations,
Peak Tramways Company Limited
Mr LAM Shu-kee, Philip / Engineer/Central and Western 2,
Transport Department
Mr WAI Hon-kwok / Principal Technical Officer (Traffic)/
Southern and Peak, Transport Department
Ms HSU Leung-fan, Amanda / Acting Senior Transport Officer/Central and Western, Transport Department
Item 6
Ms HSU Leung-fan, Amanda / Acting Senior Transport Officer/Central and Western, Transport Department
Item 7
Mr LO Kai-kwei, Richard / Senior District Engineer/Hong Kong Northwest, Highways Department
Mr LAU Wing-fu / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Western District),Hong Kong Police Force
Item 8
Miss LEUNG Cheuk-lam, Shirley / Engineer/Central and Western 3,
Transport Department
Mr LAU Wing-fu / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Western District),Hong Kong Police Force
Item 9
Mr LO Kai-kwei, Richard / Senior District Engineer/Hong Kong Northwest, Highways Department
Mr LAM Shu-kee, Philip / Engineer/Central and Western 2,
Transport Department
Mr CHAN Kwong-ming / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Central District),Hong Kong Police Force
Mr LAM Heung-kan / Engineer, Water Supplies Department
Mr WONG Chi-ho, Anthony / Resident Engineer, AECOM Asia CompanyLimited
Mr Allan LO / Senior Civil Engineer (Projects), The Hongkong Electric Co Ltd
Mr Brian MOK / Civil Engineer (Projects), The Hongkong Electric Co Ltd
Mr Terry YIU / Assistant Public Affairs Manager, The Hongkong Electric Co Ltd
Mr Wilfred AU / Assistant General Manager, Planning and Design, Urban Renewal Authority
Ms Sarah YUN / Senior Manager, Community Development, Urban Renewal Authority
Item 10
Mr LOK Chun-chung, Francis / Engineer/Central and Western 1,
Transport Department
Mr CHAN Kwong-ming / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Central District),Hong Kong Police Force
Item 11
Mr LOK Chun-chung, Francis / Engineer/Central and Western 1,
Transport Department
Mr CHAN Kwong-ming / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Central District),Hong Kong Police Force
Item 12
Mr WAI Hon-kwok / Principal Technical Officer (Traffic)/
Southern and Peak, Transport Department
Mr CHAN Kwong-ming / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Central District),Hong Kong Police Force
Item 13
Mr WAI Hon-kwok / Principal Technical Officer (Traffic)/
Southern and Peak, Transport Department
Mr CHAN Kwong-ming / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Central District),Hong Kong Police Force
Item 14
Mr NG Leung-shui, Tommy / Chief Transport Officer/Bus & Railway/Special Duties, Transport Department
In Attendance:
Miss CHOW Ho-kiu, Cheryl, JP / District Officer (Central and Western)
Mr CHAN Yun-man, Winston / Assistant District Officer (Central and Western)
Ms WONG Ming-wai / Senior Executive Officer (District Council),
Central and Western District Office
Ms YU Yan-yan, Rosanna / Senior Executive Officer (District Management),
Central and Western District Office
Ms HSU Leung-fan, Amanda / Acting Senior Transport Officer/Central and Western, Transport Department
Mr LOK Chun-chung, Francis / Engineer/Central and Western 1,
Transport Department
Mr LAM Shu-kee, Philip / Engineer/Central and Western 2,
Transport Department
Miss LEUNG Cheuk-lam, Shirley / Engineer/Central and Western 3,
Transport Department
Mr WAI Hon-kwok / Principal Technical Officer (Traffic)/Southern and Peak, Transport Department
MrLO Kai-kwei, Richard / Senior District Engineer/Hong Kong Northwest, Highways Department
Ms YAU Man-shan, Doris / Senior Engineer, Civil Engineering and Development Department
Mr CHAN Kwong-ming / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Central District),Hong Kong Police Force
Mr LAU Wing-fu / Officer-in-Charge, District Traffic Team
(Western District),Hong Kong Police Force
Secretary
MissHUI Lok-yam, Noel / Executive Officer (District Council)2,
Central and Western District Office
Absent with Apologies:
Mr CHAN Chi-ming, Lawrence / Senior Engineer/Central and Western, Transport
Department
Mr CHEUNG Chi-wai / District Operations Officer (Central District),
Hong Kong Police Force
Mr LEE Jim-on / District Operations Officer (Western District),
Hong Kong Police Force

Welcome Remarks

The Chairlady welcomed Members and representatives from government departments to the 4th meeting of the Traffic and Transport Committee (TTC) (2014-15). She also welcomedMs Amanda HSU, Acting Senior Transport Officer/Central and Western of the Transport Department (TD), who stood in for Miss TSUI Shuk-ting, Yvonneand Miss Noel HUI, Secretary of the TTC, who succeeded Miss CHUNG Yeuk-hung, Rikkuand attended the meeting for the first time.

Item 1: / Adoption of the Agenda

2.The Chairlady said that amendments were made to the agenda and the agenda was sent to Members together with the fourth batch of documents issued on 10 September.

3.The Committee confirmed the amended agenda.

Item 2: / Confirmation of the Minutes of the3rd TTC Meeting on 19June 2014

4.The Chairlady said that she had received a proposed amendmentto the minutes from Mr Joseph CHAN before the meeting and the Secretariat had made the proposed amendment available on the table for Members’ perusal.

5.The Committee confirmed the amended minutes.

Item 3: / Chairlady’s Report

6.As regards the selected Minor Works Projects and their schedules (as of mid-Augustthis year), the Secretariat had distributed the report to Members for their perusal before the meeting and ithad not received any views from Members.

7.On 2 September this year, the Secretariat had invited Members in writing to join the Working Group on Improving the Traffic and Pedestrian Facilities in Central (the Working Group). Four Members, including Mr HUI Chi-fung, Ms CHENG Lai-king, Mr WONG Kin-shing and Mr Alex LEUNG said that they would join the Working Group as at the deadline on 8 September. As the number of members in the Working Group failed to meet the requirement stipulated in Order 39(4) of theStanding Orders that there must be no less than four District Council (DC)members in a working group, the Working Group could not be formed.

8.The Finance Committee had reserved an allocation of $100,000 for the TTC to conduct traffic studies in this financial year, which shouldoriginally be followed up by the Working Group. As the Working Group could not be formed, the allocation concerned would be handled by the TTC. The Chairlady would follow up the above allocation later.

Item 4(i): / Standing Item: Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link – Report on the Progress of the Central Interchange Project
(C&W TTC Paper No. 38/2014)

(2:35 pm – 2:43 pm)

9.Mr CHIU Cheuk-siu, Senior Engineer 2/Central Wanchai Bypass of the Highways Department (HyD), said that the HyD had reopened Man Po Street and resumed the original alignment of Man Yiu Street, and the traffic condition was by and large smooth. Major works carried out in the past six months included construction of the tunnel, the link roads and the eastbound flyover, and the widening of the flyover at Man Po Street. These works would continue in the coming six months and the tunnel structure works were expected to complete by the end of this year. On the temporary traffic arrangement in the coming year, the road section connecting Man Po Street and Finance Street was expected to reopen in the fourth quarter of this year and the temporary road connecting Man Po Street and Finance Street would be closed by then.

10.The Chairlady invited discussion on the paper. The enquiries and views of Members were as follows:

(a)Mr MAN Chi-wah said that as some motorists might have got used to the temporary link road, he hoped the department could provide adequate and clear road signs for the new arrangement.

(b)Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that the HyD should prevent the road from becoming too narrow when implementing traffic diversion. Moreover, clear road signs should be installedto alert motoriststo the traffic diversion arrangement in advance. The diverted route should not be overly circuitous as the road section had been diverted for a number of times. In addition, he pointed out that vehicles were often found parking on the carriageway outside the Four Seasons Hotel and hoped that relevant departments would follow up the situation.

11.Mr CHIU Cheuk-sui responded that the HyD would provide clear traffic signs. The traffic diversion arrangement would also be discussed at the meetings of the Traffic Management Liaison Group. Moreover, he supplemented that the works of the Central Interchange Project were expected to complete in 2016 as scheduled. The works of the remaining sections of the Central-Wan Chai Bypass Project would continue while the target to commission the Central-Wan Chai Bypass in 2017 would remain unchanged.

12.Mr Francis LOK, Engineer/Central and Western 1 of the TD, responded that the TD would follow up the problem of parking outside the Four Seasons Hotel.

13.The Chairlady thanked the guests for attending the meeting.

Item 4(ii): / Standing Item: Latest Revision of the Public Transportation Re-organisation Plans to tie in with the Commissioning of the West Island Line
(C&W TTC Paper No. C15/2014)

(2:43 pm – 2:51 pm)

14.The Chairlady invited discussion on the paper. The enquiries and views of Members were as follows:

(a)Mr CHAN Choi-hi said that he had expressedhis views in a number of occasions but the TD had yet to give a formal response to the views concerned in the paper submitted on 30 July and insisted on its previous proposal. He considered that the TD should conduct a detailed review to examine whether adjustment was needed and he still had reservation on the cancellation of route no. 18. Moreover, as bus route re-organisation was closely related to the commissioning of the West Island Line (WIL), he enquired whether the TD had prepared backup plans having regard to the possible scenarios for the commissioning of the WIL.

(b)The Chairlady said that she objected to the amalgamation of route no. 40 with no. 40M as Mid-Levels residentscould only take route no. 23 upon the amalgamation. She also opposed the TD to cancel route no. 3B as many residents of Robinson Road travelled to Central by taking route no. 3B. She also enquired of the TD about the trial run of route no. 13 on both bounds of the entire Robinson Road,and whether the TD would provide more data on ridership before and after the commissioning of the WIL.

15.Mr Patrick NG, Chief Transport Officer/Bus and Railway Branch of the TD, said that the department had reviewed the Public Transport Re-organisation Plans (PT Plans) with bus companies and made correspondingrefined arrangement after taking into account the views of Members and the public. The TD would continue to listen to the views of the local community on the re-organisation arrangement and time of implementation. He pointed out that as the carrying capacity of public transport in the district would be significantly enhanced upon the commissioning of the WIL, corresponding changes and re-organisation had to be made to bus and green minibus (GMB) routes to achieve more efficient use of resources. However, the department would still pay close attention to the exact commissioning date of the WIL and the relevant arrangement in this stage. In response to the views of Members expressed at previous meetings that route changes couldonly be implemented in phases some time after the commissioning of the WIL, the department would conduct a ridership survey before and after the commissioning of the WIL and implement the PT Plans in phases having regard to the data and changes in ridership. The TD understood that Members were concerned about the changes of individual routes and it would provide alternatives for residents in the district having regard to the amalgamation of relevant routes. The TD would also decide the effective date of route amalgamation or adjustmentsin the light of the changes in ridership upon the commissioning of the WIL. As for the routes of the Mid-Levels West, the PT Plans concerned, such as the amalgamation of route no. 40 with no. 40M and the cancellation of route no. 3B, were proposed having regard to the anticipated changes to travelling pattern of some local residents on public transport as entrances/exits of the HKU Station and Sai Ying Pun Station would be provided in the Mid-Levels West. These two proposals would be implemented only upon the full commissioning of the WIL. Concerning the arrangement for the trial run of rerouting route no. 13 travelling from Central to Kotewall Road via Robinson Road as mentioned before, the department was studying the feasibility of the rerouting with the Traffic Engineering Divisionand would give an account to the DC when further information was available. The TD still had no information on the exact date of commissioning of the WIL at this stage but it had discussed the backup plans with bus companies in case the WIL could not be fully commissioned. If some stations of the WIL were commissioned, the new GMB routes for feeder servicesto relevant stations would also come into service. As for the route re-organisation, the TD would implement the PT Plans in phases upon the full commissioning of the WIL according to the analysis of survey data. With regard to the survey on public transport services, the TD and bus companies had started collecting the ridership data before the commissioning of the WIL.

16.The Chairlady reiterated that the PT Plans could only be implemented upon the full commissioning of the WIL. The Chairlady thanked the guests for attending the meeting and the Vice-chairman chaired the discussion on the remaining agenda items.

Item 5: / Improvement to the Queuing Arrangement of Passengers for Boarding Peak Trams
(C&W TTC Paper No. 41/2014)

(2:51 pm- 3:40 pm)

  1. The Vice-chairman invited discussion on the paper. The enquiries and views of Members were as follows:

(a)Mr CHAN Choi-hiindicated that the traffic problems in the relevant lots were complicated. He enquired whether the TD had conducted full consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including the taxi trade, the bus companies, the Peak Tramways Company Limited (PTC), tourists and the tourism industry. He had conducted a site visit with the PTC and noted that apart from the necessary changesto the taxi stand at Garden Road Peak Tram Station, the TD should also holistically review the traffic arrangement nearby,such asremoval of parking spaces or reduction in the number of bus trips passing through the district during peak hours. He hoped the TD could study the passenger queuing arrangement for boarding the Peak Tram together with the traffic problems nearby. Moreover, he asked the PTC about the specific schedule for the replacement of compartments and widening of tram stations.

(b)Mr Joseph CHAN pointed out that while the PTC was improving the queuing arrangement, it should ensurethat there would besufficient public space outside the Peak Tower for pedestrian use. He indicated that the long queue reflected the enormous demand for the Peak Tram service, but the carrying capacity of each compartment was inadequate. He supported the PTC’s long-term solution which would raise the carrying capacity of each compartment by 60% without involving major works or felling of trees. He then enquired which government department was following up the project. Apart from the Upper Terminus at Findlay Road, he also noted that there was usually a long queue at the Garden Road Lower Terminus. A large number of tourists could not take the Peak Tram and chosealternative transport modes, leading to insurmountable traffic pressure in the Peak area. For the Peak residents, a 10-minute journey back home during weekdays would become at least a 45-minute journey at weekends. This was totally unacceptable. In such a situation where traffic congestion was serious, he asked the TD and the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) whether they had assessed the situation or formulated a long-term development plan for the Peak to increase the carrying capacity of the Peak Tram so as to alleviate the traffic problems in the Peak area. He had liaised with the TD before the meeting and learned that neither the TD nor the THB was responsible for the problems concerned. He hoped the department could clarify whether the TD or the THB would be responsible for issues related toPeak Tram.