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Following is a question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (May 16) :
Question:
At the meeting on January 12, 2006 of the Traffic and Transport Committee (TTC) of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, the Transport Department (TD) proposed that the extension works of the pedestrian footbridge system in Mong Kok, including the extension of the footbridges on Nathan Road, Bute Street and Sai Yee Street, would be financed and constructed by private developers. The proposal was supported by TTC. Moreover, in reply to my question at a Legislative Council meeting earlier, the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works said that TD had planned to commence the works for extending the pedestrian footbridge on Mong Kok Road to the west of Nathan Road in early 2008. However, it has recently been reported that the processing of the above project applications have been held up due to staff changes in TD. TD has also said that the project applications concerned have to be re-assessed before formal approval is given. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) since TD has proposed to TTC the implementation of the above projects, why it has to re-assess the impact of the projects;
(b) given that the private developer concerned had submitted the above project applications in mid-2006, why TD has so far completed the processing of the application for the Nathan Road footbridge extension works only; of the estimated time for completing the processing of the applications for the remaining two projects (i.e. extension of the footbridges on Bute Street and Sai Yee Street), and the estimated commencement and completion dates of the three projects; and
(c) apart from the above projects, whether the Government or the MTR Corporation Limited has any plan to connect other existing footbridge systems in Yau Tsim Mong District to MTR station exits or subway systems in the district?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a)(b) Construction of the existing pedestrian footbridge system at Mong Kok Road (Phase 1) and the western extension of the system across Nathan Road (Phase 2) is undertaken by the Sun Hung Kei Properties Charitable Fund Limited (SHK). Phase 1 of the project was completed in 2003 and the footbridge is now managed and maintained by the Government. Construction of Phase 2 was approved by the Government in 1998 together with Phase 1 and the project was gazetted in 1999 as required.
To implement Phase 2 of the project and make way for the foundation works, the engineering consultant of SHK is now liaising with the public utilities companies concerned for relocation of common trenches. Relocation and construction are expected to complete by end-2007 and end-2009 respectively.
Apart from the above project, representatives of SHK also joined the Transport Department (TD) in seeking the preliminary views of the Traffic and Transport Committee (TTC) of Yau Tsim Mong District Council on two new proposals, namely "Sai Yee Street Extension Project" and "Bute Street Extension Project".
Residents and shops nearby will be affected by the proposed design of the footbridge, and the extension works in Bute Street will ban vehicles longer than 7 metres in Sai Yee Street northbound from turning left onto Bute Street westbound. The Bureau and the departments concerned, therefore, need to consider carefully the impact of these works as well as alternative ways to improve pedestrian flow before implementing the above proposals. Nevertheless, the results of the initial assessment made by the TD show that the two proposals should be able to further enhance the overall operation of the footbridge system at Mong Kok Road. The department will continue to follow up the issue with the representatives of SHK and consult the TTC.
(c) Apart from the above projects, the Government is carrying out two footbridge projects in Tsim Sha Tsui East across Chatham Road South and Salisbury Road. Upon completion, these two footbridges will connect the exits of East Rail's East Tsim Sha Tsui Station, their subway systems and MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station. At present, MTR Corporation Limited does not have any plan to connect the footbridge systems in Yau Tsim Mong District with MTR station exits or subway systems.
For the Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) Kowloon Southern Link (KSL) under construction, footbridge and subway systems at West Kowloon Station are being planned to connect the Station with the existing footbridges and subways at Jordon Road. The works will include partial modification of the subway at Austin Road West to connect the subway with West Kowloon Station.
Extension works of KCRC's subway at Middle Road commenced in late March this year. By the end of 2009 when construction of KSL completes, East Tsim Sha Tsui Station/Tsim Sha Tsui Station will be connected with the existing pedestrian subway at Kowloon Park Drive and Peking Road.
Ends/Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:15
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