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LCQ19: Accidents in the public places of public housing estates
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    Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, JP in the Legislative Council today (June 11):

Question:

    Will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of accidents in the past two years which occurred in the public places of public housing estates ("PHEs"), involved estate facilities and resulted in casualties, together with a breakdown by the facilities involved in these accidents, as well as the improvement measures adopted by the authorities; and
(b) among the accidents mentioned above, the number of those attributable to the fences along the corridors on each floor of PHE blocks being too low, and the names of the PHEs involved; whether the authorities will consider increasing the height of the fences to better safeguard the safety of residents?

Reply:

Madam President,

    My reply to the two-part question is as follows:
(a) According to the Housing Department's (HD) records of the past two years, there were 79 accidents which occurred in the public places of public rental housing (PRH) estates involving estate facilities and resulting in casualties. The facilities involved in the accidents are mainly lifts (23 cases), escalators (18 cases) and gates and doors (16 cases).

    After the accidents, the HD would, as necessary, adopt a series of follow-up measures, taking into account the nature and seriousness of the cases, which include :

(i) Conducting site inspections and consulting tenants' representatives, Estate Management Advisory Committees (EMAC) and insurance companies, so as to explore appropriate improvement measures, such as enhancing the lighting facilities in corridors, passages, staircases and open spaces, reducing the gradient of sloping surface, installing anti-skid devices on the ground, installing handrails or replacing floor tiles, etc.;

(ii) Before the completion of the improvement measures, the HD would remind its estate management personnel to pay additional attention to spots of accidents during patrols to prevent recurrence; and

(iii) Putting up posters and notices at lift lobbies and conspicuous spots in PRH estates, publicising through estate newsletter and publicity videos on the Housing Channel to raise the safety awareness of tenants and visitors, in avoiding accidents.

(b) According to the records, there were no accidents recorded by the HD relating to the railings along the corridors on each floor of PRH blocks in the past two years.

    As stipulated in the internal guidelines on design of the Housing Authority (HA), the height of railings in PRH estates should be no less than 1,100mm. All HA's PRH estates have complied with the design standard concerned.  The HD will inspect and conduct maintenance of these facilities regularly.

    If residents make requests for increasing the height of the railings, the HD will consider factors such as safety and whether the proposed railings will affect the ventilation and view of the blocks concerned.  Besides, the HD will consult the EMAC concerned so as to make arrangements as appropriate.

Ends/Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:59

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