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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, at the Legislative Council meeting today (November 5):
Question:
I have recently received quite a number of complaints from members of the public alleging that the surfaces of slab-paved pavements were uneven, which even caused them to stumble. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of relevant complaints received and the number of injuries reported in the past two years;
(b) whether it has studied the potential hazards caused by such slab-paved pavements to pedestrians, in particular children and the elderly; if it has, of the study results; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) of the measures in place to ensure that government departments and public utility corporations will carry out restoration works to slab-paved pavements properly after completing their works on underground facilities; and
(d) whether it has any plan to use other materials instead of slabs to pave pavements; if it has, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) At present, the total length of footpaths in Hong Kong is approximately 2,500 kilometres, about 30% of which are laid with slabs. These are mainly streets in tourist areas, commercial districts and pedestrian zones.
According to the record of the Highways Department, the number of complaint cases related to uneven precast slabs on footpaths in 2006, 2007 and 2008 (up to end September) are 797, 621 and 709 respectively.
Between January 2006 and September 2008, the Highways Department received 9 cases of claims against the Government by members of the public who claimed that they were injured by uneven slabs laid on the footpaths. All these cases have been or are being handled in accordance with established procedures.
(b) and (c) There are various causes for the unevenness of slabs on the footpaths. They include problems in the standard of workmanship; improper reinstatement of footpaths by the contractors of public utilities or Government departments after road opening works; excessive loading on the footpaths by illegal parking, etc. In addition, street washing conducted with high pressure water jets may wash away the sand in the bedding layer of the slabs, resulting in the unevenness. We are taking the following actions to address the above:
(i) For problems in the standard of workmanship, the Highways Department has formulated clear works specifications and required road works contractors to employ labourers trained with relevant skills to carry out paving works to ensure the standard of workmanship. In addition, the Department arranges training courses for the concerned newly recruited staff to enhance their knowledge on the supervision of road works.
(ii) Regarding the problems arising from improper footpath reinstatement works carried out by the contractors of public utilities or Government departments, the Highways Department has deployed dedicated staff to make regular inspections to ensure the road opening works carried out by these contractors are in compliance with the conditions stipulated in the Excavation Permits. If damage to the pavement or improper reinstatement condition is spotted, the Department will request the permit holders to repair the pavement as soon as practicable. If such repairs take a longer time to complete, the permit holder is required to cordon off the affected area with appropriate lighting, signing and guarding facilities to prevent accidents.
(iii) As for footpaths receiving excessive loading due to illegal parking, the Highways Department closely monitors the blackspots of illegal parking, and requests the Transport Department to consider the installation of bollards along the footpaths and the Police to strengthen law enforcement if necessary.
(iv) For streets frequently cleansed by high pressure water jets, such as those near markets, the Highways Department uses sand cement instead of sand as the bedding layer of the slabs, and fills the seams between slabs with joint sealant to reduce the unevenness caused by street washing.
(v) As for the repairs and maintenance of the slabs, all public roads in Hong Kong are inspected regularly by staff of the Highways Department. Once any damaged or uneven slabs on footpaths are found, the Department will make arrangements for contractors to conduct repairs as soon as practicable. The Department will also liaise with the Transport Department and the Police for implementing the necessary temporary traffic arrangements. In addition, the Highways Department receives reports on damage to roads and associated street furniture through the Government hotline. Timely maintenance work will likewise be arranged.
(d) The Highways Department has started using precast slabs for paving footpaths since the mid 1980s. In addition to enhancing the landscape of the city, precast slabs are environmentally friendly since they are reusable and can avoid the generation of noise from the employment of heavy machinery when road opening works are carried out. In the long run, it is more economical to use precast slabs than other paving materials. Besides, slab-paved footpaths can be put into service earlier upon the completion of the paving works.
The Highways Department is of the view that the use of precast slabs for footpath pavements in areas with high pedestrian flow is appropriate. For areas with low pedestrian flow, such as remote areas or industrial areas, it is more suitable to use concrete for paving. The Highways Department will select the most suitable paving material having regard to the circumstances of individual districts and streets.
Ends/Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:42
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