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Following is a question by the Hon Ip Kwok-him and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 7):
Question:
A green group has found that as most of the 1,300 wall bracket-mounted street lights installed on the external walls of buildings are close to the windows of residential flats, they seriously affect the quality of sleep of the residents concerned. Furthermore, the Highways Department indicated in December last year that with the completion of energy saving pilot schemes, it planned to install, in the next four years, dimmable electronic ballasts in order to save energy, in conjunction with the replacement of 12,000 street lights with new lighting installations. Regarding the problem of light pollution, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it will phase out wall bracket-mounted street lights; if so, of the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(b) of the specific reasons why four years is needed to complete the installation of dimmable electronic ballasts for 12,000 street lights; and
(c) as there have been comments that the light pollution problem in Hong Kong is becoming more serious and, in addition to street lights, there are light pollution sources such as advertisement signboards and large outdoor television screens, whether the Government will formulate long-term policies to solve the light pollution problem; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) There are currently about 133,000 street lights in the territory installed by Highways Department (HyD). The majority of them are column lights along roads. A small number of street lights have to be mounted to walls and structures of buildings (wall lights) due to the site conditions. There are about 1,100 wall lights mounted to the walls of residential structures. Most of them were installed before the 1980s. Since the 1980s, due to the continuous improvement in town and road planning, HyD has largely been able to avoid mounting wall lights. Only when column lights cannot be placed due to environmental constraints will installing wall lights be considered.
HyD has been taking measures to reduce the impact of wall lights on residential units. When wall lights need to be installed close to the windows of residential units, HyD will make use of cut-off lanterns when practicable. Cut-off lanterns have the merits of better illumination effect and energy saving. They can also prevent the exposure of bulbs so as to reduce nuisance from the diffusion of light from source. Taking into consideration the location and actual need, light shields will also be installed to avoid the diffusion of light from source to the walls of buildings.
In response to the public concern on nuisance caused by wall lights, HyD completed an initial review on wall lights mounted outside the residential units throughout the territory in December 2008. According to the results of the review, about 400 wall lights are relatively distant from the windows of residential units, and about 720 are close to the windows of residential units. Regarding the latter, as at December 2008, about 350 of them have had cut-off lanterns or light shields installed. HyD will further study and implement feasible mitigation measures for the remaining 370 wall lights. In addition to the installation of cut-off lanterns or light shields, the mitigation measures also include adjusting the location of the wall lights, and relocating them to pedestrian walkways in view of changes in the road conditions. The implementation of these mitigation measures are expected to be completed in one year.
Since there are difficulties to install column lights in narrow streets or pedestrian walkways with a large number of underground utilities, HyD does not have any plan to replace all wall lights.
(b) Dimmable electronic ballasts (ballasts) work to tune down the illumination level of the street lights at night times to appropriate levels so as to save energy. According to HyD's estimate, there are about 15,000 street lights suitable for being equipped with ballasts with their illumination level tuned down. HyD installed ballasts for 3,000 street lights in 2008 and will do so for the remaining 12,000 in phases in the coming four years. Since ballasts are a relatively new product, it will be prudent to inspect, assess and design the illumination level of street lights of each road section based on the actual site condition before the installation of the ballasts, so as to ascertain the degree of adjustment and the installation method. After installation, site inspection and assessment have to be conducted again at night times to ensure that the ballasts operate properly. Taking into account factors such as the large number of street lights, the need for a comprehensive assessment and review for the installation works, the manpower deployment at night times and to ensure that the illumination level is up to the standard, installation of the ballasts needs to be implemented in phases.
(c) In view of the energy wastage arising from the excessive use of external lighting, the Government announced in last year's Policy Address that we would conduct a consultancy study on this issue (including the experience of metropolises that are similar to Hong Kong), and assess the feasibility of regulating external lighting by legislation. Furthermore, we will continue to exchange views on this issue with environmental protection groups.
Ends/Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Issued at HKT 12:48
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