**********************************************************
Following is the translation of the speech by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in moving the motion on the Western Harbour Crossing (Amendment) Bylaw 2012 in Legislative Council today (July 17):
President,
I move that the third motion standing in my name on the agenda be passed.
The motion that I now move covers amendments made by the franchisee of the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC), the Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited under the Western Harbour Crossing Ordinance, to amend the Western Harbour Crossing Bylaw.
These amendments have been mentioned in my overall introduction when I moved the motion on the Eastern Harbour Crossing Road Tunnel (Amendment) Bylaw 2012 earlier. They are: first, providing for standardised autotoll signage; second, enabling the franchisee to control vehicular traffic and pedestrians by using light signals; third, providing that the maximum speed limit inside the tunnel for buses, medium goods vehicles and heavy goods vehicles, as well as vehicles driven by a person holding a probationary driving licence is 70 km/h, even if the speed limit inside the tunnel is higher than 70 km/h; and fourth, allowing medium and heavy goods vehicles to use the middle lane of the tunnel in addition to the nearside lane, so as to align the arrangement with that of all other dual-three lane tunnels in Hong Kong. The last amendment will improve the traffic flow at WHC as medium and heavy goods vehicles will be able to use two lanes instead of one.
Subject to the approval of the motion by the Legislative Council, the amendment by-laws will commence on July 20, 2012.
President, I move the motion.
Ends/Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Issued at HKT 21:39
NNNN
