LCQ16: Hillside escalator links and elevator systems
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     Following is a question by the Hon Paul Tse and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (April 16):

Question:

     Will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the construction cost as well as annual repair and maintenance costs of the existing "Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System" (Central-Mid-Levels Escalator); the considerations of the Government when deciding to construct this escalator link (such as the population projections and planned land use of the district);

(2) as some members of the local community have suggested that, apart from constructing pedestrian links at Tsz Wan Shan and Chuk Yuen, the Government should construct escalator links similar to the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator at the hillside areas (including Anderson Road, etc.) in Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong Districts where housing estates/courts have been or will be built, whether the Government is currently conducting studies on the feasibility of such a suggestion; if it is not, whether it will do so immediately; if it is, whether it has taken into account the considerations in (1) when conducting the studies; if it has, of the findings; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) regarding the approach of constructing escalator links similar to the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator as mentioned in (2), and the approach of constructing general pedestrian linkages by adding lift towers at suitable places only when it is necessary to retrofit barrier-free access facilities, whether the Government has made a comparison of these two approaches in terms of construction and operating costs, as well as benefits to the community; if it has, of the results of such a comparison; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will immediately do so; and

(4) of the average daily operating hours of the air-conditioning (A/C) systems of the lift towers in the territory which are of the type mentioned in (3) and, among them, the number of lift tower A/C systems which operate around the clock; the average monthly electricity expenditure as well as the average annual repair and maintenance costs for each of this type of lift towers?

Reply:

President,

     The Government established in 2009 a set of comprehensive, objective and transparent scoring criteria for assessing proposals for hillside escalator links and elevator systems (hillside escalator links) to determine the priority for conducting preliminary technical feasibility studies for the proposed works projects. Upon completion of the assessment for the 20 proposals received at the time, the results were reported to the Legislative Council Panel on Transport in February 2010. Two proposals were screened out initially, and 18 others were ranked. The Government indicated at the time that preliminary technical feasibility studies for the proposals ranked top ten in the assessment would be conducted by batches, and that the remaining proposals would be followed up after the smooth implementation of the top ten proposals. The Government is now following up with the proposals ranked top thirteen which are under different stages. Amongst those, two are already at construction stage.

     In planning the construction of the hillside escalator links, the Government will consider a series of factors, including the population within catchment, topographical conditions (such as steep gradient and level difference), connectivity with other existing pedestrian facilities, land rights involved in the proposed hillside escalator links, land requirement, technical and environmental constraints, and whether the difficulties involved in the construction can be overcome, etc. Besides, the Government will also take into account the estimated usage of the systems, the benefits to local community, journey time saved, improvement to existing pedestrian conditions, and road safety.

     Our reply to the four parts of Hon Paul Tse's question is as follows:

(1) Commenced in October 1993, the Central Mid-Levels Escalator Link between Central and the Mid-Levels is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. This hillside escalator link starts at Des Voeux Road Central, passes through various narrow streets in Central and ends at Conduit Road. The purpose of installing this hillside escalator link was to promote walking, and to relieve the pressure on public transport services.

     The construction cost for the Central Mid-Levels Escalator Link between Central and the Mid-Levels was about $253 million (at money-of-the-day prices). Currently, the annual maintenance cost is about $12.5 million.

(2) As mentioned above, in 2009, the Government assessed the 20 proposals already received at the time to determine the priority for conducting preliminary technical feasibility studies for the proposed works projects. This includes proposals located in Wong Tai Sin District and Kwun Tong District. The "Pedestrian Link at Tsz Wan Shan" located in Wong Tai Sin District is implemented under the Shatin to Central Link project. The construction commenced in July 2012 for completion by phases between 2014 and 2016. The Highways Department (HyD) has already completed the preliminary technical feasibility study of the "Pedestrian Link near Chuk Yuen North Estate" and preliminary found that the proposal was technically feasible. The HyD is inviting tender to engage consultant to conduct the investigation and preliminary design of the link.

     In respect of Kwun Tong District, the HyD has commenced the preliminary technical feasibility study for the "Lift and Pedestrian Walkway at Luen On Street". As for the "Yuet Wah Street Pedestrian Linkage", the project is being implemented by the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) under the Government's policy objective of urban regeneration and enhancing pedestrian connectivity to tie in with the Kwun Tong Town Centre Redevelopment. The construction works commenced in April 2013 for completion in October 2015.

     For the Development of Anderson Road Quarry, according to the information provided by the Development Bureau, the CEDD had, in the engineering feasibility study of the proposed development, investigated the pedestrian connectivity of the new residential area with the Kwun Tong MTR Station, as well as other residential developments in the vicinity, including the use of facilities such as escalators, footbridges and lifts, so as to provide passages between different levels on the hillside. The four pedestrian connectivity routes and facilities recommended in the engineering feasibility study will be included in the Development of Anderson Road Quarry project for implementation.

(3) The major purposes of the provision of hillside escalator links and installing barrier-free access facilities (including lifts) to existing public walkways are different. Installing barrier-free access facilities at existing public walkways provide convenience to the public, in particular those who are less mobile (including the elderly and persons with disabilities), in using the public walkways (i.e. public footbridges, elevated walkways and subways maintained by HyD). As for constructing hillside escalator links, the major purpose is to provide convenience to the public to travel to and from hillside areas (for example steep gradient and with huge level difference). These are considered as facilities that enhance pedestrian flow and reduce reliance on road traffic.

     Installing barrier-free access retrofitting facilities to existing public walkways is comparatively simpler than constructing hillside escalator links and is of smaller scale, and therefore construction cost is also lower than hillside escalator links. Constructing hillside escalator links involves building new public walkways which is of larger scale and involves higher cost. Since constructing hillside escalator links and installing barrier-free access facilities at existing public walkways are of different scopes, their scales and functions are also different, and therefore their costs and benefits to society cannot be directly compared.

(4) Currently there are about 170 lifts at hillside escalator links and existing public walkways in the territory that operate around the clock. Of which, on the days that air-conditioning are in use, the average daily operating hours of the lifts that are equipped with air-conditioning systems is 18 hours. The average annual repair and maintenance cost for each of the lift towers is about $300,000 and the average monthly electricity expenditure is about $3,000.

Ends/Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:20

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