Minutes of the 2nd Meeting in 2019 of the Traffic and Transport Committee

of Tai Po District Council Date: 15 March 2019 (Friday) Time: 2:32 p.m. – 7:58 p.m. Venue: Conference Room, Tai Po District Council (“TPDC”) Present Time of Arrival Time of Withdrawal

Chairman

Dr. LAU Chee-sing Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting

Vice-chairman Mr. WOO Kin-man, Clement Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Members Mr. AU Chun-wah Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHAN Cho-leung, MH Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHAN Siu-kuen, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting 6:15 p.m. Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. KWAN Wing-yip Beginning of the meeting 5:56 p.m. Mr. LAU Yung-wai Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. LI Wah-kwong, Rex Beginning of the meeting 7:31 p.m. Mr. LI Yiu-ban, BBS, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting 6:33 p.m. Mr. LO Hiu-fung Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. TAM Wing-fun, Eric, MH Beginning of the meeting 6:15 p.m. Mr. TANG Ming-tai, Patrick Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Ms. WONG Pik-kiu, BBS, MH, JP Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YAM Kai-bong, Francis Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YAM Man-chuen Beginning of the meeting 7:30 p.m. Mr. YU Chi-wing, Ken Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Co-opted Members

Mr. AU Chun-ho Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Ms. CHAN Wai-ka, Olive Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. CHEUNG Kwok-wah 2:40 p.m. 5:03 p.m. Mr. MAN Nim-chi Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. MUI Siu-fung Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. TSANG Hon-man 4:36 p.m. 7:26 p.m.

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Mr. WAN Hing-choy Beginning of the meeting 4:54 p.m. Mr. WU Cheuk-him Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. WU Yiu-cheong, Max Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YIU Kwan-ho, Herman Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Mr. YIP Chun-kit Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Secretary Mr. LEUNG Chung-wa, Alvin Beginning of the meeting End of the meeting Executive Officer (District Council) 1 / Tai Po District Office (“TPDO”) / Home Affairs Department (“HAD”)

In Attendance Ms. LEUNG Wing-yin, Tiffany Assistant District Officer (Tai Po) / TPDO / HAD Ms. MA, Flora Senior Transport Officer / Tai Po / Transport Department

(“TD”) Ms. PUN Fun-yu, Winnie Engineer / Tai Po 1 / TD Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung Engineer / Tai Po 2 / TD Mr. LAM Tack-ho, Alex Engineer / Tai Po 3 / TD Mr. LAW Ho-kin, John Engineer 3 / Walkability / TD Ms. MAK Pui-yan Engineer / 19 (North) / North Development Office / Civil

Engineering and Development Department Ms. AU YEUNG Wai-sum Senior Engineer / Covered Walkway 1 / Highways

Department (“HyD”) Ms. CHOI Yuen-tsang Engineer / Covered Walkway 1-2 / HyD Mr. SIU Wai-kwan District Engineer / Tai Po 2 / HyD Ms. CHIU Wai-sum, Cynthia Assistant Housing Manager / Tai Po, North and Shatin 7 /

Housing Department (“HD”) Mr. TSUI Yik-fuk Head / Traffic Wing / Tai Po Police District / Hong Kong

Police Force (“HKPF”) Mr. LEUNG Man-tik Assistant Public Relations Manager (External Affairs) /

MTR Corporation Limited (“MTRC”) Mr. TAM Tsun-hei, Jeff Manager / Public Affairs / Transport Planning and Public

Affairs Department / Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (“KMB”)

Mr. LEE Hon-ling, Dennis Manager / Transport Planning / Transport Planning and Public Affairs Department /KMB

Mr. WONG Tsz-kin Assistant Manager / Operations / Shatin Depot / KMB Mr. TAM Wing-yeung Director / Asia Engineering (HK) Limited (“AEHKL”)

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Mr. CHEUNG Chun-lok, Gordon Research Director / Hong Kong Sustainable Development Research Institute (“HKSDRI”)

Mr. TAM Ho-chuen, Lawrence Research Officer / HKSDRI Mr. LEE Yu-sau, Terence Senior Executive Officer (District Council) / TPDO / HAD Ms. WONG Yu-hang, Anita Senior Liaison Officer (2) / TPDO / HAD

Applicant for absence

Mr. LI Kwok-ying, BBS, MH, JP Mr. CHEUNG Kwok-wai Absent Mr. CHAN Tsz-wah

Opening Remarks The Chairman welcomed Members and departmental representatives to the Traffic and Transport Committee (“TTC”) meeting and announced the following:

(i) He welcomed Ms. LEUNG Wing-yin, Tiffany, Assistant District Officer (Tai Po), to attend the meetings from now on;

(ii) He welcomed Mr. YIP Chun-kit joining the TTC as a Co-opted Member; and

(iii) Mr. LI Kwok-ying and Mr. CHEUNG Kwok-wai were unable to attend this meeting due to other commitments and had submitted their notices of absence to the Secretariat. Pursuant to Order 51(1) of the TPDC Standing Orders, the TTC would only give consent to a Member’s application for absence from meeting filed on grounds of sickness (including sickness due to pregnancy), jury service, attendance at another meeting / activity on behalf of the District Council (“DC”), attendance at a Legislative Council (“LegCo”) or Executive Council meeting, confinement or paternity leave. Pursuant to the above requirements, their applications were not approved.

I. Confirmation of the minutes of the 1st meeting in 2019 of the TTC on 11 January 2019 (TPDC Paper No. TT 21/2019)

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2. The Chairman said that as the Secretariat did not receive any proposed amendments prior to the meeting and there were no amendments proposed by Members at the meeting, the above minutes were confirmed with no amendments necessary.

II. Provision of a cover for the pedestrian walkway from the junction of Plover Cove Road and Nam Wan Road to Tai Po Market MTR Station (TPDC Paper No. TT 22/2019) 3. The Chairman welcomed Ms. AU YEUNG Wai-sum, Senior Engineer, and Ms. CHOI Yuen-tsang, Engineer of the HyD; Mr. LAW Ho-kin, John, Engineer of the TD; and Mr. TAM Wing-yeung, Director of AEHKL to the meeting for the discussion of this agenda item. 4. Ms. CHOI Yuen-tsang and Mr. TAM Wing-yeung went through the progress and preliminary design of the captioned works by way of PowerPoint respectively. Ms. CHOI Yuen-tsang hoped that the TTC would support the works so that the HyD could continue following up on tasks such as detailed design and public consultation. 5. The Chairman added that at the meeting in March 2017, the TTC had resolved to adopt the captioned route as the preferred option as regards the provision of a cover for the pedestrian walkway. 6. Mr. WOO Kin-man, Clement, the Vice-chairman’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He supported the captioned works and was pleased to know that the works were technically feasible.

(ii) The pedestrian walkway along this route was 2.7 metres to 3.5 metres wide, but the proposed pedestrian walkway cover (“the cover”) was only 2 metres wide and 2.6 metres high, and he was worried that people would get wet during a rainstorm. Therefore, he enquired whether the department could widen the cover.

(iii) It could be seen from the rendered images that the cover material was not transparent. As such, he enquired whether it was the final design or the department would use transparent material to construct the cover.

7. Mr. KWAN Wing-yip did not have much to say about the route and preliminary design of the cover, but asked whether the “7-shaped” design could be changed into a “Y-shaped” one to increase its coverage. He added that there was a bicycle track next to the pedestrian walkway outside Wong Shiu Chi Secondary School (“WSCSS”). If the cover was changed to a “Y-shaped” design, it would increase the coverage and benefit more people.

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8. Mr. YAM Kai-bong, Francis’s comments were as follows:

(i) He enquired whether there would be any lighting system in the cover. If not, would transparent material be used for the cover? Taking the covered pedestrian walkway from Tai Po Market MTR Station to Tai Po Complex as an example, he indicated that the works were time-consuming and inefficient as the works for the lighting system and light screens were carried out separately. He opined that it would be better to carry out the works for the cover and lighting system at the same time, and therefore would like to learn more about the specific arrangements in this regard.

(ii) The HyD had earlier built a lift next to Kwong Fuk Football Ground. As such, he suggested extending the cover to the exit of this lift and to the exit of the pedestrian subway nearby to facilitate members of the public.

9. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu’s comments were as follows:

(i) She was pleased to know that the HyD would build a cover at the said location.

(ii) She commended the works of the covered pedestrian walkway outside Sheng Kung Hui Yuen Chen Maun Chen Primary School for the high quality, and suggested the HyD make reference to the design. She explained that the departments concerned had earlier suggested constructing a “Y-shaped” cover at the said site. However, as the supporting columns of the cover would sit in the middle of the pedestrian walkway and obstruct the passage of wheelchairs and trolleys, they had revised the design and move the supporting columns to somewhere else on the pedestrian walkway. Besides, this cover connected Sheng Kung Hui Yuen Chen Maun Chen Primary School and Kwong Fuk “Spectacles Bridge” seamlessly, and the departments concerned had used opaque and heat-proof materials for the cover and installed a lighting system for it. As such, the departments concerned should refer to it.

(iii) As pointed out by other Members, there was a lift next to Kwong Fuk Football Ground. If the proposed cover could extend its coverage from the pedestrian walkway to this lift, members of the public getting off at the bus stop on Nam Wan Road would be able to walk to other places using this covered pedestrian walkway. Therefore, she asked the department to consider this suggestion in a proactive manner.

(iv) There were many big trees along the cover. When Typhoon “Mangkhut” hit Hong Kong, a big tree fell outside WSCSS and obstructed the pedestrian walkway. She hoped that the department would try its best not to affect the soil and tree roots there when carrying out the foundation works for the cover.

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10. Mr. YU Chi-wing, Ken’s comments were as follows:

(i) As government departments were experienced technique-wise in building covers for pedestrian walkways, he believed that a lot of technical difficulties could be overcome. Since part of the captioned pedestrian walkway was next to the bicycle track, he opined that it was necessary to build a “Y-shaped” cover.

(ii) He opined that a 2-metre-wide cover would not be wide enough and pedestrians would not find it comfortable using it either. Therefore, he hoped that the department could widen the cover.

(iii) If the top of the cover was opaque, he suggested installing solar panels on top of it to provide backup power, so as to provide electricity for lighting when it got dark.

11. Ms. CHAN Wai-ka, Olive indicated that there were a lot of big trees along the route of the cover. As the construction of a cover there might affect the trees’ growth, she asked how the department planned to deal with the tree-related issues (e.g., how to deal with the branches when they grew close to the cover), so as to allow the co-existence of the cover and the trees. 12. Mr. LO Hiu-fung’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He would like to know whether the top of the cover would be made of opaque materials.

(ii) He enquired whether the cover would be equipped with a lighting system. If yes, what would the design be?

(iii) He agreed that the 2-metre-wide cover was not wide enough and it might not be able to shelter people from the rain. He hoped that the department could widen the cover.

(iv) In the past, residents often had no idea whom to complain to when they noticed damages in some newly constructed pedestrian walkway covers that required repair. Therefore, he would like to know the specific arrangement for the cleaning and repair work of the captioned works in future.

(v) He supported the “Y-shaped” design. In addition, many residents would walk to the Tai Po Market MTR Station area to change to minibuses after getting off at Kwong Fuk “Spectacles Bridge” during the evening peak hours. As such, he suggested adopting the “Y-shaped” cover design at the entrance of pedestrian subway near WSCSS.

13. Mr. TANG Ming-tai, Patrick indicated that the foundation works of community construction projects were often constrained by factors such as underground facilities and tree roots, etc.

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Therefore, he enquired whether the HyD had thoroughly examined the impact of the captioned works on the trees (especially on the tree roots) in the vicinity during the preliminary feasibility study stage. He was worried that the connectedness of the cover would be affected if it was found at a later stage that covers could not be constructed at certain locations due to the presence of tree roots. Therefore, he would like to know whether the department had carefully taken into account the afore-mentioned issues. In addition, as the area near the pedestrian subway was relatively dark, he suggested the department consider using solar lamps for illumination. 14. Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He opined that the 2-metre-wide cover was not wide enough.

(ii) He asked about the difference in width between the cover and the pedestrian walkway.

(iii) As there were stairs outside WSCSS and the section of pedestrian walkway from there to Kwong Fuk Football Ground was rather steep, he asked the department not to put the supporting columns of the cover within the pedestrian walkway when constructing the cover, so as not to obstruct the pedestrians, trolleys and wheelchairs from using it.

(iv) He was concerned about the cleaning issues of the cover. He indicated that as there were many trees along the route of the cover, leaves, bird faeces and other refuse could easily accumulate on top of it. Therefore, he asked whether the department would clean it on a regular basis in future.

15. Mr. YAM Man-chuen said that the captioned cover covered parts of pedestrian subways. Even if these pedestrian subways were not the ones that were heavily flooded not long ago, he was worried that water might accumulate inside them during inclement weather, such as typhoons or astronomical tides. As such, he hoped that the department would explain the situation concerned. 16. Mr. MUI Siu-fung said that as the construction of the integrated sports centre in Area 1 of Tai Po would be completed soon, he enquired whether the HyD could extend the cover to this sports centre so as to benefit more members of the public. In addition, the said site was near “Yata Bridge” of Tai Po. If the cover could be connected to “Yata Bridge”, it would be able to link up areas such as Tai Po Market, integrated sports centre and Tai Po Centre, and become an even more extensive covered pedestrian walkway network. He hoped that the department would consider the suggestion. 17. Mr. TAM Wing-yeung responded as follows:

(i) The size of the foundation and the underground space available for foundation construction had to be taken into consideration when deciding the width of the

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cover. As the proposed road section had lots of tree roots and pipelines underground, the space available for foundation construction was severely limited, and that was why the width of the proposed cover was about 2 metres.

(ii) To construct a “Y-shaped” or “T-shaped” cover on an existing pedestrian walkway, the supporting columns of the cover would have to sit in the middle of the pedestrian walkway and thus obstruct the pedestrians. If there was a bicycle track next to the pedestrian walkway, it would be technically feasible to construct a “T-shaped” cover between the pedestrian walkway and the bicycle track (depending on the size of the foundation). However, whether such a “T-shaped” cover could be constructed was still subject to the budget of the works.

(iii) According to the information of the trees in the vicinity, including the size of the trees and their crowns, it was found that the trees in the vicinity were way taller than the 2.6-metre-high pedestrian walkway cover, and there was a considerable distance between the cover and the trees in the vicinity. During construction, the contractor would excavate the road surface at a specific distance from the trees according to the Government’s regulation to comply with the tree conservation requirements. Should the branches grow near the cover in future, the HyD would make appropriate arrangements in accordance with the relevant guidelines.

(iv) It was planned that the pedestrian walkway cover would be made of opaque aluminium honeycomb panels. This panel consisted of two thin aluminium plates of 2 to 3 centimetres thick with a layer of air between them for cooling. The pros of aluminium honeycomb panels were that they were light and easy for installation, repair and maintenance.

(v) Lighting system would be installed for the pedestrian walkway cover.

(vi) The pedestrian walkway cover would be constructed on the pedestrian walkway and would not affect the exits on both sides of pedestrian subways. The cover would also be equipped with drainage facilities that were connected to the existing drainage system. Therefore, the proposed cover would not affect the existing drainage system of the pedestrian subways.

18. Ms. AU YEUNG Wai-sum responded as follows:

(i) The HyD carried out the feasibility study based on the TTC’s preferred pedestrian walkway cover route. Therefore, Members’ suggestion of extending the cover to the lift next to Kwong Fuk Football Ground was not included in this feasibility study. The department would study the feasibility and relevant works costs of this suggestion during the detailed design stage. If the overall works costs exceeded the funding limit for Category D items (i.e., $30 million), it would take longer for the works to launch.

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(ii) As regards the suggestion of extending the cover to the Plover Cove Road area, as it was not the preferred route for the pedestrian walkway cover and it would significantly lengthen the route, the cover extension to Plover Cove Road area would not be considered.

(iii) During construction, the HyD would pay more attention to the details mentioned by Members and try its best to minimise the works’ impact on the pedestrians.

(iv) The preliminary design of the cover lighting system would be undertaken by the Lighting Division of the HyD. In general, LED lights would be used for the lighting facilities. The department would study the feasibility of installing solar panels during the detailed design stage.

19. Mr. John LAW indicated that in the Policy Address 2016, the Government announced that it would invite all the DCs to make recommendations on providing covers for pedestrian walkways connected to public transport facilities in the district. However, this scheme did not include extending covers to bicycle tracks. Nevertheless, as the lift near Kwong Fuk Football Ground was in the proximity of transport facilities, it should be covered by the scheme. Therefore, the departments concerned could study the feasibility of extending the cover to this lift. In addition, as regards the regular cleaning of covers, the HyD would perform cleaning, repair and maintenance for pedestrian walkway covers on a regular basis. Members of the public might notify the Government of any cleaning problem found via the 1823 hotline, and the TD and the HyD would coordinate and follow up on the relevant cleaning work. 20. The Chairman enquired about the total length of the cover and the estimated costs of the works. Besides, he indicated that according to the rendered images, the supporting columns of the cover outside WSCSS were on the right side of the pedestrian walkway (near Tai Po River). However, as there was currently a pedestrian subway heading to Tai Po Market down the road near Kwong Fuk Road, he was worried that the supporting columns (especially those near the exits of the pedestrian subway) would obstruct the access of members of the public. As such, he suggested the department consider putting the supporting columns on the left side of the pedestrian walkway (near WSCSS) to facilitate members of the public.

21. Mr. LAU Yung-wai’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He noticed two gaps (i.e., uncovered sections) along the proposed route in Photo 1 of the discussion paper concerned. One was the bend outside Tai Po Market MTR Station near the taxi stand, and the other was at the Kwong Fuk Road pedestrian subway exit towards Kwong Fuk Football Ground. He asked whether pedestrian walkway cover could not be constructed at these two locations had something to do with the presence of bicycle track. He opined that a discontinuous cover would cause inconvenience to the pedestrians, and therefore it was necessary to construct a

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cover along the entire pedestrian walkway. He urged the HyD to study ways to build a cover at the two afore-mentioned gaps so as to link up the entire cover.

(ii) He encouraged the department to install solar panels at appropriate locations on the cover to provide electricity for the lighting system or other uses. He opined that it was an environmental-friendly practice.

(iii) He would like to know the heat-proof effectiveness of the cover material. For instance, when the temperature was 30 degree Celsius with direct sunlight and the humidity was about 50% to 60%, what would the apparent temperature under the pedestrian walkway cover be?

(iv) He noticed that the cover outside WSCSS was very close to the outer wall of the school. He was worried that someone might climb into the campus via the cover, and hoped that the department could check whether the design would create any security issues.

(v) This pedestrian walkway cover was very long. He suggested the department provide chairs at appropriate locations for members of the public to take a rest.

22. Mr. AU Chun-wah’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) The consultancy mentioned just now that the rainwater on the cover would be directed to the drainage system on the road surface through the pipes. However, he pointed out that there was no drainage system at the site at present. Therefore, he enquired whether the rainwater would be diverted to the underground pipelines directly or the administration would construct underground pipelines along the cover to collect the rainwater.

(ii) As the area outside Kwong Fuk Football Ground had a low pedestrian flow, he asked whether the department had carried out pedestrian flow assessment when devising the route. He opined that the section between Kwong Fuk “Spectacles Bridge” and Tai Po River (i.e., the riverside opposite Kwong Fuk Football Ground) had a higher pedestrian flow, and members of the public would often walk to Tai Po Market MTR Station via this route whenever there was traffic congestion. He opined that it was more practical for the route to cover this area.

(iii) He reminded the department to carefully consider the placement of the supporting columns when constructing the cover. He explained that the school might not necessarily support the project as the cover would obscure its view and criminals might climb into the campus via the cover. Therefore, the department had to fully consult the school.

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23. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu’s comments were as follows:

(i) As the cover was close to the wire netting of the basketball court of WSCSS, she agreed that the department should consult the school about the cover works.

(ii) There were no drainage inlets between the pedestrian walkway and bicycle track outside WSCSS. If the supporting columns were to be built there, rainwater that had been diverted to the ground could not be drained away. As the cover was only 2 metres wide, water would flow like a waterfall on rainy days and cause inconvenience to the public. However, placing the supporting columns near the school would also lead to security issues. As such, she asked the department to revise the proposal with reference to Members’ comments first, and join her, Mr. Clement WOO and Mr. Ken YU in discussing with the school and asking for their opinions.

24. Mr. MUI Siu-fung indicated that the route of the cover was very long. In particular, there was a pedestrian walkway and bicycle track outside WSCSS where many people passed by during the morning and evening peak hours. Therefore, he was worried that a closure to the entire section during construction might cause inconvenience. He enquired the department about the specific works arrangement, such as whether the works would be carried out in phases, or traffic diversion would be adopted during the construction period, etc. 25. Mr. WU Cheuk-him’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) The road outside Kwong Fuk Football Ground was rather steep. Rainwater flowed like a waterfall easily during rainy days and it was inconvenient for public use.

(ii) As there was a school in near the cover and excavation works would create noise, he asked whether the department would consider carrying out the works during the summer vacation to minimise the impact on students.

(iii) As many members of the public and students would take this route on their way to Tai Po Market MTR Station and to school, he asked about the scale of road closure during the construction period and whether the pedestrian walkway would have to be closed for a long period of time.

26. Ms. AU YEUNG Wai-sum responded as follows:

(i) The department had to finish the detailed design before making an accurate valuation of the costs of the cover works.

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(ii) The supporting columns of the cover would be about 4.5 metres apart. The department would build the supporting columns at appropriate locations based on the environment and would not build them in the middle of the pedestrian walkway, so as to avoid obstructing members of the public.

(iii) The cover works would be carried out in phases, but the specific works procedures could only be confirmed after the contract had been approved. Partial road closure would also be adopted during the construction period, and the entire pedestrian walkway or bicycle track would not be fully closed so as to minimise the works’ impact on the public.

(iv) The department would contact WSCSS after finishing the feasibility study, so as to discuss the design of the cover as well as ways to work with each other during the construction period.

27. Mr. TAM Wing-yeung responded as follows:

(i) No information regarding the heat-proof function of the cover could be provided for the time being. He would provide supplementary information for the Member concerned after the meeting.

(ii) According to the preliminary design, drainage pipes would be provided on the cover at specific intervals to divert the rainwater to the ground, and they would be connected to the existing drainage system. During the detailed design stage, the department would design the drainage system in a detailed manner to ensure that the rainwater on the cover would not flow like a waterfall.

28. Mr. John LAW supplemented as follows:

(i) While the provision of chairs was not included in the captioned works, Members might add them through the District Minor Works Project after the cover works had been completed. If such works were to be carried out, Members could notify the TD for its co-operation.

(ii) When the policy was implemented, its guideline stated clearly that the cover could not be longer than 500 metres and had to connect to public transport facilities. Therefore, all suggestions had to comply with the afore-mentioned requirements.

(iii) The total length of the captioned cover was about 460 metres, and the highest hourly pedestrian flow of the pedestrian walkway outside WSCSS was 1 079.

(iv) As regards the two gaps along the route mentioned by Mr. LAU Yung-wai, he said that these locations should be the pedestrian crossings along the bicycle track. The department would consider providing a cover at these locations.

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29. The Chairman said that if there were no “U-shaped pipes” at the existing pedestrian walkways, the department would install them to divert rainwater to the public catch pits, so that water would neither accumulate on the ground nor flow like a waterfall. As regards the placement of supporting columns, he asked the department to provide the TTC with the relevant information after finishing the detailed design. He added that a distance of 4.5 metres between the supporting columns might obstruct or even injure the pedestrians. As such, he stressed that the supporting columns should be built as close to the wall as possible to avoid injuries and complaints. 30. Mr. LAU Yung-wai was surprised that the department did not provide a cover for the bicycle track area, and said that such a practice was different from what the public had expected. He stressed that a cover should be provided for the entire pedestrian walkway. Even though the policy stated that a cover had to be provided for pedestrian walkways, it should not have blindly followed the policy by often splitting up the cover at the pedestrian crossings of bicycle tracks. He hoped that the department would resolve the afore-mentioned problems in a proactive manner.

31. Mr. AU Chun-wah enquired whether the department had conducted any pedestrian flow assessment on the road section outside Kwong Fuk Football Ground. Besides, he indicated that Tai Po Road – Yuen Chau Tsai Section (for both directions) had a considerably higher pedestrian flow than the area outside Kwong Fuk Football Ground during the morning and evening peak hours, and had a sizable bus interchange which complied with the policy requirements. As such, he enquired whether the department had considered connecting the cover to Tai Po Road – Yuen Chau Tsai Section instead of Kwong Fuk Football Ground.

32. The Chairman added that the TTC had accorded priority for the routes of pedestrian walkway cover in the district at the meeting in March 2017, and the captioned route was the top choice. He asked the government departments to respond to Mr. AU Chun-wah’s enquiry, but added that the departments would probably not consider the suggestion of connecting the cover to Kwong Fuk “Spectacles Bridge” for the time being.

33. Mr. AU Chun-wah said that he was worried that no one would use the constructed cover and therefore put forward the suggestion concerned. If the Chairman decided not to make further changes to the route, he would use it as a reason to explain to the residents why the department would build facilities that no one used.

34. The Chairman said that it was not his decision to make and he was merely providing Members with the background information concerned for reference. 35. Mr. John LAW supplemented as follows:

(i) The TTC put forward four proposed routes for the cover at the meeting in March 2017 and they all complied with the policy requirements concerned. Among them,

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the captioned route was the top choice.

(ii) According to the pedestrian flow survey carried out at the captioned route in 2017, the highest hourly pedestrian flows of WSCSS and Kwong Fuk Football Ground during the morning peak hours were 1 079 (including 78 elderly persons) and 772 (including 69 elderly persons) respectively.

(iii) The department would first carry out the captioned works at this stage. If the policy received positive feedback and was implemented successfully, and members of the public showed great demand for cover facilities, the Administration might consider taking forward similar policies again. At the same time, the TD would also consider relaxing the pedestrian flow limit of pedestrian walkways.

(iv) As regards the enquiry on gaps along the cover, if there was no pedestrian crossing at the bicycle track at the gap, the department would consider adding a pedestrian crossing and cover to the bicycle track so as to link up the entire pedestrian walkway cover.

36. The TTC supported the captioned project.

III. Demand for improving the traffic safety facilities on Ting Kok Road (from Lo Fai Road to Tai Mei Tuk) as soon as possible

(TPDC Paper No. TT 23/2019) 37. The Chairman introduced the captioned paper. 38. Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung said that the TD had been keeping an eye on the traffic condition of Ting Kok Road and would see if there was room for improvement to the road. As regards the traffic safety issues of Ting Kok Road, the department’s initiatives were generally as follows:

(i) The department and the HKPF planned to install a fixed speed enforcement camera (“SEC”) on Ting Kok Road. The preliminary work for the installation would be carried out once the resources required had been confirmed.

(ii) At present, the left side of Ting Kok Road towards Tai Po near the sewage pumping station was lined with trees. The department was studying the installation of railings or crash barriers there.

(iii) The department had installed railings to the pedestrian crossings at Chim Uk Tsuen where an accident had taken place, so as to help members of the public cross the road at the right place safely.

(iv) The department would carry out timely studies to see if it was necessary to enhance the existing traffic signs and road markings on Ting Kok Road.

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39. Mr. Francis YAM said that there was a signalised junction on Ting Kok Road towards Tai Po town centre near Fortune Garden that allowed vehicles to turn right to the Education University of Hong Kong (or onto Lo Fai Road). However, vehicles would have to wait at this right-turning signalised junction and thus obstruct the vehicles behind them that would like to go straight ahead. As vehicles generally travelled at a higher speed on Ting Kok Road, he opined that if they suddenly stopped and waited in front of the signalised junction, the approaching vehicles might crash into them and result in accidents. Therefore, he enquired whether the department could widen this section of road and reserve a lane for the right-turning vehicles. 40. Mr. CHEUNG Kwok-wah would like to know where the SEC would be installed. He opined that dangers were everywhere along Ting Kok Road, and the installation of a single SEC was merely better than nothing. He pointed out that after the fatal traffic accident at Lung Mei in March 2018, he and the Chairman had asked the TD to install an SEC at the scene of the accident. However, they had not received any reply yet and thus would like the TD to make a response in this regard. Besides, a large goods vehicle had frequently been parked at the lay-by of Po Sam Pai Bus Stop (Tai Po-bound) recently. When this goods vehicle left the lay-by, other drivers making the turn could easily hit the back of the goods vehicle if they were slightly distracted, and would result in injuries and casualties. Hence, many villagers hoped that the department would install railings near the bus stop to resolve the problem. He hoped that the department would address the issue.

41. Mr. CHAN Siu-kuen said that as the Chairman was the DC Member of the constituency concerned while Mr. CHEUNG Kwok-wah was the village head of Lung Mei Village, they were both very familiar with the environment there and well-informed of the community affairs, not to mention knowing everything about each and every junction and road section there like the back of their hands. Therefore, he opined that the TD, the HyD and the HKPF should respect the locals’ views and even inspect the sites with them to learn about the traffic issue of every spot, so as to look for a more appropriate location to install the SEC to prevent such accidents from taking place again.

42. Mr. AU Chun-ho would also like to know the specific location of the SEC. He pointed out that Ting Kok Road was very long and the installation of a single SEC might not have any deterrent effect. Besides, as there were rampant illegal road racing activities on Ting Kok Road, he believed that installing a single SEC could hardly deter speeding. As such, he enquired whether the department could install more SECs on Ting Kok Road, or took other initiatives to prevent traffic accidents due to illegal road racing or speeding.

43. Mr. WAN Hing-choy noted that traffic accidents often took place on Ting Kok Road near Green Cove and therefore asked why the department did not put in place any traffic improvement measures there. As regards the signalised junction issues on Lo Fai Road, he enquired whether the department could adjust the signalling sequence of the traffic lights there by turning it from

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“green arrow (go straight) then green light” to “green light then green arrow (go straight)”, so that vehicles going straight and turning right could go at the same time. He believed that it could alleviate the problems concerned. 44. Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung responded as follows:

(i) The TD and the HKPF still had to look for a suitable location to install the SEC, and therefore could not provide the specific installation location for the time being. The department would submit the relevant information to the TTC when it became available in future.

(ii) There was a pair of road signs on both Kowloon-bound and Tai Mei Tuk-bound Ting Kok Road near Green Cove that reminded drivers of the sharp turn ahead. The department was considering setting up another pair of “Slow down” road signs in addition to the said pair of road signs to remind drivers to drive carefully and slowly. He added that even though the said site was not a traffic blackspot at present, the department would still enhance the road signs proactively wherever possible.

(iii) The department noted the comments regarding the signalised junction on Lo Fai Road (including the adjustment to the signalling sequence of the traffic lights and road widening, etc.), and would review the relevant situation after the meeting to see if there were ways for improvement.

IV. Demand for relaxing the body length restriction of buses so that the new models of large buses could travel on Lam Kam Road (Lam Tsuen Road Section) (TPDC Paper No. TT 24/2019) 45. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung introduced the captioned paper. 46. Mr. LAM Tack-ho, Alex responded as follows:

(i) According to the current road regulations, vehicles with a length of over 11 metres were not allowed on Lam Kam Road (from Lam Kam Road Interchange to Tsuen Kam Interchange). He believed that this requirement was devised years ago due to traffic safety considerations. For instance, the terrain, bends or slope of certain road surfaces, etc., were unsuitable for long vehicles. If this restriction was to be relaxed, the TD would have to examine the entire Lam Kam Road to see where the problems existed and what could be done to resolve these problems.

(ii) As mentioned by Mr. CHAN Cho-leung while he was going through the paper, the bus companies had tried and succeeded in running buses over 11 metres long on

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Lam Kam Road. Since he did not participate in the work concerned, he was not clear about the details. However, in the long run, he opined that providing suitable turnaround facilities (such as roundabouts, etc.) or enhancing the traffic signals would be the way to ensure that buses could turn around safely. The department noted Members’ comments and would study the provision of turnaround area for buses at suitable locations, and study the feasibility of relaxing the length restriction on buses.

47. Ms. MA, Flora responded as follows:

(i) As vehicle length restriction had been imposed on Lam Kam Road, the department had been proactively studying the provision of a roundabout outside Kadoorie Farm and preparing for the provision of an interchange at Lam Kam Road Roundabout since 2018. However, these construction works would take time.

(ii) The TD understood the keen public demand for bus routes 64K and 65K, as well as minibus route 25K. Therefore, it allowed the bus companies to operate a short working service route of 64K (i.e., route 64P) on 18 March 2019 to enhance the bus services between Tai Po Market and Kadoorie Farm. On the other hand, the department was also discussing with the minibus company on providing three more minibuses for route 25K, so as to meet the traffic demand in the Lam Kam Road area.

(iii) As road surface improvement works could not be completed within a short period of time, the department was now proactively discussing with KMB about the purchase of more 10.6-metre-long buses to meet the bus service demand along Lam Kam Road.

48. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu’s comments were as follows:

(i) She supported the proposal of lifting the ban on long buses travelling on Lam Kam Road. She opined that the department should keep up with the times and should not avoid making changes simply because the restriction was put in place years ago.

(ii) There were slopes and sharp turns at the section of (Kam Tin-bound) Lam Kam Road after Kadoorie Farm which was unsuitable for long vehicles. As such, she suggested relocating the bus terminus of route 65K from Sheung Tsuen to Kadoorie Farm, so as to serve the passengers travelling between there and Tai Po town centre.

(iii) While buses needed space to turn around, many coaches would also be parked outside Kadoorie Farm during holidays. As a result, vehicles passing by often had to wait on the slopes for these coaches to turn around and it could be dangerous. Therefore, the department had to provide a roundabout outside Kadoorie Farm as

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soon as possible so as to help vehicles turn around.

(iv) She opined that the department should provide short-distance bus services between Kadoorie Farm and Tai Po Centre, or even use buses over 11 metres long for this route to enhance the services.

(v) She said that she often travelled to Kam Tin. When driving along Lam Kam Road, she often saw lots of passengers waiting for buses at the bus stops, and the minibuses travelling by would also be full. Therefore, she opined that there was an urgent need for the department to resolve the traffic issues in Lam Tsuen.

49. Mr. Patrick TANG said that while Lam Kam Road had not changed much over the years, there had been substantial changes in the trees and facilities along the side and vehicular functions had also improved a lot. He opined that the TD should re-examine the restriction on vehicles over 11 metres long from travelling on Lam Kam Road, and had to study the feasibility of widening Lam Kam Road to alleviate the traffic there. He asked when the said restriction was put in place. 50. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung’s comments were as follows:

(i) He went through the background of route 65K in brief by pointing out that it was not enough for KMB to provide only six departures during the morning peak hours on weekdays, and therefore strongly demanded for more departures.

(ii) The operation of route 64P by KMB was effective in alleviating the traffic demand from Tai Po Market to the Lam Tsuen area during the evening peak hours on weekdays.

(iii) The quality of minibus service was poor and it was the TD’s responsibility to enhance the monitoring efforts. He and Mr. Patrick TANG had suggested the Government help the industry recruit minibus drivers or it would be difficult to improve the quality of minibus service. Owing to insufficient manpower, minibus drivers had plentiful of job opportunities, which had attributed to the poor attitude of certain drivers and frequent complaints by members of the public.

(iv) He pointed out that residents in Lam Tsuen were greatly concerned about the traffic infrastructure there and hoped that Members would understand the importance of relaxing the restriction on long buses travelling on Lam Kam Road.

(v) He would propose to the department about setting up a turnaround area at Kwan Yik Store later. As regards the site outside Kadoorie Farm, he said that a turnaround area could be set up simply by removing the kerbs there and adding road markings. He also opined that the department needed not worry too much that the slope nearby would affect driving safety, and engineers could also add appropriate road signs in the area to remind the drivers to drive carefully. Therefore, setting up a turnaround

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area there would not be a big problem.

(vi) As KMB did not have new bus resources allocated to the bus routes in Lam Tsuen, the transport issues of Lam Tsuen residents would not be resolved if long buses were not allowed on Lam Kam Road.

51. Mr. Francis YAM’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) The section of Lam Kam Road from Kadoorie Farm to Sheung Tsuen was rather steep. He asked whether this road section was the reason why buses over 11 metres long were not allowed on Lam Kam Road. If yes, he opined that bus routes could be changed so that bus companies could use long buses for the routes concerned.

(ii) There were several metered parking spaces and lay-bys outside Kadoorie Farm for coaches to pick up and drop off passengers. He believed that there would be enough room for long vehicles to turn around by widening the area a little.

(iii) Due to the crest on the road section between Sheung Tsuen and Kadoorie Farm, drivers should have a clear view and would not drive at a very high speed. As such, he believed that a turnaround area could be set up outside Kadoorie Farm.

(iv) The department could enhance the existing service simply by providing a roundabout outside Kadoorie Farm and turning route 65K or 64P into a circular route. As buses could carry more passengers than minibuses could, these initiatives could substantially increase the public transport capacity. He opined that it was the only way to meet the traffic demand of Lam Tsuen.

(v) He opined that it was the responsibility of the TD and the HyD to provide a roundabout outside Kadoorie Farm. The ban of 11-metre-long vehicles from Lam Kam Road was put in place years ago and things were substantially different nowadays. Therefore, the department should study relaxing this requirement.

52. The Chairman hoped that the TD could improve the facilities outside Kadoorie Farm and see if there was enough room to set up a turnaround area. Besides, he pointed out that there were two rather narrow S-shaped turns on the slope of Lam Kam Road after Kadoorie Farm, and thus enquired whether it was the reason why vehicles over 11 metres long were not allowed on Lam Kam Road. If yes, he said that the department could address the driving safety issue by widening the road surface and reducing the curvature of the turns. As such, it was not impossible to set up a turnaround area outside Kadoorie Farm and lifting the vehicle ban. It all depended on whether the department was willing to take follow-up actions. 53. Mr. Alex LAM responded as follows:

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(i) According to the regulations, vehicles over 11 metres long were not allowed on the road section between Lam Kam Roundabout and Tsuen Kam Roundabout. As rural villages had been developing gradually, the trees and road surface of the said road section might have changed. However, as regards lifting the vehicle length restriction on Lam Kam Road, the department still had to review the situation of the entire road section in a comprehensive manner, including where the restriction could be lifted and what could be improved there, etc.

(ii) At present, there was still no turnaround area for long vehicles on Lam Kam Road. As the road section from Kadoorie Farm to the Yuen Long area was in Yuen Long District, he would contact the colleagues concerned to follow up and see if there was any room for improvement. As for Tai Po District, the department would examine the feasibility of setting up a turnaround area outside Kadoorie Farm.

(iii) The department had earlier inspected the site outside Kadoorie Farm with the DC Members concerned and KMB. While KMB opined that there was enough room for buses to turn around, the department was concerned that vehicles travelling in either direction would be obstructed when long vehicles were turning around.

(iv) Drivers departing from Yuen Long would travel past the crest on their way to Kadoorie Farm along Lam Kam Road before having a clear view of the road condition ahead. As the vehicles would be going downhill after going past the crest, they would not be travelling too slowly. Therefore, if a turnaround area was to be set up outside Kadoorie Farm, the department opined that it would be more appropriate to construct a regular roundabout, and the department was now following up on the matter.

54. If the department was concerned that the vehicles travelling in either carriageway would be affected by the turning around of long vehicles, or worried that the vehicles going downhill would be travelling at a very high speed when approaching the turnaround area, the Chairman asked whether such problems could be resolved by the provision of traffic lights. 55. Mr. Alex LAM responded that the department had considered the suggestion of providing traffic lights there, but it was similar to constructing a roundabout as far as the scale of works was concerned. 56. Mr. Francis YAM pointed out that there were several exits / entrances to rural villages along Lam Kam Road that vehicles could travel in and out of them by cutting lanes at will. Therefore, he did not believe that setting up a turnaround area would affectr the vehicles on either carriageway. 57. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung thanked the Chairman for his suggestion of providing traffic lights near Kadoorie Farm. However, as it would take a long time to carry out the works, he suggested

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that it would be more convenient to put up road signs at the uphill and downhill section nearby to remind the drivers. 58. Mr. Patrick TANG understood that it was difficult for the TD to set up a roundabout outside Kadoorie Farm at present as it was rather dangerous for vehicles to enter a roundabout immediately after going downhill. Therefore, he stressed that the department should re-examine the ban of 11-metre-long vehicles on Lam Kam Road. He opined that apart from considering the width and gradient of the road, the department should also take into account the improvement of vehicular equipment nowadays when reviewing whether the afore-mentioned requirement was still appropriate. As regards the provision of traffic lights and levelling the slope at the section of Lam Kam Road near Kadoorie Farm to reduce the risks of accidents, he opined that the TD and the HyD should try to launch the studies despite their difficulties. 59. The Chairman suggested forwarding the afore-mentioned matters to the Working Group on Improvements to Major Roads in Rural Areas under the TTC for follow-up actions. 60. Members did not have any other comments.

V. Demand for putting in place bus services between Tai Po and Tuen Mun as soon as possible (TPDC Paper No. TT 25/2019) 61. Mr. TAM Wing-fun, Eric introduced the captioned paper. 62. Ms. Flora MA responded as follows:

(i) The TD noted Mr. Eric TAM’s comments.

(ii) The department was originally scheduled to start operating route 263C in the first quarter of 2019 to provide bus services between Tai Po and Tuen Mun. As the department and the bus companies had been dealing with a lot of service adjustment work outside the Bus Route Planning Programme (“BRPP”) in 2018, the commissioning date of route 263C had been slightly adjusted.

(iii) The department expected that route 263C would start operating in the second quarter of 2019 or earlier.

63. Mr. LEE Hon-ling, Dennis understood that many passengers hoped that KMB would put in place the services of route 263C as soon as possible. KMB expected that this route would be in service in the second quarter of 2019. 64. Mr. MUI Siu-fung would like to know more about route 263C, such as its commissioning

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date, service hours and frequencies, etc., so that he could respond to public enquiries. 65. Mr. Dennis LEE said that according to the current service plan, there would be one departure of route 263C from Tai Po to Tuen Mun and one from Tuen Mun to Tai Po during the peak hours. Members would be notified once the specific implementation timeframe was available.

VI. Demand for providing MTR Fare Savers in Tai Po District (TPDC Paper No. TT 26/2019) 66. The Chairman welcomed Mr. LEUNG Man-tik, Assistant Public Relations Manager (External Affairs) of MTRC to the meeting for the discussion of this agenda item. 67. Mr. Eric TAM introduced the captioned paper. 68. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik responded as follows:

(i) MTRC set up Fare Savers in the hope of encouraging members of the public to walk to the nearest MTR station to take the trains.

(ii) There were many factors to be taken into account when setting up a Fare Saver, such as the distance between the Fare Saver and the MTR station, whether the new Fare Saver could attract new passengers, the availability of power supply and room at the proposed set-up site, etc.

(iii) Fare Savers should not be set up at places that were either too far away from or too close to the MTR station.

(iv) MTRC had considered Member’s suggestion of setting up a Fare Saver at Tai Po Hui Market (i.e., Tai Po Complex). As Tai Po Hui Market was too close to Tai Po Market MTR Station, it did not meet the criterion for setting up a Fare Saver. However, MTRC would keep the suggestion for reference purposes.

(v) If Members had other suggested locations for setting up Fare Savers, they could inform MTRC for consideration and study purposes.

69. The Chairman suggested MTRC propose specific locations in the district where Fare Savers could be set up, as he opined that it would be more straightforward. 70. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik said that Fare Savers were usually set up at about 500 to 600 metres away from MTR stations. However, the distance between Fare Savers and MTR stations was only one of the many factors for consideration and there were other factors to be taken into account. He asked Members to propose specific locations for setting up Fare Savers to allow

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MTRC to consider every one of them.

71. Mr. Ken YU enquired whether Wan Tau Tong Shopping Centre was a suitable location for setting up a Fare Saver.

72. Mr. AU Chun-wah said that the purpose of setting up Fare Savers was to attract people who were far away from MTR stations to take the MTR. Therefore, he did not understand why Fare Savers could not be set up at locations far away from MTR stations. Taking the Wan Tau Tong residents as an example, he said that unless their destination could not be reached by the MTR directly, these residents would still take the MTR even if there was no Fare Saver, and the situation was different from those who were further away from MTR stations. He continued that requesting MTRC to set up Fare Savers would actually help MTRC increase its number of passengers. Therefore, he found it hard to understand why MTRC had laid down so many hurdles to hinder its business operation.

73. Mr. LO Hiu-fung said that Tai Po Complex had power supply and was about 500 metres away from the MTR station, not to mention that it was the landmark in the area that residents in the vicinity often went shopping there. He believed that setting up a Fare Saver there could bring in more passengers for MTRC and he hoped that MTRC would proactively consider doing so. 74. Mr. MUI Siu-fung’s comments were as follows:

(i) Last year, he discussed the same topic with MTRC which indicated at that time that the distance between a Fare Saver and MTR station should be about 500 metres. As such, Members suggested setting up a Fare Saver at Tai Po Complex.

(ii) The Chairman of Tai Po Hui Market had agreed to set up a Fare Saver at Tai Po Complex which had power supply as well as sufficient room. Therefore, he urged MTRC to discuss and follow up with Mr. LI Kwok-ying, the DC Member of the constituency concerned.

(iii) When meeting with MTRC Chairman in 2016, he had said that there was no Fare Saver in the district and suggested setting up one in Fu Heng. However, the suggestion ended up with nothing definite. Therefore, he hoped that MTRC would look into the suggestion again.

(iv) He suggested MTRC set up Fare Savers at the following locations: Tai Po Complex, Wan Tau Tong, Tai Po Centre / Tai Po MegaMall and Fu Heng (especially because there was no feeder bus service in Fu Heng).

75. Mr. Francis YAM’s comments were as follows:

(i) He was surprised that MTRC Chairman had ignored the views expressed by the pro-establishment camp. Therefore, he would support any censure motion moved

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by Members against MTRC.

(ii) MTRC was making substantial profits and should repay members of the public. To comply with the Government’s policy of “a railway-based network complemented by bus services”, he opined that apart from the markets and housing estates, MTRC should also set up Fare Savers at all bus stops to compete with the bus companies directly.

(iii) He hoped that MTRC would listen to Members of different parties and proactively study the setting up of Fare Savers in the district.

76. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik responded as follows:

(i) As regards the suggestion of setting up a Fare Saver in Wan Tau Tong Estate, as he did not have the relevant information for the time being, he would contact the Members concerned for follow-up action after the meeting.

(ii) As regards the suggestion of setting up a Fare Saver in Fu Heng, he reiterated that MTRC set up Fare Savers in the hope of encouraging members of the public to walk a walkable distance (i.e., 500 to 600 metres) to the MTR Stations to take the trains. If the Fare Saver was too far away from the MTR station, it would be difficult for people to walk there. Therefore, he believed that it would not be attractive to set up a Fare Saver there.

(iii) He would forward Members’ suggestions to MTRC for consideration and notice. 77. The Chairman asked whether Plover Cove Garden was a suitable location for setting up a Fare Saver. 78. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik said that he would forward the Chairman’s suggestion to the relevant department for study and would contact the Chairman for follow-up actions later. 79. Mr. YAM Man-chuen said that after going through the information, he found that there was no Fare Saver in the entire New Territories North (including Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, North District and Tai Po), which was clearly unfair. However, as the Government had launched the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme and there were all sorts of insurmountable hurdles in setting up a Fare Saver, he opined that it would be more practical for MTRC to lower the fare for the East Rail Line (“ERL”) directly, and it would help MTRC regain popularity as well. 80. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik indicated that he would forward the comments concerning the ERL’s fare to MTRC for consideration. He also added that at present, MTRC was providing the ERL passengers with various concessions, such as Monthly Pass for the ERL and feeder bus services, etc.

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81. Mr. WU Cheuk-him asked MTRC to provide feeder bus service between Fu Heng and Tai Po Market MTR Station. 82. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik said that he would forward the afore-mentioned comments to MTRC for consideration.

VII. Demand for enhancing Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus (TPDC Paper No. TT 27/2019) 83. Mr. MUI Siu-fung introduced the captioned paper. 84. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD had been keeping an eye on the facilities at Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus, and the franchised bus companies’ works subsidised by the Government on installing chairs and real-time bus arrival information panels at covered bus stops were also in progress. At present, the Administration had subsidised the bus companies to add two chairs at Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus, and would finish installing the real-time bus arrival information panels this year. 85. Mr. WONG Tsz-kin said that apart from installing real-time bus arrival information panels at covered bus stops, KMB would also study adding similar information panels at uncovered bus stops (such as the bus stops of routes 75X and 271) to facilitate passengers waiting for the bus. 86. Mr. Eric TAM said that the design and planning of Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus could not keep up with its current usage. He pointed out that when the bus terminus was constructed years ago, there were not as many bus routes as today, and the service frequency and passenger volume of routes 72X and 74X were similar. However, the service frequency and passenger demand of route 74X had significantly exceeded that of route 72X, and there was often a long queue waiting for route 74X that resulted in the uneven distribution of waiting platform area. In addition, some of the bus stops (such as those of the airport buses) had a small cover that could accommodate only a few passengers, while others had to wait outside the cover and the waiting environment was undesirable. He continued that apart from the need to enhance bus terminus’ facilities due to progress in society, problems that could affect the bus terminus’ operation, such as the waiting environment of passengers, allocation of stops and waiting platform area, etc., should be improved as well. Otherwise, the bus terminus’ facilities could hardly cope with the development needs in future. 87. Mr. MUI Siu-fung’s comments were as follows:

(i) There were more passengers waiting for routes 74X and 307 during the morning and evening peak hours and the queuing situation was rather chaotic. Taking route

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74X as an example, he said that passengers usually queued up along the railing next to the bus stop. However, probably because the railing had been removed recently, the queuing situation became so chaotic that passengers would line up around the bus stop of route 307 as well as the bus drivers’ rest room, and there were often passengers going in and out of the queue. Therefore, he hoped that KMB would also improve the queuing arrangement of these two routes when enhancing the facilities of Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus, such as separating these two bus routes that had the most passengers waiting for the buses, etc. He suggested KMB inspect the bus terminus with Members to study ways to enhance the facilities.

(ii) He noted that the department and KMB would install real-time information panels at covered bus stops. However, he understood that these panels were small ones, while what he suggested were bigger ones (such as the large display panels at New Town Plaza Bus Terminus in Shatin) that could display the real-time information of all bus routes. He explained that as there were over 30 bus routes in Tai Po Centre, providing large real-time information panels could provide all sorts of information that could make it more convenient for the passengers. He hoped that the departments concerned would consider this suggestion in a proactive manner.

88. Ms. Flora MA noted Members’ comments. In addition, she had inspected Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus with the DC Member of the constituency concerned and KMB representatives on 12 February 2019 and would improve the passengers’ queuing arrangement in due course. As regards the parking arrangements of buses, the department would continue to study the improvement measures with the bus companies. 89. Mr. WONG Tsz-kin said that the situation of every bus terminus was different. For instance, the real-time information panels for various bus stops at New Town Plaza Bus Terminus were located at where the passengers would walk past. As regards Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus, as the passengers were dispersed and some of the stops had already been equipped with electronic display panels, KMB would focus on studying the provision of electronic display panels at places without them. 90. The Chairman said that the Government had earlier allocated funding to subsidise bus companies in providing real-time information panels at bus stops. He asked about the progress of the programme. 91. Mr. AU Chun-wah’s comments were as follows:

(i) He had been striving for a comprehensive improvement to Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus for years and suggested constructing a cover that could cover the entire bus terminus so that passengers waiting for buses would be protected from the sun

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and rain. However, as the works was of an enormous scale, the TD opined that it was difficult to launch it at this stage. Nevertheless, he would continue to ask the department to provide the cover.

(ii) He thanked the TD and the bus companies for their efforts in improving the facilities of Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus on a continuous basis. He had inspected the bus terminus with the TD and suggested consolidating the existing staff rest room so as to enhance the staff’s rest environment.

(iii) As regards the road markings and queuing facilities of the bus terminus, the bus companies had already pledged to improve them when enhancing the bus terminus. He thanked other Members for their concern about this bus terminus.

(iv) Tai Po Centre Bus Terminus (including the waiting platform facilities) was reorganised over a dozen years ago. However, the situation was different now and the number of bus routes and passenger’s preference had changed as well. Therefore, he asked the TD and the bus companies to review whether the current arrangement for the waiting platforms was still appropriate.

VIII. Demand for enhancing Fu Heng Bus Terminus (TPDC Paper No. TT 28/2019) 92. Mr. WU Cheuk-him introduced the captioned paper. 93. Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung introduced the preliminary concept plan for the Fu Heng Bus Terminus Improvement Plan (“the Improvement Plan”) (see Annex 1 for details). He stressed that Annex 1 was only a preliminary concept plan instead of a technically feasible proposal. As there would be substantial changes in Fu Heng Bus Terminus, he would like to know Members’ preliminary comments on the afore-mentioned Improvement Plan. 94. Mr. YAM Man-chuen’s comments were as follows:

(i) He supported enhancing Fu Heng Bus Terminus.

(ii) He had suggested to the two former TD Engineers that Fu Heng Bus Terminus should be fully renovated. However, they both said that there would be considerable difficulties in the works, and the big tree inside the bus terminus was probably an old tree that could not be removed. Therefore, no progress had been made. As such, he asked the department to continue to follow up and find out the tree’s condition.

(iii) The design of Fu Heng Bus Terminus back then was similar to that in Annex 1. However, as a lot of taxis were waiting at the taxi stand and its queue extended all

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the way to Chung Nga Road (or even to Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Primary School) and were obstructing the buses, the Administration eventually constructed a roundabout next to the taxi stand to resolve the problem.

(iv) He had consulted the stakeholders about enhancing Fu Heng Bus Terminus. The taxi industry was worried that the said problem would take place again if the TD had removed the roundabout inside the bus terminus. In particular, they were also worried that the situation would get worse as more routes were using this bus terminus (e.g. routes 307A, 272P and A47X).

(v) He would support the Improvement Plan if the TD added a passenger pick-up / drop-off site for taxis in the Improvement Plan and worked closely with the HKPF or the works departments to address the problem of the parked taxis obstructing the buses.

(vi) He said that drivers (both taxi and private vehicle drivers) had got used to the operation mode inside and outside Fu Heng Bus Terminus over the past dozen years. As such, he urged the TD to consult the industry more and to fully take into account the actual situation of the area.

(vii) He hoped that the TD would inspect Fu Heng Bus Terminus and discuss the Improvement Plan with DC Member of the constituency concerned.

95. Mr. Eric TAM’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He had reflected the problems of Fu Heng Bus Terminus to the TD on many occasions, and was pleased to see that the department had provided a preliminary design of the Improvement Plan.

(ii) If the tree inside Fu Heng Bus Terminus was not an old tree or of a special species, for the lesser of two evils, he could only opt for removing the tree so as to enhance the bus terminus.

(iii) He noticed that the Improvement Plan included expanding some of the waiting platforms. However, as buses required certain amount of turning room to enter the particular bus bays after entering the bus terminus, it might not be necessary for the bus bays at the side of the bus terminus’ entrance to be aligned with each other. Otherwise, it would be difficult for buses to enter the bus bays.

(iv) The proposed taxi stand was 6 metres away from the kerb at the other side. He asked whether such a width was enough for two taxis to go through side by side. He would like to know whether the taxi stand on the left could operate as normal if there was a taxi parked on the lane near the kerb.

(v) There were many taxis and private vehicles parked between the taxi stand and its entrance, often leaving only one lane available. The department had added a new

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bus bay in the Improvement Plan which, in the long run, could meet the bus route development needs of Fu Heng, Chung Nga or even Area 9 of Tai Po in future. Therefore, the Improvement Plan was worth supporting.

96. Mr. KWAN Wing-yip indicated that it was a proactive move for the TD to put forward a concept plan for the Improvement Plan, and extending the bus waiting platforms would improve the passengers’ queuing problem as well. However, with the constantly increasing number of bus routes and service frequencies, it was not easy to make improvement in such a confined area. He said that there was a public transport interchange outside Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, and there would be a bus terminus in Area 9 of Tai Po in future as well. Therefore, he suggested that apart from improving the hardware facilities in Fu Heng Bus Terminus, the departments concerned also had to thoroughly consider whether some bus routes could be extended to the two afore-mentioned bus stops so as to alleviate the pressure on Fu Heng Bus Terminus. 97. After going through the design concept of the Improvement Plan, Mr. MAN Nim-chi enquired whether private vehicles would not be allowed in Fu Heng Bus Terminus in future. 98. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) According to the Improvement Plan, taxis and buses would use the same entrance to access the terminus. As she could often see that the illegally parked vehicles on Chung Nga Road had left only one lane available, she asked whether such an arrangement would result in congestion at the entrance.

(ii) As many private vehicles picked up or dropped off passengers in the bus terminus on weekdays, she was worried that there would be congestion if this private vehicle entrance was to be turned into a taxi exit in future. Therefore, she asked whether the department could provide road markings at this entrance / exit to separate the taxi exit lane from the private vehicle entry lane.

(iii) She had inspected the bus bay of route 71A in Fu Heng Bus Terminus as invited by the bus companies. She pointed out that as there were stairs at the waiting platform, buses were unable to lower the ramp at the platform for wheelchair users to get on board. Wheelchair uses could get on board only if the bus drivers drove the buses near the electronic display panels. As a result, passengers waiting at the covered platform had to walk several steps to the uncovered area for boarding. It could cause danger easily and would be rather troublesome on rainy days.

(iv) As regards the situation in point (iii), she opined that wheelchair users should not get on board near the electronic display panels. Therefore, she asked the department to improve the kerbs of all bus bays in the Improvement Plan, so that wheelchair users could get on board at the waiting platform.

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(v) Some wheelchair users had told her that the facilities in Fu Heng Bus Terminus could not cater for their needs. For instance, there was an uncovered waiting area that could accommodate only one wheelchair user at the platform. If a wheelchair user was in the queue, other wheelchair users would have to wait outside the entrance of Fu Heng Shopping Centre, and they could not queue up at the waiting area until the next bus had departed. As such, she suggested the department expand the wheelchair users’ waiting area at the bus stops that were more frequently used by wheelchair users (such as routes 71A and 71B) to facilitate their use.

99. Mr. Francis YAM’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) As there were bus stops and taxi stands in Fu Heng Bus Terminus, it was not accurate to call it a bus terminus.

(ii) The current taxi stand had been separated into two waiting areas for urban taxis and New Territories taxis. He enquired whether there was area reserved for the urban taxi waiting area in the Improvement Plan.

(iii) Under the Improvement Plan, the exits for buses and taxis would be right next to each other. He enquired whether there were similar arrangements somewhere else that could be used as reference. For instance, chaos might ensue if a bus and a taxi departed and made a turn at the same time. As such, he asked whether it would be more ideal to make buses and taxis use the same exit.

100. Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung responded as follows:

(i) The proposed taxi stand was 6 metres away from the kerb. The intention was that other vehicles could pull out to leave the taxi stand if one of the lanes was used by taxis to pick up or drop off passengers, and the road surface would be wide enough to allow two taxis to go through side by side.

(ii) The department would examine the condition of the existing tree that had been affected.

(iii) The department noted the comments regarding the barrier-free facilities and would study ways for improvement.

(iv) The department had to review the layout of the lay-bys for urban and New Territories taxis, and study the arrangement for the exits for buses and taxis.

(v) As regards a Member’s enquiry on whether private vehicles would be allowed in the bus terminus, the department would check and see if there was enough room and if it was appropriate to meet such a demand.

(vi) He thanked Members for providing valuable comments on this preliminary design.

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The department would report to the TTC on the progress of this Improvement Plan in a timely manner.

101. The Chairman asked the TD to note Members’ suggestions and revise the design concerned as appropriate.

IX. Proposed provision of a pick-up / drop-off point for coaches near Hong Kong Railway Museum (TPDC Paper No. TT 29/2019) 102. Mr. Clement WOO, the Vice-chairman, introduced the captioned paper. 103. Ms. PUN Fun-yu, Winnie said that at present, coaches could pick up or drop off passengers at the turn outside the main entrance of Hong Kong Railway Museum. The department would study ways to improve the arrangement for the no-parking restricted area near the turn, and would also study the feasibility of setting up another pick-up / drop-off point for vehicles at a suitable spot nearby. As regards the illegal parking issue, the TD would forward the cases to the HKPF for follow-up action. 104. The Chairman said that a few years ago, Mr. LI Kwok-ying and he had asked the TD to set up a passenger pick-up / drop-off area at the said site to alleviate the congestion on Shung Tak Street. He said that Hong Kong Railway Museum was one of the popular attractions in the district for the residents and tourists and there were often a lot of visitors. As it took time for the coaches to pick up and drop off passengers, vehicles behind could easily be obstructed. As such, he hoped that the TD would resolve the problem in a proactive manner.

X. Study on the improvement to the public transport services in Tai Po District – Findings (TPDC Paper No. TT 30/2019) 105. The Chairman welcomed Mr. CHEUNG Chun-lok, Gordon, Research Director, and Mr. TAM Ho-chuen, Lawrence, Research Officer of HKSDRI to the meeting for the discussion of this agenda item. 106. Mr. Gordon CHEUNG went through the study findings.

107. Mr. CHOW Yuen-wai’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He had earlier expressed his views on this study at the Working Group on Provision of Public Bus and Minibus Services (“WGPPB”), but did not notice any significant

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improvement.

(ii) He pointed out that this study served to analyse the residents’ views on public transport services and to make suggestions on public transport services. However, it did not mention the service of any bus routes in the district. Rather, it had only provided a list of bus and minibus routes and did not put forward any improvement proposal.

(iii) The improvement suggestions put forward in the study report were nothing special either. For instance, stepping up the efforts in combatting illegal parking and increasing the interchange discount, etc., were nothing but cliché. The same conclusion could be drawn without carrying out the study and, in reality, it was of limited help in improving the public transport services in Tai Po District and canvassing public opinions.

(iv) He asked about the meaning of “enhancing the coverage of railway network” mentioned in the report. Besides, he supported the report’s suggestion of setting up a bus lane on Tolo Highway, and said that while he had made such a request to the Government on many occasions, the TD had kept turning him down.

(v) He opined that the MTR, buses and minibuses were the most important public transport services, and was therefore sad that no improvement suggestions targeting these services had been put forward in the study report. He opined that the presence or absence of the study report did not make much difference.

108. Mr. Patrick TANG enquired why the consultancy had set out all the bus and minibus routes in and out of Tai Po District, and whether in-depth analyses had been carried out for these routes. He pointed out that he had received many complaints, mostly about the route, as regards Green Minibus (“GMB”) route 25B lately. He asked whether the consultancy had learnt about the situation and what improvement measures could be taken. 109. Mr. LAU Yung-wai’s comments were as follows:

(i) He opined that this study report did not have any feasible solutions on improving bus and minibus services.

(ii) The WGPPB was in charge of this study and the content should be related to improving bus and minibus services. He said that at the WGPPB meetings, he had told the consultancy that there were problems in the study’s direction and opined that Members would like to know more about other issues relating to public transport services, such as the travel pattern of Tai Po residents and the inter-district public transport demand, etc.

(iii) He opined that the study’s findings put forward by the consultancy were exactly the reasons why the WGPPB commissioned a consultancy to carry out the study.

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However, these conclusions were too ambiguous that they were not the findings the DC expected from a consultancy.

(iv) He stressed that he had expressed his views to the consultancy and was surprised that the consultancy did not listen to him. He was not happy that the consultancy had drawn up such a perfunctory report and had not offered any views on further improving the bus and minibus services.

110. Mr. YAM Man-chuen’s comments were as follows:

(i) He commended the consultancy for its hard work and attention to details. However, the content of the report was not what he expected.

(ii) The public transport service study last year had suggested improving some of the bus routes in Tai Po District, and the TTC would also like to use these studies to force the Government to improve the public transport services concerned. However, he doubted if the government departments would follow up on the findings and opined that Members should carefully consider what the purpose was to continue carrying out these studies.

(iii) He did not want to continue to discuss the problems of this study report, and opined that it was more important to decide how the DC should follow up on the six suggestions proposed in the report. Although these six suggestions fell short of Members’ expectation, they were exactly what the DC was looking for. As such, he urged the TD to respond to these suggestions.

(iv) As regards the suggestion of enhancing the coverage of railway network, he pointed out that someone had put forward similar suggestions, such as constructing an elevated railway in Tai Po District, during the election period. It showed that even though the suggestion was bold and imaginative, it had been put forward before. As such, the six suggestions in this report were not totally wrong, and the key was whether the government departments would take follow-up action and how to do so.

111. Mr. LO Hiu-fung’s comments were as follows:

(i) Merely relying on the residents’ views and second-hand information collected through different channels would give you findings of such a quality, and the viewpoints were the same as those raised by the DC in the past.

(ii) The original purpose of carrying out this study was to use a scientific method to prove that the suggestions put forward by Members were supported by evidence. He had no idea whether it was scientific to collect the residents’ views by questionnaires, but at least these were the residents’ views. Therefore, he opined that the key was that the government departments concerned could follow up on all

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the suggestions in the report so as to respond to the people’s request effectively.

112. Ms. Olive CHAN’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) She was disappointed that the study did not mention the ways to improve the bus and minibus services. As the content of the report was too generic, she enquired whether the consultancy could provide any supplementary information and suggest ways to improve the bus and minibus services.

(ii) She criticised the questionnaire for being way too simple that it did not even include the travel pattern and the usage pattern of public transport services of the residents. There was insufficient data to support the viewpoints in the report, such as how traffic congestion would obstruct residents from using public transport services, etc. She opined that this report was of limited help in improving the public transport services.

113. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) It was the second time the WGPPB had applied for DC Funds to carry out a study on public transport services. She pointed out that the WGPPB spent about $50,000 to study the bus route network and bus service demand in New Territories West last year. With more resources this year, the WGPPB would also like to study ways to improve the traffic network in the district apart from bus services.

(ii) The consultancy report focused on ways to improve the transport network in the district and did not look much into bus services. Besides, as the improvement suggestions in the report were the same as those often mentioned by DC Members, she could see why Members found the study findings not up to standard.

(iii) In response to the six directions to improve the problems in Chapter 6 of the study report (i.e., conclusion of the study report) mentioned by the consultancy, she hoped that the consultancy could further elaborate on these improvement suggestions, in particular the provision of branch routes on major roads. She opined that most of the existing bus services were point-to-point main routes (such as routes 65K and 99). As roads were not divided into multiple branch routes for planning purposes, it was difficult for the passengers of the main routes to get on board. More views in this regard were therefore required.

(iv) Going through all the improvement proposals in the study report in brief, she suggested the consultancy refer to Members’ comments to further develop the report and incorporate more detailed analyses. She pointed out that while the consultancy had attended several WGPPB meetings to listen to Members’ views, it was possible that Members did not have much to say at that time. As a result, she

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hoped that the consultancy could further revise the report. 114. The Chairman’s comments were as follows:

(i) Members generally opined that the report was too generic and did not have any clear and specific suggestions.

(ii) He said that the original purpose of this study report was to focus on studying the transport situation in Tai Po District. For instance, it was to find out where congestion would take place in the district during the morning peak hours and the reasons for congestion, etc.

(iii) As the co-ordination of traffic light sets would affect traffic flow, he had asked the consultancy to obtain the traffic signal information of the major junctions from the TD. He pointed out that while the consultancy had asked for the relevant information as per his request, it did not use the information to analyse the signal co-ordination of every major junction. For instance, vehicles had to go through five sets of traffic lights from Fu Heng to Tai Po Market MTR Station. He remarked that the consultancy should have found out how long it would take for the vehicles to complete this route during the morning peak hours, so as to put forward solutions to traffic congestion, such as adjusting the traffic light cycle to make the traffic signals co-ordinate with each other, etc.

(iv) Public transport services were mass carriers and the focus of this study report. He expected the consultancy to come up with specific suggestions to improve public transport services in the report, but the summary and conclusion of the report were rather generic. Therefore, he hoped that the consultancy could further revise them.

115. The Secretary added as follows:

(i) The TPDC allocated $100,000 to the WGPPB for the captioned study in the 2018/19 financial year. It would be better for the study and funding reimbursement to be completed in the same financial year.

(ii) The consultancy had attended the meetings of the Working Group and the TTC to report on its work according to the contractual requirements.

(iii) The consultancy had attended the Working Group meetings to listen to Members’ views and revised the report accordingly. Subsequently, the Secretariat provided Members with the revised report by email in January 2019 and invited Members to express their views on the report so that the consultancy could take follow-up actions. As at the deadline, no Members had expressed any views as regards the report.

(iv) As Members did not have any other comments on the report, the consultancy

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reported on the study findings at this TTC meeting. 116. Mr. Gordon CHEUNG responded as follows:

(i) He thanked Members for their comments and questions.

(ii) Many of the questions raised by Members were about the study’s direction. However, the direction and scope of the study were not decided by the consultancy.

(iii) He pointed out that the consultancy came up with the study’s direction based on the WGPPB Members’ views (including views on the questionnaire) and the discussion carried out in two meetings. The focus was on the ways to improve the arrangements for the inter-district trunk roads, road congestion and traffic signals. Therefore, the report did not say much about improving the bus and minibus services.

(iv) At that time, the WGPPB set the aim of this study as to reflect the residents’ views, rather than operating or changing the routes of certain public transport services from a technical point of view.

(v) As no specific investigation on bus or minibus routes was carried out when the questionnaire was designed, it was difficult to put forward any specific improvement suggestions on public transport services simply based on the residents’ views collected. He noted that it had something to do with the limitation in the scope of study and the research method adopted, and he hoped that Members would understand.

(vi) As regards the public transport situation, the consultancy had submitted the preliminary questionnaire data collected to the WGPPB in January 2019 and invited Members to express their views that would be incorporated into the report. However, no comments or suggested directions had been received. Therefore, the consultancy had only fine-tuned the report after the meeting.

(vii) As the investigation concluded after the report’s submission to the WGPPB in January, the consultancy could not make any fundamental changes to the report at this stage. However, it could incorporate Members’ comments into the report so as to set out Members’ views as far as possible.

117. Mr. LI Yiu-ban’s comments were as follows:

(i) He was not a member of the WGPPB and was not sure about the actual situation of the study.

(ii) As pointed out by other Members, it looked as though this report had simply summarised Members’ views in general. However, he pointed out that expertise

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and skills were required to carry out a study. For instance, one had to be familiar with the Government’s transport policies and the situation of transport infrastructures. Also, these studies usually cost a lot and a funding of $100,000 would not be enough.

(iii) Members often provided government departments with all sorts of suggestions. However, it often took time to find out whether the government departments would accept them and whether their policies could be in line with them.

(iv) There was traffic congestion in Tai Po town centre, while the usage rate of metered parking spaces in the rural area such as Kam Shan, Shui Wai and Nam Hang was extremely low. He had earlier suggested the government departments extend the parking hours of these metered parking spaces from two hours to four. Due to the legal requirements and the hope to maintain a steady turnover of these metered parking spaces, however, the TD had rejected the suggestion. As a result, these parking spaces remained vacant and the situation was undesirable. He remarked that Octopus Card was such a convenient tool that all the TD had to do was to change the operation mode of the metered car parks to allow the use of Octopus Card to record the entry and exit of vehicles (regardless of the parking time) and to pay for the fare accordingly. It could attract the vehicles in Tai Po Market to be parked at these car parks which, he believed, could improve the congestion at the town centre.

118. Mr. AU Chun-wah asked whether this study could be redone. 119. Mr. YIU Kwan-ho, Herman’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He wondered whether a 12-question questionnaire was enough to collect people’s views on the public transport services.

(ii) In Question 5 of the questionnaire, interviewees were asked if they found the public transport services in Tai Po District congested, and the answers included “highly congested” and “congested”, etc. However, as interviewees had different standards for the term “congestion”, there had to be a re-think as far as the questionnaire’s design was concerned.

(iii) He suggested using the data collected for more detailed analyses, such as studying why the residents mainly taking the MTR for their travels to and from Tai Po would not take buses instead, so as to reflect the issues to the TD.

120. Mr. LO Hiu-fung’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He agreed that a funding of $100,000 was insufficient for carrying out a specialised

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study.

(ii) As on-site inspections were mainly observational in nature, he enquired whether the consultancy could provide some quantifiable data, such as the length of vehicular queues and the figures of vehicular flow at certain periods, etc., so as to make the report easier to understand.

(iii) He asked whether the government departments could respond to the report.

121. Mr. Patrick TANG’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) While he was not happy with the report, he understood that the report aimed at putting forward suggestions on the overall traffic condition of the district, rather than providing improvement suggestions for particular public transport services. As such, the suggestions were rather generic.

(ii) The study report was prepared by the consultancy and was regarded as third-party opinion. Also, as the findings were similar to the views put forward by Members or the residents before, he opined that the report could be a boost for what Members had been asking for, so that Members could continue to make such requests to the government departments concerned in future.

(iii) He agreed with the consultancy and opined that it was difficult for the consultancy to allocate resources to carry out the study again based on Members’ views. He pointed out that the study findings being different from Members’ expectation might have to do with the miscommunication between the two sides earlier on.

(iv) The consultancy had completed the report and drawn up several conclusions to which he agreed. Therefore, he accepted this report. He continued that when carrying out a study next time, the WGPPB could make specific requests at an earlier stage. Since whether to honour the contract with the consultancy would affect the DC’s reputation, he opined that the TTC should accept this report.

122. The Chairman added that the price of the successful bid was $88,000 and, during the entire process, the consultancy had fulfilled the contractual requirements which included attending the meetings, reporting on the study’s progress and consulting the WGPPB members, etc. Meanwhile, they had also increased the number of questionnaires to 300 as requested by Members. The only problem was that the content and suggestions of the report were rather generic. He asked whether the consultancy could fine-tune the report based on Members’ views, in particular to further elaborate on Chapter 6 of the report, so that the TTC could ask the government departments concerned to take follow-up actions in future.

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123. Mr. Gordon CHEUNG responded as follows:

(i) The consultancy would be pleased to fine-tune the report based on Members’ views, but could only make addition according to the information and data collected.

(ii) He reiterated that the consultancy would like to incorporate Members’ views into the report. However, since the WGPPB meeting in January 2019, the consultancy had not received any comments from Members. As such, it could not set out the suggestions concerned in the report.

(iii) The consultancy could incorporate comments of the locals or DC Members into the report to make it better.

(iv) Generally speaking, questionnaires served to find out how much the locals were satisfied with a particular issue or to learn about their views. Other DCs had also commissioned them to carry out similar public opinion polls so that the government departments would realise that DC Members’ views were founded by public opinion and supported by the residents.

(v) The consultancy and other DCs had carried out feasibility studies on certain issues together. When carrying out these studies, they would generally focus on several selected bus routes only, so as to further understand their operation and route planning, etc. and look for improvement.

(vi) As regards the captioned study report, the scope of study was rather extensive and the consultancy could not carry out in-depth analyses on all the bus routes in the district in a matter of months. However, the consultancy would be pleased to fine-tune the report to incorporate Members’ comments into it.

124. Mr. MUI Siu-fung asked whether the TTC accepted the findings of this report. If yes, would he be allowed to cite the report findings to ask the government departments concerned to follow up on transport issues? 125. Mr. LAU Yung-wai’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He reiterated that when the consultancy attended the WGPPB meeting for the first

time, he had clearly asked the consultancy to carry out an in-depth analysis on the bus or minibus routes. Therefore, he wondered if the consultancy was listening to him.

(ii) He opined that fine-tuning the report was not the remedy Members were looking for. He asked whether the consultancy had other more practical remedies, such as enriching the report, putting forward more visionary suggestions, and explaining in specific terms the ways to implement these suggestions, etc.

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126. Mr. Herman YIU asked whether the consultancy could enhance the analysis on the questionnaire results. For instance, when talking about the interviewees who would like to see the bus services enhanced, it could set out how many of them used the MTR or buses as their main means of transportation between Tai Po and other districts. He also asked whether the consultancy could provide Members with the questionnaire data. 127. Mr. LO Hiu-fung said that the consultancy had deployed researchers to inspect and record the traffic condition, including the vehicular flow and number of people waiting, etc., in the district. Therefore, he suggested the consultancy set out these information and data in the report so that Members could understand the actual situation. 128. The Chairman said that the WGPPB could still apply for funding to carry out a study on public transport services in the next financial year. If Members found it necessary to carry out in-depth studies in certain areas, they could consider doing so next year. As regards this year’s study report, he opined that the consultancy had submitted a report to the TTC and carried out the study concerned (including on-site inspection, etc.) in the past few months. In addition, as the consultancy agreed to revise the report based on Members’ views, he suggested the DC reimburse the study expenses in this financial year according to the contract. He asked the consultancy to submit a revised report to the TTC by the end of March 2019. 129. The Secretary added that the Secretariat had been asking the consultancy to attend the WGPPB meetings, prepare the study report and report the findings at the TTC meetings according to the contract, and the consultancy was co-operative and had fulfilled the contractual requirements. He added that while it would be better to reimburse the approved DC Funds in the same financial year, it was not a must. He suggested the TTC consider whether to agree with the Secretariat reimbursing the study expenses in this financial year. 130. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung agreed with the Secretariat reimbursing the study expenses to the consultancy in this financial year. 131. Mr. AU Chun-wah agreed with the Secretariat reimbursing the study expenses to the consultancy in this financial year. Besides, he opined that some of the data in this report could be further developed to become the topic of the next report. Therefore, if the consultancy was again awarded the tender in the next financial year, he would suggest them study these areas in detail. 132. Mr. LAU Yung-wai agreed with the Secretariat reimbursing the study expenses to the consultancy in this financial year. 133. The TTC agreed with the Secretariat reimbursing the study expenses to the consultancy in this financial year. The Chairman asked the consultancy to submit a revised report by the end of March 2019 and provide Members with the relevant research data for reference.

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134. Mr. Gordon CHEUNG said that the consultancy would revise the report based on the data collected and Members’ views. Besides, he indicated that the consultancy could provide Members with the relevant research data. However, he hoped that Members would understand that due to the constraints in question design, the consultancy could not carry out further analysis on the data collected. (Post-meeting note: The consultancy submitted a revised report to the Secretariat on 22 March, and the Secretariat then forwarded the report to Members on the same day.) 135. The Chairman suggested the TD refer to the study report and Members’ views to look into ways to improve the traffic and road facilities of Tai Po District, and report to the TTC in a timely manner.

XI. Matters arising from the minutes of the 1st meeting in 2019 of the TTC on 11 January 2019 (TPDC Paper No. TT 31/2019) (1) Demand for the prompt setting up of a bus stop on Lam Tsuen Heung Kung Sho Road 136. Ms. Flora MA indicated that the TD had earlier asked the District Lands Office, Tai Po (“TPDLO”) about the land use situation. She explained that as land right issue was involved and part of the site was located in green area that changing the land use would be rather time-consuming, the department could not provide further information for the time being. 137. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung indicated that the Chairman and Members had inspected Lam Tsuen Heung King Sho Road before, and he thanked the department’s staff for their efforts. He pointed out that while he had been fighting for a bus stop at this site for years, he understood the reasons why the department could not set up one. He had suggested setting up a turnaround area for buses on Lam Tsuen Heung Kung Sho Road as a compromise, so that buses could turn around and pick up passengers at Hang Ha Po. However, the TD indicated that to allow buses to turn around at a site, the site concerned had to have a management department. He asked the department to reconsider this suggestion so as to alleviate the residents’ urgent needs. 138. As the TD could not set up a bus stop on Lam Tsuen Heung Kung Sho Road, the TTC agreed to remove this agenda item from Matters Arising. (2) Request for more parking spaces in Tai Po

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139. Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung reported on the progress of providing more parking spaces in the district as follows:

(i) As regards the proposal of providing an additional five to six night-time parking spaces at the metered car park on Dai Shing Street in Tai Po Industrial Estate, the department had issued the works order.

(ii) As regards the proposal of turning the metered parking spaces for private vehicles on Dai King Street and Dai Hei Street in Tai Po Industrial Estate into night-time parking spaces for goods vehicles, the department was enhancing the design and dealing with the objections received not long ago.

(iii) As regards the proposal of providing 24 metered parking spaces for private vehicles on the newly constructed slip road of She Shan Road, works were still in progress. The department would report on the works progress in a timely manner.

(iv) As regards the proposal of providing additional bicycle parking spaces on Sai Sha Road near Symphony Bay, the department had received objections and was dealing with the matters concerned.

(v) As regards the proposal of providing an underground car park under the proposed football-cum-rugby pitch in Area 33 of Tai Po, the Architectural Services Department (“ASD”) was still carrying out the quantitative risk assessment. The TD would report on the progress concerned in a timely manner.

(vi) The department would continue to identify suitable locations for the provision of roadside parking spaces and metered parking spaces, and district consultation would be carried out when suitable locations had been identified.

(vii) Part 1, Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic (Parking) Regulations (Cap. 374C) stipulated the parking hours and maximum fees for metered parking spaces, and the existing metered parking spaces could only be configured to cover 2 hours at most. It would be rather difficult, in terms of the regulations and hardware facilities, to turn the existing metered parking spaces into 4-hour ones. As regards whether the newly constructed metered parking spaces could be turned into 4-hour ones, he would forward the comments to his department’s colleagues in the relevant division for consideration.

140. Mr. Patrick TANG said that the Policy Address 2017 had proposed installing a new generation of parking meters, where drivers could pay the parking fees using the mobile app so as to extend the parking hours of metered parking spaces. Therefore, he hoped that the department would consider adopting these new parking meters when increasing the number of metered parking spaces. He believed that fully utilising the metered parking spaces in the rural area would help resolve the shortage of parking spaces in Tai Po Market.

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141. Mr. Francis YAM’s comments were as follows:

(i) Apart from roadside and metered parking spaces, he had also suggested the government departments provide additional parking spaces at the existing leisure and recreational facilities wherever possible. He explained that as parking meters had to be fed on a regular basis, it would be particularly inconvenient for drivers who had to park their vehicles at night. Therefore, constructing car parks at all government projects that had yet to be constructed was extremely important.

(ii) He stressed that government departments should refrain from blindly following the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (“HKPSG”) for the provision of parking facilities. Instead, they should provide the corresponding number of parking spaces according to the actual needs of the local community (especially given the serious illegal parking problem of medium and heavy vehicles). He hoped that the TD could reflect the problem to all the department heads concerned.

(iii) He noticed that some enclosed work sites in the district were being used for storing materials (such as the government department’s work site under the flyover at Lai Chi Shan) and it was a waste of the precious land resources. He opined that these works sites for storing materials could be relocated to the remote area. As such, he suggested the TD ask the TPDLO about the use of the site, and release the site if possible and turn it into multi-storey car parks with a rather simple structure, so as to relieve the pressure brought about by the shortage of parking spaces.

142. Mr. AU Chun-wah noticed that when government departments responded to the suggestion of providing additional parking spaces, most of them would say that they would actively consider providing the most parking spaces allowed by the HKPSG. However, he stressed that the HKPSG was out-dated and failed to meet the actual needs of society. Therefore, if the Government did not remove the constraints in time, providing the most parking spaces allowed by the HKPSG would not be enough either. Taking the works in Area 1 of Tai Po as an example, he criticised the departments concerned for using all sorts of excuses not to increase the supply of parking spaces. He opined that the only way for the Government to resolve the shortage of parking spaces in society nowadays was to remove the HKPSG’s constraints and increase the supply of parking spaces in a practical manner. He added that if the Government continued to blindly follow the HKPSG’s requirements, the shortage of parking spaces would not be resolved even if more parking spaces were to be provided at all the newly constructed leisure and recreational facilities. He hoped that the TD could reflect Members’ comments to the senior officials of government departments, so that they could understand the reasons for the shortage of parking spaces. 143. To alleviate the shortage of parking spaces in the short run, Mr. Ken YU agreed with the Government releasing the sites as soon as possible, such as relocating the works site under the

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flyover at Shan Yin Road to other remote area, so as to release the site for the provision of car parks. He continued that to launch the works projects in Area 6 of Tai Po, the Government had resumed hundreds of parking spaces in total. However, as the demand for parking spaces had not gone down, some car parks took advantage of it by raising their parking fees and members of the public were angry about it. If the Government was willing to release the sites in the district that could be used as parking spaces, he believed that at least hundreds of parking spaces could be provided. Besides, he pointed out that if the Government did not plan to review the HKPSG, it should control the number of vehicles or it would be difficult to provide sufficient parking spaces. 144. The Chairman said that the TD was studying the provision of an underground car park under the proposed football-cum-rugby pitch in Area 33 of Tai Po. As the pitch was located near the industrial estate, he asked whether the department would provide parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles so that these vehicles would not have to be parked on the road on a frequent basis. 145. Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung responded as follows:

(i) The TD expected to provide additional parking spaces for commercial vehicles at the facilities in Area 33 of Tai Po. However, the ASD was still carrying out the quantitative risk assessment on constructing an underground car park there.

(ii) The TPDLO mainly granted sites for temporary uses by way of temporary government land allocations or short-term tenancies. When the tenancy of a leased site had expired, the TPDLO would enquire other departments about the land use in general. If a vacant government site suitable for temporary car parks had been found, the TD would proactively consider making an application for it. However, if the tenancy of a leased site was still effective, the department could take further follow-up actions only after the tenancy had expired.

(iii) The issue of roadside parking spaces was only one of the areas reviewed by the TD, and the TD would provide additional parking spaces on the “Government, Institution or Community” sites if conditions permitted.

(iv) The department would reflect Members’ views as regards the HKPSG to the departments concerned.

(3) Request for the addition of a covered taxi stand next to the petrol filling station on

Kwong Chun Street 146. Ms. Winnie PUN said that the TD had earlier entrusted the Leisure and Cultural Services Department to submit to the TPDLO the information concerning the design drawings and the area required for the works of the proposed taxi stand lay-by, so as to allow the TPDLO to deal with the land rights transfer application.

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(4) Concerns over illegal parking in Tai Po District 147. Mr. SIU Wai-kwan reported that the HyD had contacted the HD as regards the traffic improvement proposals for Po Heung Street and incorporated the HD’s comments into the temporary traffic arrangement measures. If the temporary traffic arrangement was approved by the departments concerned, the HyD would launch the works as soon as possible. He expected that it would take the departments concerned about one to two months to complete the vetting if everything went according to plan. 148. Ms. Winnie PUN added that the TD had received the temporary traffic arrangement measures from the HyD and had vetted them from the traffic perspective. It would reply the HyD in due course. 149. Mr. TSUI Yik-fuk reported as follows:

(i) Tai Po Police District had issued a total of 24 146 fixed penalty illegal parking tickets between January and February 2019.

(ii) Tai Po Police District continued to resolve the major traffic problems in the district by way of inter-departmental collaboration, and would invite the TD and other government departments concerned to carry out the necessary inspections and tests at the locations the TPDC was concerned with, so that the Works Division of the TD could arrange for the launching of the road facilities improvement works.

(iii) Tai Po Police District would also deploy more manpower to MTR stations, transport hubs and traffic blackspots to inspect the situation, divert the traffic and enhance the prosecution efforts.

150. Ms. Olive CHAN said that there was an emergency access for rescue vehicles outside Tai Wo Estate near Fuk Wo House. However, there was a serious illegal parking problem at the site and some residents had told her that during the Chinese New Year, some rescue vehicles could not use this emergency access as it was blocked by the illegally parked vehicles. Therefore, she hoped that the HKPF would pay attention to the situation and resolve the illegal parking problem there. 151. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung pointed out that the lay-by widening works at Tai Wo Bus Stop had completed. However, he noticed that some vehicles were parked there in the early hours and in the morning, and had affected other vehicles using the drop-off point of this lay-by. Therefore, he hoped that the HKPF would pay attention to the situation.

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152. Mr. Francis YAM thanked the HKPF for putting traffic cones on both sides of On Po Lane (i.e., on the Fu Shin Estate-bound and Ming Nga Court-bound carriageways), and opined that it had improved the illegal parking situation effectively. He said that while some drivers might move away these traffic cones to park their vehicles, he saw police officers putting these traffic cones back in place afterwards, showing that the HKPF was proactive in combating the illegal parking problem there. As regards the illegal parking blackspots mentioned by Members, he hoped that the HKPF could adopt the same measures by deploying officers to patrol these blackspots every day and putting the traffic cones on the roadside back in place, so as to enhance the deterrence against illegal parking. 153. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) Some goods vehicles were parked against the flow of traffic on Plover Cove Road near Plover Cove Garden in the evening, and they would sometimes travel to the opposite lane to load and unload goods, leading to traffic issues. She pointed out that vehicles should not be parked at double yellow lines area and load / unload goods there. As such, she hoped that the HKPF could pay more attention to the situation.

(ii) Some goods vehicles were parked on Plover Cove Road near C.C.C. Fung Leung Kit Memorial Secondary School at night and they were still there at about 9 a.m. the following day. As a result, large vehicles such as school buses and buses travelling by had to fight for space on the road. She noticed that the HKPF had taken law enforcement efforts there. However, as there were zebra crossings nearby, the illegally parked vehicles would block the pedestrians’ view. In addition, as there were also schools in the vicinity, she asked whether the situation could be improved by enhancing the traffic regulation measures such as painting double yellow lines, etc.

(iii) A taxi knocked down a kindergarten student near the bus stop at Kwong Fuk Market recently. She opined that it was a serious traffic accident as it took place in a housing estate. Fortunately, the student was recovering gradually.

(iv) She hoped that the HKPF and the TD would contact Mr. Clement WOO, the Vice-chairman, and herself to discuss ways to improve the traffic facilities and the illegal parking management issues at Plover Cove Garden and Kwong Fuk Estate in the long run. For instance, they could study the feasibility of using part of the pedestrian walkway to widen the carriageway to facilitate the access of buses.

154. Mr. TSUI Yik-fuk said that the HKPF noted the illegal parking situation mentioned by Members. He pointed out that there were many possible causes of traffic accidents, and the estate management office’s participation was necessary to address the illegal parking problems inside the housing estates. As such, he suggested Members invite the HKPF and the TD for a site

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inspection to see if it was necessary to carry out traffic improvement works. In addition, he thanked Mr. Francis YAM for his kind words to the HKPF. (5) Improving the facilities of Tolo Highway 155. As regards the proposal of painting double white lines at the exit of the southbound Tolo Highway towards Ma On Shan or Kowloon East, Mr. Alex LAM pointed out that the location concerned was under the purview of the Engineering Division of Shatin District, and its staff had earlier indicated that painting double white lines there would be of limited help in improving the traffic. However, he would still contact the staff to discuss if there were other ways to improve the traffic congestion there. 156. The Chairman hoped that the TD would prepare the plans concerned and contact the staff of the Engineering Division of Shatin District to discuss the solution together. In addition, he asked whether the department would paint double white lines on Tai Po Road-Yuen Chau Tsai Section. 157. Mr. Alex LAM responded that the TD had issued a works order to the HyD for painting double white lines on Tai Po Road-Yuen Chau Tsai Section, and the HyD had also submitted the proposal for the temporary traffic arrangement measures. (6) Setting up an interchange at Lam Kam Road Roundabout 158. The Chairman said that as per Mr. CHAN Cho-leung’s suggestion, this agenda item under Matters Arising had be renamed from “Setting up a bus stop at Lam Kam Road Roundabout” to “Setting up an interchange at Lam Kam Road Roundabout”, and he asked Members to take note. 159. Mr. Alex LAM said that the TD had earlier submitted the design drawings of the works to the HyD for cost estimation. 160. Mr. SIU Wai-kwan reported that the HyD had finished estimating the cost for the civil engineering works based on the TD’s design drawings for the works, and had informed the TD of the estimation. In addition, the HyD’s Works Division had suggested the TD contact the Environmental Protection Department (“EPD”) to see if the corresponding assessment and environmental mitigation measures according to the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance were required for the captioned works. As the cost for the environmental mitigation measures was substantial, the HyD could confirm the estimated cost of the entire works only after the TD had learnt about it. 161. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung’s comments and questions were as follows:

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(i) He enquired whether the TD had issued a works order to the HyD.

(ii) He hoped that government departments would address all the problems involved in the works in a proactive manner. He did not like to see the departments concerned bring up new issues that had obstructed the works at every stage, such as bringing up the environmental impact assessment issues during the cost estimation right now.

(iii) He stressed that the captioned works had been dragging on for a long time. Also, as initiatives such as lifting the vehicle ban on Lam Kam Road and setting up an additional bus stop on Lam Tsuen Heung Kung Sho Road could not be taken forward, at the moment they could only rely on the captioned works to address the traffic issues in Lam Tsuen. Besides, he was worried that the cost of the works would exceed a certain level at the end that the Administration would have to spend a lot of time securing funding for the works. As the works had been dragging on for years, he asked the department to provide a works schedule and state clearly when the works could be completed.

162. The Chairman agreed that the captioned works could help Lam Tsuen residents’ transfer for other means of transportation. 163. Mr. Patrick TANG suggested Mr. CHAN Cho-leung convene another joint meeting and invite the TPDLO, the EPD, the HyD, the TD and the companies for underground facilities, etc., to find out the solution with DC Members together, and he believed that it would help expedite the works progress. He pointed out that this interchange would be of great help to the construction of a public transport interchange on Tai Wo Service Road East near Tong Hang Tung in future. As such, he hoped that the departments concerned would launch the works as soon as possible. 164. Mr. Alex LAM said that the TD and the HyD were following up on the captioned works in a proactive manner. He hoped that Members would understand that different problems would pop up while the works were in progress. However, the departments concerned would continue to follow up and look for a solution in a proactive manner. 165. Mr. Patrick TANG asked whether the departments had encountered any difficulties in communication. He said that Members were not blaming the departments. Instead, they would like to help the departments concerned reach a consensus as soon as possible by participating in the discussion so as not to slow down the works progress. 166. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung agreed with Mr. Patrick TANG’s suggestion and opined that convening a joint meeting would help him learn about the works progress directly. As such, he asked the TD and the HyD to convene a meeting as soon as possible, and to invite the Members and departments concerned for a joint discussion.

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XII. Situation report on traffic improvement works completed in the past two months and to be carried out in the next three months in Tai Po District by the Highways Department (TPDC Paper No. TT 32/2019) 167. Mr. SIU Wai-kwan asked Members to note the captioned paper. 168. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung asked whether the works of “Signal-controlled crossings in Tong Sheung Tsuen” could be completed in July 2019 as scheduled. 169. Mr. SIU Wai-kwan indicated that the afore-mentioned works were on track and were expected to be completed as scheduled. 170. Mr. CHAN Cho-leung said that due to the double white lines at the said works site, GMBs were unable to turn around there. As the site sat at the centre of five rural villages nearby, he hoped that the department would set up a turnaround area for minibuses there to help pick up passengers. 171. Mr. SIU Wai-kwan said that he would follow up on Member’s comments after the meeting. (Post-meeting note: The HyD had forwarded the comments concerned to the TD for follow-up actions.)

XIII. Reports of working groups (1) Working Group on Provision of Public Bus and Minibus Services 172. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu, Chairman of the Working Group, reported as follows:

(i) The Working Group convened its second meeting in 2019 on 22 February 2019. Apart from following up on some of the bus and minibus routes in the district on a continued basis, the Working Group had also discussed the BRPP 2019-2020 of Tai Po District at this meeting.

(ii) The Working Group had fixed the dates for the remaining meetings in 2019 as suggested by Members. The Working Group meetings had been tentatively scheduled for 22 March, 26 April, 28 June and 23 August 2019 at 2:30 p.m. She asked Members to reserve the timeslots for the meetings.

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(2) Working Group on Improvements to Major Roads in Rural Areas 173. Mr. Patrick TANG, Chairman of the Working Group, reported that the Working Group convened its first meeting in 2019 on 30 January 2019 to follow up on the improvement works on Lam Kam Road, Ting Kok Road and Sai Sha Road. The Working Group would continue to follow up on the progress of the works and the Secretariat would inform Members to attend the next meeting once the date had been confirmed. (3) Working Group on Road Safety Campaign and Cycling Network Development 174. Mr. Clement WOO, Chairman of the Working Group, reported that as the activities organised by the Working Group in 2019 had ended, it did not hold any meetings lately. The Secretariat would inform Members to attend the next meeting once the date had been confirmed. (4) Working Group on Kwong Fuk Vehicular Bridge 175. On behalf of Mr. LI Kwok-ying, Chairman of the Working Group, the Secretary reported that the Working Group convened its first meeting in 2019 on 28 February 2019. At the meeting, the HyD indicated that it would finish the preliminary feasibility study of Kwong Fuk Vehicular Bridge in the first quarter of 2019 and would launch the procedures of funding application afterwards. After securing the funding, the department would commission a consultancy to conduct a preliminary design for Kwong Fuk Vehicular Bridge, and would consult Members about the design in a timely manner.

XIV. Any other business (1) Follow-up on traffic congestion near Po Heung Bridge 176. The Chairman said that at an earlier TPDC meeting, Mr. CHENG Chun-ping talked about the serious traffic congestion near Po Heung Bridge, and the vehicular queue would extend all the way to Eightland Gardens and the Tai Po Centre area on weekend and Sunday mornings. He asked the HKPF to respond to Mr. CHENG Chun-ping’s comments. 177. Mr. TSUI Yik-fuk said that the HKPF had been monitoring the traffic condition of Po Heung Bridge. However, as he did not know when the traffic congestion mentioned by Mr. CHENG Chun-ping took place, he could not tell whether the traffic congestion was caused by traffic accidents or vehicle breakdowns. Nevertheless, he said that the HKPF would deploy additional

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manpower on weekends and publics holidays to inspect the traffic there to see if the congestion took place because the duration of traffic lights or pedestrian crossing signals were so long that vehicles could not go through the signals from Po Heung Bridge to Kwong Fuk Road smoothly. (2) Demand for the provision of bus services between Tai Po and Eastern District (TPDC Paper No. TT 33/2019 (Revised)) 178. Ms. Olive CHAN introduced the captioned paper. 179. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD noted Members’ comments. Although the department could not provide point-to-point bus services for every district, at present Tai Po residents could travel to the bus interchanges at Tate’s Cairn Tunnel or Eastern Harbour Crossing by route 307 to interchange for the Chai Wan-bound bus routes such as the route 606 series, the route 682 series or route 694. As the WGPPB under the TTC would continue to discuss the BRPP 2019-2020 at the next meeting, if Members had other comments on the bus services between Tai Po and Eastern District, she suggested them put forward the comments at that WGPPB meeting. (3) Demand for the provision of interchange discount for route 71A (TPDC Paper No. TT 34/2019) 180. Mr. WU Cheuk-him introduced the captioned paper. 181. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik said that while MTRC would review the interchange discount between railway service and bus and minibus services from time to time, the provision of such discount required the consent of both parties. MTRC had been providing a $0.3 interchange discount for GMBs since 2018. For Fu Heng, such a discount was available for GMB routes 20X and 20A. As for the proposed interchange discount for route 71A, he would forward the suggestion to MTRC for consideration and would discuss the room for co-operation with KMB. 182. Mr. YAM Man-chuen’s comments and questions were as follows:

(i) He had been asking for the provision of feeder bus service (commonly known as “K bus”) between Fu Heng and Tai Po Market MTR Station for years, and had discussed the problem with MTRC just as the Government was planning to develop Area 9 of Tai Po not long ago.

(ii) He had invited the Hon. CHU Hoi-dick, Dr. CHEUNG Chiu-hung, Fernando, Dr. HO Kwan-yiu, Junius and the Hon. LAU Kwok-fan to discuss the matter with the senior MTRC officers at LegCo. However, he did not understand why the LegCo Members of the pro-establishment camp at that time were willing to accept the

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interchange discount offered by MTRC capped at just $0.5.

(iii) He had asked MTRC to reduce at least half the fare as the interchange discount. However, a $0.5 discount was better than nothing and he might accept it as well. Nonetheless, MTRC had never provided the discount, and he had learnt from KMB that MTRC had never discussed the interchange discount with them. As such, he asked whether the provision of this interchange discount had been aborted.

(iv) He supported MTRC’s provision of feeder bus service between Fu Heng and Tai Po Market MTR Station, but wondered why MTRC had to subsidise the bus companies in providing the interchange discount. He opined that it would be more reasonable for MTRC and KMB to work together and hand over route 71A to MTRC for operation or to operate the route jointly. He hoped that MTRC and KMB would consider this suggestion.

(v) As the DC Member of the constituency concerned, he stressed that he would like to have free feeder bus service between Fu Heng and Tai Po Market MTR Station for the residents.

183. Mr. Dennis LEE said that KMB noted the comments as regards route 71A and would follow up on the matter. 184. Mr. LEUNG Man-tik said that MTRC had remained in touch with KMB and would discuss Members’ comments with KMB in due course. 185. Mr. LAU Yung-wai said that as MTRC had remained in touch with KMB, he suggested MTRC operate route 71A directly and turn it into a “K bus” route, so that it would not be necessary to operate a new feeder bus route. Besides, rather than providing various types of concessions, he opined that it would be more practical for MTRC to simply lower the fare. (4) Demand for service improvement to route 271 series (TPDC Paper No. TT 35/2019) 186. Mr. WU Cheuk-him introduced the captioned paper. 187. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD noted Members’ comments. She also pointed out that the TD had discussed with KMB on ways to change the service hours of route 271 a week before the meeting, and had urged KMB to be proactive in co-ordinating the bus departure time of its depots, so as to improve the frequency stability of route 271 and enhance the service during specific timeslots. 188. Mr. Dennis LEE said that according to the bus departure record of KMB depots, the bus

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departure time of route 271 was stable. Therefore, service instability was mainly due to traffic congestion on Canton Road, and from Austin Road towards Canton Road. KMB would like to discuss the feasible improvement measures with the TD, such as taking forward measures to accord priority to buses, etc., so as to enhance the stability of bus services along the route. Besides, KMB was open-minded about the suggestion of extending the service hours of route 271X. It would continue to pay attention to the usage of the route and discuss the feasibility of service adjustment with the TD in a timely manner. (5) Demand for increasing the service frequency of route 274X (TPDC Paper No. TT 36/2019) 189. Mr. MUI Siu-fung introduced the captioned paper. 190. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD noted Members’ comments. She pointed out that as the routes of routes 274X and 74E were similar, the department would urge KMB to consider the suggestion of enhancing the service frequency of route 274X. 191. Mr. WONG Tsz-kin said that KMB started operating route 74E not long ago to provide passengers with an express route option back to Tai Po Centre. KMB would keep in view of the route’s usage and would adjust the service frequency where necessary. (6) Objection against route adjustment within Tai Po District to route 307B (TPDC Paper No. TT 37/2019) 192. Ms. WONG Pik-kiu introduced the captioned paper. Apart from opposing the route adjustment proposal for route 307B, she also stressed that she had no objection to the TD’s initiative of enhancing the service frequency of route 307C. 193. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD noted Members’ comments as regards route 307B when discussing BRPP 2019-2020 with the WGPPB earlier on. The department would continue to discuss the route adjustment proposal for route 307B with KMB and WGPPB Members at the WGPPB meeting on 22 March. (7) Tai Po Celebrates the Birthday of Tin Hau Blessing Parade 2019 194. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had earlier provided Members with the route map (see Annex 2) of the Tai Po Celebrates the Birthday of Tin Hau Blessing Parade 2019 (“the Parade”) via email, and consulted Members about the Parade’s route.

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195. Mr. AU Chun-wah hoped that the organisers could put up suitable reminders at prominent locations on the road a week before the Parade to remind people of the road closure and diversion measures on the day of the event, so that they would know the impact of these measures on the public transport services and road traffic, and to reduce the event’s impact to the minimum. 196. Mr. Francis YAM would like to know about the bus diversion on the day of the event. 197. Mr. WONG Tsz-kin said that the bus diversion measures of this Parade were similar to that of last year, but their duration would be substantially reduced. However, details could only be confirmed after discussing with the TD. 198. Mr. CHEUNG Wai-fung said that he would reflect Mr. AU Chun-wah’s comments to the organisers of the event. 199. The TTC approved the afore-mentioned Parade’s route. (8) Request for lowering the audit threshold for residents’ bus operators to participate in

the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme 200. Mr. WU Cheuk-him introduced the afore-mentioned paper (see Annex 3). 201. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD noted Members’ comments. During the daily observation, the department found that several residents’ bus operators were not operating the approved routes. As such, the department had reservation about the applications made by these residents’ bus operators to participate in the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme, and would deal with their applications carefully. If a residents’ bus operator had not breached any rules, the department would process its application as soon as possible. As for the letter submitted by Members, the department would provide a written response in due course. (Post-meeting notes: The TD made a written response on 15 April and the Secretariat had forwarded it to all Members for reference via email.) (9) Member list of the Working Groups under the Traffic and Transport Committee 202. The Chairman said that Mr. YIP Chun-kit had earlier submitted to the Secretariat a letter of intent of joining the Working Groups, and indicated his willingness to join all the Working Groups under the TTC. The Secretariat had drafted a revised member list of the Working Groups (see Annex 4) and put it on the meeting table for Members’ reference.

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203. Members did not have any comments. The TTC endorsed the member list of the Working Groups set out in Annex 4. (10) Demand for the provision of a bus route between Wan Tau Tong and the Hong Kong

Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge 204. Mr. Ken YU introduced the afore-mentioned paper (see Annex 5) and proposed an amendment to the “Route suggestion” section of the paper, where “Tate’s Cairn Tunnel” should be replaced by “Eagle’s Nest Tunnel”. 205. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD noted Members’ comments. As the captioned suggestion was related to a route travelling past the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the boundary crossing facilities, it was under the purview of the Boundary Section of the TD. As such, she would invite the section’s staff to provide a written reply to the afore-mentioned letter in due course. (11) Matters relating to fare increase application of Green Minibus route 25B 206. Mr. Patrick TANG said that many residents had told him that the service of route 25B was below expectation, and he was worried that the fare increase would be strongly opposed by the residents. As such, he hoped that the TD could discuss with him and the minibus company, so as to forward residents’ opinions and to improve the service of this route. He asked the department to suspend processing this fare increase application before the afore-mentioned meeting was held. 207. Ms. Flora MA said that the TD noted Members’ comments. She indicated that the department had to ensure that the finances of the minibus company were sufficient to maintain the basic service level. Therefore, the department would first examine the finances of the minibus company before issuing the consultation paper on the fare increase application. In response to Members’ comments, the department could schedule a meeting to discuss with the DC Members concerned and the minibus company to find out ways to enhance the service level of route 25B. 208. Mr. Patrick TANG understood that bus companies and minibus companies had difficulties in recruiting drivers, and was not strongly against the fare increase application. However, he opined that the key was how the minibus company would improve the services after increasing the fare. He said that while he had met the minibus company and the residents, there was not much improvement in the situation. As such, he hoped that the TD could join their meeting to listen to the residents’ views, and to allow the residents to learn more about the difficulties the minibus company encountered.

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209. The Chairman agreed with the TD convening another meeting with Members to follow up on the afore-mentioned matters. 210. Mr. Francis YAM asked whether the Chairman would forward the above matters relating to bus and minibus routes to the WGPPB for follow-up actions. He explained that Members’ requests were justified. For instance, suggestions like the provision of bus services between Tai Po and Hong Kong Island East would also require long-term follow-up actions. As such, he opined that it would be better to forward them to the WGPPB for in-depth discussion. 211. The Chairman agreed to forward the afore-mentioned matters relating to bus and minibus routes to the WGPPB for follow-up actions. (12) Public transport service from Tai Po to Hong Kong Children’s Hospital 212. Mr. MUI Siu-fung said that Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon Bay was now in operation. Tai Po residents could take route 74X to Ngau Tau Kok and then take route 5R to the hospital and the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal area. He suggested KMB put more efforts in promoting the interchange to facilitate the residents. 213. Mr. Dennis LEE said that KMB was currently providing an interchange discount between routes 74X and 5R, and would also study ways to display the interchange discount more clearly at the bus stops. (13) Concerns about over-pricing of proposed Green Minibus routes 214. Mr. Ken YU said that although the TD had split the proposed GMB route (i.e., the route between Tai Po and Wong Nai Tau) into two, the proposed maximum fare of these two routes were still as high as $15.8. He pointed out that the fare of GMB route 26 between Tai Po and Ma On Shan was only $13.8. In addition, as the TD would consult the TPDC and Sha Tin District Council about these two proposed GMB routes, he would like to reflect the over-pricing issue to the department at the meeting, and ask the department to lower the fare level. 215. Ms. Flora MA reiterated that $15.8 was the proposed maximum fare of this GMB route, and no GMB routes could charge more than the maximum fare proposed in the fare scale. As tender procedure had not commenced, the department did not know the actual fare level of this GMB route. She pointed out that minibus companies would set the fare level with reference to factors such as their fleet resources and operational costs, etc., and the department had also noted Member’s concerns about the fare of this route.

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XV. Date of next meeting 216. The Chairman announced that the next meeting would be held at 2:30 p.m. on 10 May 2019 (Friday). 217. There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m.

Tai Po District Council Secretariat April 2019