Establishment Subcommittee Follow-Up to the Meeting on 14 July 2021 at the Establishment Subcommittee Meeting on 14 July 2021, T
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LC Paper No. ESC88/20-21(01) Establishment Subcommittee Follow-up to the Meeting on 14 July 2021 At the Establishment Subcommittee meeting on 14 July 2021, the Administration was requested by Members to provide supplementary information for Paper No. EC(2021-22)7. The Administration’s response is as follows. (a) Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems (“HEL”) 2. HEL aims to enhance the accessibility of hillside areas through construction / installation of a mix of pedestrian facilities, such as footbridges, subways, lifts, escalator links, etc. In 2009, the Government established an assessment mechanism (“the original assessment mechanism”) to conduct initial screening and detailed scoring for the 20 HEL proposals received then. Having determined the priority of these proposals based on their scores, the Government decided to take forward 18 HEL proposals. The costs of construction and maintenance works concerned are borne by the Government. The details of the former assessment mechanism are at Annex 1. 3. Of the 18 projects decided to proceed under the original assessment mechanism, six have been completed and are open for public use, three are currently under construction, one is expected to commence its construction in August 2021, while nine are at various stages of planning, investigation and design. The latest progress of the 18 projects is set out at Annex 2. 4. The Government announced in the 2017 Policy Address that a consultancy study would be conducted to review and revise the assessment mechanism for HEL proposals. Taking into account the past experience of the Government in taking forward HEL projects, the consultant engaged by the Transport Department (TD) reviewed the original assessment mechanism established in 2009 and recommended improving the assessment criteria and prioritization method for implementation of projects. The Government consulted the Legislative Council Panel on Transport in December 2018 on the proposed revisions to the assessment mechanism. Later, the Government also reported the proposed revisions to the Subcommittee on Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems under the Panel on Transport in November 2019 and obtained their endorsement. The details of the revised assessment mechanism are at Annex 3. 5. Based on the revised assessment mechanism, the consultant engaged by TD carried out initial screening, shortlisting and prioritisation of the 114 HEL proposals (see Annex 4) received over the past few years. Since December 2020, TD has consulted the relevant District Councils (DCs) on the following four proposals which have passed the assessment and obtained their support. (i) From Castle Peak Road - Kwai Chung to Wah Sing Street (No. NTW10) (ii) From Tai Pak Tin Street near Kam Shek Building to Shek Yam Road (No. NTW11) (iii) From Wood Road to Queen’s Road East near St Joseph’s Primary School (No. HKI23) (iv) From Lau Sin Street to Tin Hau Temple Road (No. HKI30) 6. The Highways Department (HyD) is taking forward the above four proposed projects in accordance with the relevant public works projects procedures. TD will continue consulting local stakeholders based on the assessment results to take forward relevant projects. 7. The works involved in HEL projects are of larger scale because such proposals often involve building new public walkways. Also, having regard to the geographical landscape of individual projects, the Government needs to sort out various technical details in respect of project design and construction as well as addressing land ownership issues. In particular, projects involving dangerous slopes and private land are more complicated. On the other hand, based on past experience, local communities had diverse views on the alignments and design of a number of projects. Those living in uphill and downhill areas often have different opinions and departments need more time in handling public views. Nonetheless, the Government will continue to strive to communicate with various stakeholders, with a view to expediting the delivery of those projects which are agreed by stakeholders. (b) “Universal Accessibility” (UA) Programme 8. The Government has been installing barrier-free access facilities at public walkways and launched the UA Programme in August 2012 to proactively provide more barrier-free access facilities (i.e. lifts and ramps) to enhance the convenience of the public in using public walkways. - 2 - 9. In response to public demand, the Government announced in the 2019 Policy Address that the scope of the UA Programme would be expanded and that a Special Scheme would be launched under the UA Programme for retrofitting lifts at the walkways in or connecting to the common areas of the following three types of housing estates, namely 39 estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme, three estates under the Buy or Rent Option Scheme, and 98 public rental housing estates with non- residential properties divested. Lift retrofitting items under the Special Scheme could only be taken forward provided that the relevant owner(s) or parties responsible for the management of the concerned land/walkways agree to such lift retrofitting proposal and are willing to co-operate with the Government in subsequent management and maintenance of the lifts, and that no land resumption would be involved. 10. HyD consulted the DCs on the lift retrofitting items under the Special Scheme between May and October 2020, and carried out a preliminary study on the 71 items suggested by the DCs1. The findings of the preliminary study were reported to the DCs during the period from November 2020 to April 2021 and the DCs were invited to each select not more than three existing walkways as priority items for implementation under the Special Scheme. A total of 35 items were selected by the relevant DCs, among which 25 items have already obtained the agreement in principle from relevant owners / Deed of Mutual Covenant managers. 11. As at 15 July 2021, the number of completed items under the UA Programme is 171. 79 items are under construction, while 149 are/will be undergoing investigation or design works. Please refer to Annex 5 for details. Transport and Housing Bureau Highways Department Transport Department August 2021 1 The scope of the study includes assessing the pedestrian flow figures, factors affecting the pedestrian flow in the future, whether there are any facilities nearby for the elderly or disabled, preliminary technical feasibility and preliminary construction costs estimate, etc. - 3 - Annex 1 Former Assessment Mechanism 1. There is an initial screening under the former assessment mechanism, which helps screen out proposals which are obviously infeasible or unjustifiable for implementation. A proposal will not be taken forward if it has any of the following characteristics – (a) land unavailability – inadequate land and / or infeasible land resumption to possibly accommodate the proposed facility; (b) redundancy – similar facility / facilities is / are already provided or committed in close proximity1 to the proposed facility; (c) insurmountable construction or operational difficulties; or (d) small level difference – level difference to be overcome is less than six metres (m). 2. Proposals which pass the initial screening will be evaluated by a scoring system based on the following set of evaluation criteria (figures in brackets denote their respective maximum score) – (a) Circumstantial factors (total score: 40) (i) existing population / employment within catchment2 (6); (ii) existing population of 65 year-old or above within catchment (5); (iii) topographical conditions, i.e. gradient / level difference (11); (iv) connectivity with other existing / committed pedestrian facilities (4); (v) connectivity with existing / committed mass public transport facilities within catchment (4); (vi) connectivity with existing / committed centres of activity within catchment (4); and (vii) steadiness of existing pedestrian flow (6). 1 A similar facility located within 300 m of the proposed facility is generally regarded as one having similar facility within close proximity. 2 Catchment is defined as the area within the radius of 300 m from every entrance/access point of the proposed facility. - 1 - (b) Beneficial factors (total score: 35) (i) revitalization of / benefits to local community (6); (ii) journey time / cost saving (8); (iii) improvement to existing traffic conditions (6); (iv) improvement to existing pedestrian conditions (6); (v) road safety (6); and (vi) tourism promotion (3). (c) Implementation factors (total score: 25) (i) land requirement (6); (ii) technical / environmental constraints (6); and (iii) cost-effectiveness (13). 3. The respective weightings for the circumstantial, beneficial and implementation factors are 40, 35, and 25, forming a total score of 100. A higher score indicates the relatively higher social benefits, cost effectiveness, and well-preparedness for construction works of a proposal. Based on the scores obtained, the relative rankings among various proposals on hillside escalator links and elevator systems will be determined in an objective manner. Those proposals with higher rankings will have priority to proceed to the next stage of planning and investigation. 4. However, the assessment mechanism will not be applicable to the following proposals – (a) proposals which cross a single road – they will be evaluated under the criteria for footbridge construction; (b) proposals which entirely fall within the boundary of public housing estates – the Housing