The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority: During the winter surge, the Hospital Authority is closely monitoring the service demand of Accident and Emergency Departments and the occupancy rate in public hos… read more
Special traffic arrangements will be implemented in Happy Valley tomorrow (February 13). The arrangements will come into effect one and a half hours before the start of the first race and will last until the crowds have dispersed after the race meeting.
A. Traffic arrangements before the commencement of the first race
1. Road closure
Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen’s Road East and the up-ramp outside Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) will be closed except for vehicles heading for Aberdeen Tunnel.
2. Traffic diversions
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the up-ramp outside HKJC will be re-routed one way northbound;
– Vehicles from eastbound Queen’s Road East heading for Wan Chai and Happy Valley will be diverted to turn left to Morrison Hill Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic along Queen’s Road East cannot turn right to Wong Nai Chung Road except for vehicles heading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Queen’s Road East will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Morrison Hill Road to turn right at the junction of Wong Nai Chung Road and Queen’s Road East; and
– Traffic from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley or Racecourse will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from southbound Canal Road flyover to Canal Road East, southbound Morrison Hill Road, Sports Road and Wong Nai Chung Road.
B. Traffic arrangements before the conclusion of race meeting
1. Road closure
The following roads will be closed from 35 minutes before the start of the last race:
– The up-ramp on Wong Nai Chung Road outside HKJC leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Queen’s Road East and the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel;
– Southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Village Road and the Public Stands of HKJC;
– Westbound Leighton Road between Wong Nai Chung Road and Canal Road East; and
– Southbound Morrison Hill Road between Leighton Road and Queen’s Road East.
In addition, southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between the up-ramp leading to Aberdeen Tunnel and the Public Stands of HKJC will be closed from about 10 minutes before the start of the last race.
2. Traffic diversions
The following traffic arrangements will be implemented from 35 minutes before the start of the last race:
– Eastbound Queen’s Road East at its junction with Morrison Hill Road will be reduced to one-lane traffic heading for northbound Canal Road flyover;
– Vehicles from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Wan Chai will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from Canal Road East, U-turn slip road beneath Canal Road flyover, Canal Road West and Hennessy Road;
– Vehicles from Cross Harbour Tunnel heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via the down-ramp leading from Canal Road East, eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Traffic on southbound Morrison Hill Road will be diverted to turn left to eastbound Leighton Road;
– Traffic along southbound Morrison Hill Road heading for Happy Valley will be diverted via eastbound Leighton Road and Wong Nai Chung Road; and
– Traffic along westbound Leighton Road will be diverted to Wong Nai Chung Road.
C. Learner drivers prohibition
Learner drivers will be prohibited to turn left from Caroline Hill Road to Leighton Road between one and a half hours before the start of the first race and one hour after the last race. In addition, learner drivers will be prohibited from accessing the following roads within the above period of time:
– Shan Kwong Road between Yik Yam Street and Wong Nai Chung Road;
– Village Road between its upper and lower junctions with Shan Kwong Road;
– Percival Street between Hennessy Road and Leighton Road;
– Canal Road East; and
– The service road leading from Gloucester Road to Canal Road flyover.
D. Suspension of parking spaces
Parking spaces on southbound Wong Nai Chung Road between Sports Road and Blue Pool Road will be suspended from 11am to 7pm during day racing, from 4.30pm to 11.59pm during evening racing, and from 5pm to 11.59pm during night racing.
Any vehicles found illegally parked within the precincts of the above affected areas will be towed away without prior notice.
Actual implementation of road closure and traffic diversion will be made by the Police at the time depending on traffic conditions in the areas. Motorists should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of Police on site. read more
Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible: Here is an item of interest to swimmers. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department announced today (February 12) that due to bi… read more
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, on the arrangements for switching off analogue television (TV) services today (February 11):
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development: The formal switching off of analogue TV services will begin on November 30, 2020, that means Hong Kong will enter into an era of full digital TV broadcast from December 1, 2020.
This is in line with the global trend to have digital TV as the major broadcasting service. In so doing, we will not only improve the quality of reception, but also allow us to vacate the precious spectrum for other uses. In our plan, we intend to make use of the 160 MHz of spectrum vacated from the analogue TV for use by mobile telecommunications services, which essentially will relieve the existing congested indoor mobile hotspots, such as MTR stations. We hope this will be conducive to the overall telecom services delivery, as well as helping Hong Kong to move ahead with the smart city development initiative.
According to our study (conducted in 2017), 90 per cent of our households have already been using digital TV. This high level of penetration means that by the time we switch off analogue TV services, the majority of households will not need to make any adjustment because they have been watching TV by way of digital services. For those who are still using analogue TV sets, what they need to do is to either switch to a digital TV set, or add a set-top box if they decide to keep the old TV set if it is functioning well.
We also noticed that among those households who are still using analogue TV sets, some of them might be elderly people or people in low-income groups. We have a plan to give them some financial support for this switching. By middle of this year, we will be seeking funding from the Community Care Fund to launch a scheme to help those households in need to purchase either set-top boxes for their existing TVs or basic model digital TVs. We will discuss with the Secretariat of the Community Care Fund to work out a programme engaging non-governmental organisations to help us deal with the switching-off. We believe this will provide the needed service at a time when the switching-off is being materialised.
All in all, it is a milestone that Hong Kong will move ahead to a full digital TV era, and at the same time, making use of this opportunity to vacate some precious spectrum for improving our telecom services. I am happy to take questions.
Reporter: For the spectrum that is not going to be used for improving indoor mobile telecom services, what will it be used for? And the second question, who will be the people now using analogue TV actually need the Government’s help to switch to another TV? Who will be the people eligible for the subsidy?
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development: Our intention is to use the spectrum vacated from the analogue TV for two different purposes. The first, and a more important one, is to use all these spectrum to improve the existing mobile telecom services, essentially indoor services, especially at the very congested sites such as MTR stations. The remaining will be put on reserve, in case there is any future need for digital broadcasting.
As to who will be the recipients of our subsidy, for those who are still using the analogue TV, we are now giving a very long and advance notice to them. In the coming 21 months, they can take time to switch to either a digital TV set or add a set-top box to their existing TV set. We also recognise that among these households who are still using old TV sets, some of them might be in economic need for the switching off, and some might be elderly people. That is our intention and the reason why we have the plan to apply for funding from the Community Care Fund to help them. This will obviously include recipients of existing Government assistance schemes, plus those who are receiving assistance provided by the Community Care Fund. We will devise the scheme in conjunction with the Community Care Fund in identifying who are the people who might receive such assistance, and in this process, we will also engage non-governmental organisations to help us.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.) read more
The Transport Department (TD) today (February 11) reminded the public that temporary road closures will be implemented in phases from 11.30pm this Saturday (February 16) to about 4pm this Sunday (February 17) to facilitate the holding of the Hong Kong Marathon 2019.
This year, the 10-kilometre races will continue to be held on the Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) and the finishing point of the 10km races and the half and full marathon races will be located at Victoria Park.
According to the arrangements for the races, both the east- and west-bound carriageways of the IEC between Victoria Park Road and Shau Kei Wan, and the Central-Wan Chai Bypass (CWB) linking to and from the IEC will be closed from 1.30am on Sunday, and traffic will be diverted to King’s Road and Shau Kei Wan Road. Traffic to and from the Eastern Harbour Crossing will be diverted to the Sai Wan Ho exit/entrance. Vehicles using the CWB will be diverted to Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road and Gloucester Road. Depending on the progress of the races, the CWB will be partially re-opened in phases, for example, upon the anticipated re-opening of the IEC eastbound before noon, the portion of the CWB between Central and North Point will be re-opened. The Wan Chai North exits from and entrance to the CWB will be closed for most of the race time.
For the half and full marathons, road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented in phases at various locations on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon and the New Territories from 11.30pm on Saturday. The races will continue to start at Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and make use of Nathan Road (from Tsim Sha Tsui to Argyle Street Section), Argyle Street, Cherry Street, Lin Cheung Road, West Kowloon Highway, Tsing Sha Highway, Stonecutters Bridge, Nam Wan Tunnel, Cheung Tsing Highway, Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Tsing Kwai Highway, West Kowloon Highway, Western Harbour Crossing, Connaught Road West flyover, Man Po Street, Yiu Sing Street, Lung Wo Road, Road P2, Road A2, Expo Drive, Expo Drive East, Convention Avenue, Hung Hing Road, Marsh Road flyover, Lockhart Road, Percival Street, Hennessy Road, Yee Wo Street and Sugar Street, and will finish at Victoria Park.
Due to the continuous use of Nathan Road northbound between Tsim Sha Tsui and Argyle Street, Nathan Road southbound between Tsim Sha Tsui and Gascoigne Road flyover and Argyle Street as race routes for the half and full marathons on Kowloon side this year, the road closure involving the Yau Tsim Mong area will be extensive. Traffic heading to and from the area (west of Nathan Road and south of Argyle Street) will be restricted to Prince Edward and Tsim Sha Tsui starting from 4am to about 10.15am on Sunday. Meanwhile, public transport services in Yau Tsim Mong area will be subject to extensive adjustments. Members of the public heading to Mong Kok West, Jordan and Tsim Sha Tsui are particularly advised to switch to using railway services.
Similar to last year, Yee Woo Street eastbound in Causeway Bay will be closed and continue to be used as the race route. Public transport services operating along Yee Wo Street (North Point bound) will be diverted to other roads on the race day.
Since the full marathon will use the Kowloon bound carriageways of Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel as the race route, vehicles from Lantau Link (Tsing Ma Bridge) to Kowloon will be diverted to use Tsing Yi North Coastal Road. It is anticipated that the traffic at North Lantau Highway, Tsing Ma Toll Plaza, Tsing Ma Bridge and the vicinity of North West Tsing Yi Interchange may be congested.
The road closures will not affect vehicles from Hong Kong Island/Kowloon/New Territories East heading for the airport and Lantau Island. The Kowloon-bound tube of the Western Harbour Crossing will remain in operation. Due to the closure of Ting Kau Bridge (Kowloon bound), motorists travelling from New Territories West to the airport and Lantau Island via Tuen Mun Road or Tai Lam Tunnel will be diverted to use Tsuen Wan Road, Tsuen Tsing Interchange, Tsing Tsuen Road, Tsing Tsuen Bridge and Tsing Yi North Coastal Road heading for Tsing Ma Bridge.
The Hong Kong-bound tube of the Western Harbour Crossing will be closed from 12.45am on Sunday until the end of the marathon races at the concerned road sections. Motorists heading for Hong Kong Island are advised to use other tunnels.
In connection with the road closures for the marathon, about 240 bus routes and 40 green minibus routes will be diverted, truncated or suspended in phases from 11.30pm on Saturday until the re-opening of roads on Sunday. Affected bus routes include cross-harbour routes using the Eastern Harbour Crossing and the Western Harbour Crossing; routes on Hong Kong Island travelling along the IEC and in Central and Western district, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas; routes in Kowloon operating along Nathan Road, Arygle Street, Shanghai Street, Jordan Road and other major trunk roads in Yau Tsim Mong area; as well as routes operating via Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Tsing Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel. The following bus termini will be suspended: