Traffic flows easier around TKO

The newly opened Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel and the Cross Bay Link saw smooth traffic flows on their first working day in service yesterday.

Residents had welcomed the new tunnel and bridge openings on Sunday as the promise was for relief from 20-plus years of traffic jams, though the weekend start was accompanied by some snarl-ups.

The new toll-free route is expected to save people around 20 minutes when they travel between Lohas Park and Kwun Tong during rush hours.

Commissioner for Transport Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said yesterday's conditions were generally smooth at around 7am, but the weight of traffic was felt increasingly an hour later.

"It will take a few weeks for traffic conditions in the area to stabilize," she said.

Law also said traffic in the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel, previously the main route connecting Tseung Kwan O and Kwun Tong, was no longer congested, and that the average speed of vehicles in the tunnel reached 30 kilometers per hour - three times the previous speed prior to the opening of the new bridge and tunnel.

Law also said that Transport Department officers had noticed cars were cutting across lanes at the Kowloon-bound exit of the new tunnel, possibly because road signs pointing separately toward Cha Kwo Ling and Kowloon East misled drivers into thinking only the latter was headed for Kowloon.

She told Kowloon-bound drivers to decide the lane to take in advance, and not to cross the double white lines that were added on roads by the department on Sunday night.

She also said police officers towed away a car at Cha Kwo Ling and issued 15 fixed penalty tickets yesterday morning to ensure smooth traffic at the Lam Tin interchange.

"The Transport Department will work with the police, the Highways, Civil Engineering and the Development departments, contractors and tunnel management companies to monitor the traffic situations closely," Law added.

Additionally, authorities will also carry out technically feasible improvement measures, such as the addition of temporary footbridges.

The president of the Hong Kong Automobile Association, Ringo Lee Yiu-pui, agreed.

"If we erect a temporary footbridge we could avoid setting up traffic lights, which would worsen traffic at the interchange," Lee said.

Kwun Tong councilor Wilson Or Chong-shing hoped authorities would be able to address the bottleneck on Cha Kwo Ling Road, where two lanes merge into one as it transitions into the Lam Tin interchange.

Those remarks came as drivers in the vicinity noticed much smoother traffic conditions yesterday, even during rush hours. A driver, Ng, said road conditions were smooth as "it might be because the toll fee was waived, so vehicles could move without any congestion. The traffic used to be terrible, but it's smooth now."

Residents also tested out five new franchized routes by the Kowloon Motor Bus, New World First Bus and Citybus that began running through the new tunnel for peak-hour services between TKO and Tai Po, Tsuen Wan, Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan and Tsim Sha Tsui - and many were pleased with the faster and easier journeys.