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Raymond Ma

A record 350,000 people now trudge to work or head home on the Mid-Levels escalator each day - two-thirds more than its designers initially intended.

A Transport Department survey conducted in November found that 49,781 people used the 800-metre Hillside Escalator Link every day, up from the 35,825 in the last survey completed five years ago.

Built at a cost of $230 million and taking 21/2 years to build, designers initially expected daily traffic of 30,000.

However, officials said they were not worried the escalator was over-congested.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot to begin building Hong Kong's second public outdoor escalator by the end of this year - this time servicing the residents of Fortress Hill.

The 30-metre covered escalator will link the Fortress Hill MTR station to the nearby Fortress Garden housing estate.

Under the proposed plan, residents will take a lift  near the  King's Road MTR exit to an elevated platform before stepping on to the escalator.

The new escalator is being proposed  at the behest of the  Eastern District Council and district residents.

They asked the government to build a pedestrian system to help people move up and down Fortress Hill.

It is expected to benefit about 6,000 residents living at Fortress Garden and another 2,800 students who now  have to climb 176 steps without cover.

Officials expect the project, estimated to cost $34.5 million, to begin at the end of this year and be completed by December 2006. The Highways Department will invite tenders for construction in  July.

Hong Kong's first outdoor escalator opened to controversy in 1993 because of delays in construction, over-expenditure, and dangerous glitches that caused commuters to pile up at the entrance and exits of malfunctioning escalator sections.

Since then, two similar bids have been made. One proposed  an 80-metre escalator linking Caine Road with Sai Ying Pun,  while the other  is aimed at linking North Point MTR station with Braemar Hill Road.

Neither project got off the ground.

A department spokeswoman said: 'Unless something hits us completely out of the blue, we expect this new escalator to be built,'

The government said it did not expect the new escalator to encounter any teething problems when it was eventually opened.



Record number  makes daily trudge  on Central escalator