An unpublished report by prominent academics claims that by manipulating Cross-Harbour Tunnel tolls during peak hour, congestion could be eased so much that harbour reclamation or a fourth tunnel would be unnecessary.
The paper was presented privately to academics and officials in Hong Kong, London and Vancouver but until now has never been made public.
It argues that if the government made the Cross-Harbour Tunnel toll system flexible, charging up to $80 at peak periods but much less or even nothing during off-peak hours, queues could be almost eliminated.
'Efficient tolling ... would obviate the need to build the fourth harbour crossing in the near future. Victoria Harbour reclamation too could be averted. It is unclear whether motorists would go along ... Even so, the gain to society is large,' said the report's authors, transport and engineering professors Timothy Hau, Wong Ka-io and Wong Sze-chun.
Harbour activists say the study shows there is no need to build the Central-Wan Chai bypass and other surface roads.
But the government, which received the study some time ago, said its radical tolling structure could be implemented only if there was a community consensus.
