Decisive action needed on traffic

Making traffic on Hong Kong's busiest streets less congested and clearing up roadside air pollution is simple enough: Decrease the number of vehicles. As straight forward as that may be, though, the government has been procrastinating for decades over the best way to achieve those goals. Successive studies have been commissioned and reports and recommendations produced, but no tough decisions have been taken and the suggestions have been left to gather dust. It is to be hoped that this wasteful and time-consuming process is not to be the fate of an eight-month study by the transport advisory committee.

The committee's recommendations have been repeatedly discussed over the years. Among them are electronic road pricing for traffic trouble spots, higher taxes and fees on private cars, increased fines for illegal parking, raised meter charges and more stringent enforcement of road offences. In the medium and longer term, it was suggested that parking policy be reviewed with an eye on the use of technology, off-peak loading and unloading of vehicles be looked into and more wide-ranging studies be considered by authorities. Some of these measures have been tried before; they have done nothing to stop new cars from taking to the streets.

Statistics speak for themselves: Between 2003 and 2013, the number of licensed vehicles rose from 523,000 to 681,000. In that time, average car speeds fell 11 per cent to just 23km/h. From 2009 to 2013, roadside nitrogen-oxide levels increased 9 per cent. The worsening traffic is affecting quality of life.

Despite the facts and figures, authorities have been reluctant to implement tried-and-tested measures. Charging to use roads at peak times has been effective in Singapore and London to improve traffic flow, but has been repeatedly ignored as an option - despite our city being the first in the world to trial the idea, with positive results, between 1983 and 1985. Motorists complain about illegally parked cars blocking the narrow streets of Central, yet fines have not been increased since 1994. The government is putting faith in projects under way to solve problems; for the northern side of Hong Kong island, it is the Central-Wan Chai bypass, due to open in 2017.

With more people buying cars, pollution from vehicles worsening and visitor numbers rising, we cannot afford to wait. Decisive action is needed. The committee's suggestions have already been much debated. It is time they were implemented.