Historic Pound Lane may get escalator system
Proposed link will cut walking time from the neighbourhood to Soho to just 6 minutes
A proposal to build a second escalator system in Mid-Levels, serving the mainly residential neighbourhood of Pound Lane, has been put up for public consultation for two months.
The choice of location is as contentious as the initial proposal of Ladder Street. Opponents say both are equally historic and any works will ruin the heritage value of the area.
The escalator link is part of a government plan to divert human traffic, expected to increase with the opening of a new MTR station in a few years.
"There is very limited space for building new roads [in the Mid-Levels of Central and Western District]," the Highways Department said on its website. "The district council and local residents have requested the administration construct the second hillside escalator … to provide a comfortable and convenient route."
Mid-Levels has for years been served by a landmark set of escalators in Soho. The department intends the Pound Lane facility to serve a larger residential area with different users from the Soho link, about 15 minutes away on foot. The focus is on helping elderly people who visit Tung Wah Hospital in Sheung Wan.
The new one-way system would run along the Pound Lane section between Hollywood and Bonham roads. Comprising eight flights of covered escalators, it would cut the time taken for the sloping journey to six minutes.