A worker repairs a broken traffic light in Causeway Bay. Photo: Winson Wong
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3045180/hk65-million-bill-repairs-public-facilities-vandalised Transport
HK$65 million bill for repairs on public facilities vandalised by anti-government protesters
- Transport minister Frank Chan reveals costs that were mostly incurred by damaged traffic lights
- Reinforcement works set to be applied to street railings and paving blocks
Bricks dug up from pavements are set across a road amid a protest in Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang
The bill for repairing public facilities such as traffic lights and pavements damaged by radical anti-government protesters over the past seven months of civil unrest in Hong Kong has hit HK$65 million (US$8.4 million).
In a written reply to the Legislative Council, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan said that from June to December last year, 740 sets of traffic lights across the city were vandalised or tampered with, while 52.8km of railings along walkways and about 21,800 square metres of paving blocks on footpaths were removed.
Protesters often use railings as roadblocks and dig up bricks to use as projectiles in clashes with police.
Hong Kong has been rocked by protests since June, sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, but the campaign has grown into a wider anti-government movement.
Chan said the vandalism of traffic lights mostly involved the cutting of cables or blackening of their surfaces. In some cases, components within the installations, as well as traffic signal control boxes, were damaged.
Traffic lights at Sai Wan Ho out of service due to vandalism. Photo: May Tse
Among the wrecked traffic facilities, 365 sets of lights were vandalised more than once, with the cumulative total of such acts reaching a high of 1,590.
“Violent protesters extensively vandalised road safety facilities and maliciously blocked roads to paralyse traffic. Such acts not only caused a serious impact on public transport and created difficulties for commuters, but also posed a potential risk to road users,” Chan said.
Violent protesters extensively vandalised road safety facilities and maliciously blocked roads to paralyse traffic
He said the bill for fixing the damaged traffic lights would amount to HK$40 million while the cost of repair or replacement of vandalised road facilities would be about HK$25 million, giving a total of HK$65 million.
Among the 18 districts, Yau Tsim Mong stood out as the most protest-damaged, with 121 damaged sets of traffic lights and 9,900 square metres of paving slabs dug up.
The transport minister said all traffic lights vandalised during the period were repaired by January 2, while most of the damaged footpaths had been fixed, adding that the Highways Department would strengthen paving blocks with new materials.
Government figures showed that, from June to November last year, there were about 20 traffic accidents causing 41 reported cases of minor injuries, involving “defective traffic signals”.
Amid the unrest, MTR facilities were also frequent targets of radicals who set fire to station entrances and smashed ticketing machines. Earlier reports put the repairs for the city’s rail operator – in which the government is a majority shareholder – at HK$500 million.