Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (April 2) :
Question:
I have noticed that the Highways Department is replacing a large number of pavement railings in various districts on the Hong Kong Island, including Central, Admiralty, North Point and so on. However, the replaced railings appear to have no apparent defects on the surface. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the reasons for replacing the above pavement railings;
(b) of the place(s) of origin of such railings;
(c) of the cost of the material for replacing one metre of railing and the removal and installation costs involved;
(d) when the newly installed railings need to be replaced; and
(e) of the total length of pavement railings that the Highways Department replaced in each of the past two years and will be replacing in the coming year, and the respective amounts of public funds involved?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Highways Department (HyD) replaces defective railings as part of its normal maintenance of road furniture. In North Point, 2,600m of railings which are coming to the end of their service life have been replaced recently. All the replaced railings were in dilapidated conditions. There has not been any major railing replacement programme in Central and Admiralty recently.
As part of the Government's effort to enhance the environment and beautify the streetscape of Hong Kong, HyD has developed a Master Streetscape Plan for Pedestrian Schemes in the Central District. A total of 700m of stainless steel railings has recently been installed along a section of Des Voeux Road Central and Chater Street on a trial basis. Stainless steel railings have been chosen since they match better with the enhanced streetscape, are more durable and corrosive resistant and require less maintenance.
(b) Standard galvanized mild steel railings are mostly sourced from the Mainland; whereas the stainless steel railings used in Central are from Finland.
(c) The cost for the standard railing is about $230/m ($200/m for material and $30/m for installation) and that of stainless steel railing is $1,020/m ($990/m for material and $30/m for installation).
(d) The service life of railings depend on the type of material used and their surrounding environment. Generally speaking, they would have a service life of about 7 to 15 years.
(e) In the past two years, HyD has replaced about 133,000m of railings. The total cost was about $31.4M.
In the 2003/04 financial year, HyD estimates that about 45,000m of railings would need replacement. The total estimated cost is $10.5M.
End/Wednesday, April 2, 2003
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