TRANSPORT PLANNING FOR NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT:EXPERIENCE OF HONG KONG

l.TheNewTowllsofHongKo11gInanattempttotestifytheintimateandvitalrelationshipbetweennewtownsandthemetroPOlitanarea,andtheil1teractingrolesbetweentheplanningandprovisionofpublictransPOrtfacilitiesontheonehand,andthechangingfunctionsofnewtownsontheother,thispaperpresentssomeexperiencegainedinastudyofnewtowntransportplaninnginHongKong.HongKonghasatotallandareaofabout1o74kinandwasinhabitedbyabout5.9millionPeopleinl992.About77percentofthemlivedinthemetroPOlitanarea.TheeconomicsystemofHongKong…

TRANSPORT PLANNING FOR NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT: EXPERIENCE OF HONG KONG

Since the 1960s, Hong Kongs new towns have been builton the assumption that they could be socially and economically selfcontained entities. A study of the linkage between three new townsand metropolitan area confirms that substantial commuting trips arestill made. The new towns serve as dormitories for people workingin the metropolitan area. The commuters' reliance on publictransport is significant. The towns are thus far from self-containedeven aller 20 years of development. The public transport network,trip rate, peak factor, purpose, mode choice, costs and journey time,are signilicantly different from those originally estimated. Thesemay be related to distance from the metropolitan area,theavailability of modes, the structure of the public transport netwrk,and changs in the economical structure of Hong Kong. lt suggeststhat the direct and indiscriminant importation of Westernplanning practice to plan new towns with an oriental socio-economicsetting deserves critical review.