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1.Plan for five new exits in Causeway Bay MTR

1. Plan for five new exits in Causeway Bay MTR
AGNES LAM , SCMP 22 November 2006

The MTR Corporation has proposed a new tunnel and five new exits at Causeway Bay station to reduce congestion.

The exits, to be built in an expanded east concourse, would lead to Hennessy Road , Yee Wo Street and Great George Street . The tunnel, under Hennessy Road , would run from the expanded concourse and include shops, Wan Chai District Council was told yesterday.

The plans call for the concourse, which now has exits to Lockhart Road , Sogo, Hennessy Road and Great George Street , to be extended from 4,000 square metres to about 10,000 square metres.

The MTR Corp suggests closing Exit E, which leads to Victoria Park, as passengers would be able to use the new Great George Street exit.

The project is expected to take four years after a two-year consultation and planning process.

The corporation's railway extension planning manager, Leung Man-fat, said details of the plan, such as the number of shops in the new tunnel and the cost of the project, had still to be worked out.

Mr Leung said construction work would cause inconvenience to shopkeepers and pedestrians, but the result would help ease congestion around Sogo.

"The proposal mainly will affect traffic at Hennessy Road and Great George Street . Some of the lanes of Hennessy Road might be closed temporarily and at different times. But we will minimise the disturbance to the lowest level, and we will also do an evaluation of effects brought by the project," he said.

Though most district councillors expressed support, some questioned whether it would help ease pedestrian congestion.

"I think the railway company should set a clear objective. Is it a project to solve congestion problems or is it a project to build an underground shopping mall? What if more people will be attracted there because of the shops?" district councillor Wong Wang-tai said.

Council vice-chairman John Tse Wing-ling expressed doubt over the plan, as it would divert most passengers to the expanded concourse.