Govt unveils plan to ease Kwun Tong traffic jams

The government has proposed building a network of elevated moving walkways in Kowloon East as part of a plan to ease traffic congestion and “shape a green community” in the area.

The proposal was revealed in papers submitted to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, after the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, announced last November that it will give up the idea of a monorail system the government first touted in 2007.

The proposed walkway network consists of three parts: one connects the Kwun Tong waterfront with the Kai Tak Runway Park as it lies astride the typhoon shelter; another links the redeveloped areas in Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong along Wai Yip Street, and a third and shorter session is right above the redevelopment area in Kowloon Bay.

The Development Bureau said the proposed walkway over the typhoon shelter would form “an iconic structure with magnificent architectural design to express its prominent location”.

Officials plan to launch relevant studies this year, and said they will start building them as soon as possible.

They added they hope to implement other proposed measures in the overall plan within the next few years.

Six new bus and green minibus routes will be brought in within Kowloon East to improve public transport services there, and an existing water taxi service linking Kai Tai and Kwun Tong will be expanded to cover other areas.

The bureau is also proposing building a 13-kilometre “GreenWay network” in Kai Tak for both cyclists and pedestrians by 2025, to link up different spots and waterfront promenades in the district.

It said an elevated landscape deck will be built at the busy Kwun Tong MTR station to “enhance the connectivity and ease the pedestrian flow in the area”.

“This package of linkage measures will help shape a green community and facilitate the transformation of Kowloon East into the second central business district,” the paper said.