New Bypass Leaves Lawmakers Fuming Over Traffic

Lawmakers across the political spectrum have been critical of the newly opened Central-Wan Chai Bypass, with many of them fuming that the new route has created more congestion and made their commutes much longer than normal.

DAB lawmaker Elizabeth Quat said it took her 1.5 hours to travel from Tai Po to Legco on Monday – which she said was double her usual travel time. She said she used the Western Harbour Crossing but got stuck in a traffic jam after exiting the tunnel.

Partymate Ann Chiang said it took her more than half an hour to travel from Elements in West Kowloon to Legco, which normally only takes her five to seven minutes.

Chiang said she wanted the government to open the bypass fully as soon as possible.

The Civic Party's Jeremy Tam and Tanya Chan also complained that a lack of clear signs had caused confusion.

"It is too difficult even for me, living on Hong Kong Island for about 50 years, to decide which road to take," said Chan.

DAB lawmaker Ben Chan said the confusing signs had led to some difficult traffic situations on Sunday, when some drivers only found out they were in the wrong lane at the very last minute.

Tam, meanwhile, said although some of the congestion may be due to the initial enthusiasm of drivers to try out the bypass, he thinks there may also be a problem with the design of the route.