Following is a question by Dr the Hon Ngan Man-yu and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, in the Legislative Council today (June 19):
Question:
In Hong Kong, there are a total of three Road Safety Towns (Towns) located respectively in North Point, Sau Mau Ping and Shatin. The first Town, which was built as early as in the 1970s, has been providing a simulated road environment to enable school children to learn road safety through playing. It is learnt that the operation of the Towns (e.g. facility management, repair and maintenance, education work and the overall strategy for road safety education) has been put under different government departments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the effectiveness assessment of the work of each Town in the past three years, including the number of attendances of organisations and members of the public, details of activities organised (including the number and content of such activities), publicity and promotional efforts, road safety education efforts, etc.;
(2) as there are views that the software and hardware of various Towns have not been upgraded for many years, whether the authorities have plans to comprehensively upgrade the software and hardware of the Towns (including the facilities and teaching methods), e.g. by introducing technologies such as augmented reality (AR) interactive experiences and procuring more simulated transport vehicles of different types, so as to integrate new technologies with road safety education, thereby making teaching and learning fun and authentic; and
(3) of the measures in place to enhance interdepartmental collaboration within the Government for better coordination and division of work among departments, thereby ensuring that any measure to upgrade the Towns can be truly implemented to enrich the learning experience of school children in the Towns?
Reply:
President,
Road Safety Towns (RSTs) are recreational facilities to impart road safety knowledge to children. RSTs were incorporated into the plans of the former Urban Services Department as early as the late 1960s. The first RST was completed and opened in 1970, and the subsequent RSTs have been implemented in accordance with the planning of the former Urban Council. Currently there are three RSTs in Hong Kong, located at Pak Fuk Road in North Point, Sau Ming Road in Kwun Tong and Kong Pui Street in Sha Tin (Note 1). Each RST provides a simulated road environment to educate children of knowledge on road safety, which can be extended to their family members, with the aim to widely promote the awareness on road safety. Having consulted the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), our consolidated reply is set out below:
The facilities of RST are managed by the LCSD. Schools or groups may apply for a visit at designated times. The RST is open for public use when there is no group visit. In addition, the HKPF makes use of the classrooms and facilities in the RSTs to provide road safety education service to school groups (including kindergarten to primary school students).
In the past three years, owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19, the number of users of the RSTs was affected in 2021 and 2022, and rebounded after the society has gradually returned to full normalcy from 2023 onwards. Details are set out as follows:
| Year 2023 | Number of group visits | Number of users (Individuals and groups) |
| Pak Fuk Road, North Point | 227 | 25 499 |
| Sau Ming Road, Kwun Tong | 135 | 25 664 |
| Kong Pui Street, Sha Tin | 178 | 161 879 |
| Wu Shan Recreation Playground, Tuen Mun | 103 | 45 095 |
| Year 2022 (Note 2) | Number of group visits | Number of users (Individuals and groups) |
| Pak Fuk Road, North Point | 7 | 12 854 |
| Sau Ming Road, Kwun Tong | 0 | 9 199 |
| Kong Pui Street, Sha Tin | 1 | 88 866 |
| Wu Shan Recreation Playground, Tuen Mun | 0 | 37 198 |
| Year 2021 (Note 2) | Number of group visits | Number of users (Individuals and groups) |
| Pak Fuk Road, North Point | 0 | 17 740 |
| Sau Ming Road, Kwun Tong | 0 | 10 539 |
| Kong Pui Street, Sha Tin | 0 | 130 999 |
| Wu Shan Recreation Playground, Tuen Mun | 0 | 43 086 |
The Road Safety Council (the Council) is an advisory body to the Government for promoting road safety. The Council is chaired by a representative of the HKPF, with official members from seven government bureaux and departments, including the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the HKPF, the Transport Department, the Education Bureau, the Home Affairs Department, the Highways Department and the Information Services Department. The Council also includes members from various sectors of the community, such as the automobile, logistics, medical, insurance and education. The Road Safety Campaign Committee (the Committee) is set up under the Council with an aim to promote road safety education and publicity programmes to road users. As far as Road Safety Towns are concerned, the Committee provides a platform for various government departments as well as members of the Council and the Committee to exchange views on upgrading the facilities of the RSTs so that the relevant departments can coordinate with one another to enhance the user experience in the RSTs.
Currently, we are actively exploring with the LCSD and the members of the Committee, including the HKPF, the possibility of refurbishing or acquiring additional hardware and software facilities for the RSTs. For instance, the Government is working with the Committee to explore the incorporation of the Council's mascot "Mr. Safegg" in the RSTs, so as to attract more visits and "check-ins", as well as the use of virtual reality games developed by the Council for the road safety education service in the RSTs to make it more interesting. Besides, the Government is actively following up with the Committee to explore the feasibility and priority of refurbishing or adding different facilities, taking into account the conditions of the existing facilities, their utilisation rates and the resources required.
Thank you, President.
Note 1: The RST located in Wu Shan Recreation Playground in Tuen Mun has been temporarily closed since late October 2023 to cope with the railway construction of the Tuen Mun South Extension.
Note 2: Number of users in 2021 and 2022 were lower than those in 2023, mainly due to the intermittent closure of venues during the outbreak of the COVID-19.
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