Anyone driving into the Tai Po area is highly likely to have to stop at junctions and wait for traffic lights to change at least five times before he or she can reach their destination or leave Tai Po town centre. More than 10 minutes will probably be spent stopping repeatedly at these junctions, even at off-peak hours, when the roads are quite empty. The present road network is a product of the gradual expansion of the Tai Po town centre over the years. This inefficiency is unnecessary and could easily be rectified.

Traffic flows in Tai Po could be reworked to be more efficient without needing to add a flyover or tunnel. The parallel use of Ting Kok Road and Tai Po Tai Wo Road is probably creating more junctions than necessary. They slow down the traffic flow. If only southbound traffic was allowed on Ting Kok Road, towards Yuen Shin Road, and only northbound traffic was allowed on Tai Po Tai Wo Road, from Yuen Shin Road towards Ting Kok Road, at least two junctions could be removed in each direction. That could cut about three to four minutes of waiting at the lights in each direction. Ambulances could be less frequently stuck in the queue of traffic, trapped in traffic lights with their sirens wailing. People could reach their destination a few minutes earlier.

This is only an outline proposal. It obviously needs more detailed planning of traffic on the two main roads to make it feasible. However, if changes along these lines can improve the efficiency of Tai Po without major capital input, relevant departments should look into the possibility of such a rearrangement.

Davy Chan, Tai Po