THE traffic authority has started trialling a variable lane on a 2.8-kilometer section of Meiguan Expressway, a road subject to heavy traffic congestion during morning rush hour.
A large number of commuters stream into the downtown area each morning from outside Meilin Checkpoint, returning in the evening.
This results in heavy congestion in one direction while traffic from the opposite direction flows relatively freely.
During morning rush hour, traffic police are placing road cones to set up a temporary lane.
Traffic police guide vehicles into the temporary lane to alleviate congestion and remove the cones when rush hour ends.
But some residents have complained that the setting up and removal of the cones is a waste of human resources and merely adds to congestion.
The traffic bureau said the pilot program was introduced to test the feasibility of variable lanes and that it would use traffic lights and road markings in the full implementation of the new measure. (Martin Li)
