The Taipei City Government began work to remove the exclusive bus lanes in front of Taipei Railway Station last night, following Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) inauguration yesterday morning.
It is unlikely many people took it literarily when Ko said while on the campaign trail that he would remove the long-criticized bus lanes on Zhongxiao W Road (忠孝西路) in front of Taipei Railway Station.
However, the work began last night, with completion scheduled for tomorrow morning.
Photo: CNA
“Following a meeting of representatives from different departments called by Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮), we have decided to make preparations at the site to remove the bus lanes from 11pm tonight [Thursday] to 6am tomorrow [Friday], while the actual work of removing the bus lanes is set to take place from 10pm tomorrow [Friday] night until 6am on Saturday morning,” Taipei City Government Public Works Department Deputy Director Huang Yi-ping (黃一平) said at a press conference after the meeting. “During the period when the work is being carried out, the two inner lanes on each side of Zhongxiao W Road are to be closed, while one outer lane on each side is to remain open to traffic.”
“The traffic division of the police department, assisted by 12 volunteers, will be there to ensure traffic remains smooth,” Huang added.
Huang said that the work on the first night would include dividing up the 85m-long, 3m-wide passenger platform. During the day, the reinforcing steel bars would be cut, while the platform would be completely demolished and trucked away on the second night.
“At precisely 3am Saturday morning, we will start to repave the road, draw traffic lines on it, and have the road open by 6am on Saturday,” Huang said. “After the demolition, there will be five lanes on each side.”
However, the speed of the process provoked questions from the media on whether the project had been through the required procedures, such as submitting a traffic maintenance plan.
Taipei Department of Transportation representative Lee Kun-chen (李昆振) said that there was a traffic maintenance plan. However, he admitted that no such plan had been submitted in writing, adding that it would be soon.
While stating that regulations allow a plan not to be submitted in writing during an emergency situation, Lee and Huang were unable to clarify how the project qualified as an “emergency” and stressed that what they were doing was in accordance with all laws and regulations.
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