8 Landscape and Visual Impact assessment

8.1 Introduction

8.1.1 This chapter outlines the landscape and visual impact assessment associated with the Traffic Improvements to Tuen Mun Road Town Centre Section as Schedule 2 Designated Project (DP) under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO).

8.1.2 The assessment includes:

· a definition of the scope and contents of the study, including a description of the assessment methodology,

· a review of the relevant planning and development control framework,

· a review of comments received during Public Consultation and how these comments have been addressed in the design,

· a baseline study providing a comprehensive and accurate description of the baseline landscape resources, landscape character areas and visual sensitive receivers (VSRs),

· recommendation of appropriate mitigation measures and associated implementation programmes,

· identification of the potential landscape and visual impacts and prediction of their magnitude and potential significance, before and after the mitigation measures, and

· an assessment of the acceptability or otherwise of the predicted residual impacts, according to the five criteria set out in Annex 10 of the EIAO-TM.

8.1.3 The landscape and visual impact assessment follows the criteria and guidelines as stated in Annexes 10 and 18 of the EIAO TM. Colour photographs showing baseline conditions, and photomontages and illustrative materials supporting conclusions are provided and the locations of all key viewpoints shall be clearly mapped. Photomontages at representative locations provide comparison between existing views, proposals on day 1 after completion without mitigation measures, on day 1 after completion with mitigation measures, and in year 10 after completion with mitigation measures in accordance with EIAO Guidance Note No. 8/2002.

8.2 Environmental Legislation, Standards and Guidelines

8.2.1 The following legislation, standards and guidelines are applicable to landscape and visual impact assessment associated with the construction and operation of the Project:

· Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap.499.S.16) and the Technical Memorandum on EIA Process (EIAO TM), particularly Annexes 10 and 18,

· Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance Guidance Note 8/2002,

· Town Planning Ordinance (Cap 131),

· ETWB No. 36/ 2004 - Advisory Committee on the Appearance of Bridges and Associated Structures (ACABAS),

· ETWB TCW No. 10/2005 - Planting on Footbridges and Flyovers,

· ETWB TCW No. 13/2003A - Guidelines and Procedures for Environmental Impact Assessment of Government Projects and Proposals Planning for Provision of Noise Barriers,

· ETWB TCW No. 2/2004 - Maintenance of Vegetation and Hard Landscape Features,

· ETWB TCW No. 29/2004 - Registration of Old and Valuable Trees, and Guidelines for their Preservation,

· ETWB TCW No. 3/2006 - Tree Preservation,

· Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, particular Chapter 4, Chapter 8 and Chapter 11,

· HyDTC No. 10/2001 - Visibility of Directional Signs,

· Land Administration Office Instruction (LAOI) Section D-12 - Tree Preservation,

· Study on Landscape Value Mapping of Hong Kong,

· WBTC No. 25/92 - Allocation of Space for Urban Street Trees, and

· WBTC No. 7/2002 - Tree Planting in Public Works.

· Identification of the baseline landscape resources and landscape character areas found within the study area. This is achieved by site visit and desktop study of topographical maps, information databases and photographs.

· Assessment of the degree of sensitivity to change of the landscape resources. This is influenced by a number of factors including:

- quality and maturity of landscape resources/characters,

- rarity of landscape resources/characters,

- whether the landscape resources are considered to be of local, regional, national or global importance,

- whether there are any statutory or regulatory limitations/requirements relating to the landscape resource/characters, and

- ability of the landscape resource/character to accommodate change.

The Sensitivity of each landscape resource and character area is classified as follows:

High:	Important landscape or landscape resource of particularly distinctive character or high importance, sensitive to relatively small changes.
Medium:	Landscape or landscape resource of moderately valued landscape characteristics reasonably tolerant to change.
Low:	Landscape or landscape resource of low valued landscape characteristics highly tolerant to change.

· Identification of potential sources of landscape impacts. These are the various elements of the construction works and operation procedures that would generate landscape impacts.

· Identification of the magnitude of landscape impacts. The magnitude of the impact (or magnitude of change) depends on a number of factors including:

- the physical extent of the impact,

- compatibility of the Project with the surrounding landscape,

- duration of impacts, i.e. whether it is temporary (short, medium or long term), under construction and operation phases, and

- reversibility of change.

The magnitude of landscape impacts is classified as follows:

Large:	The landscape or landscape resource would suffer major change.
Intermediate:	The landscape or landscape resource would suffer moderate change.
Small:	The landscape or landscape resource would suffer slight or barely perceptible change.
Negligible:	The landscape or landscape resource would suffer no discernible change.

· Identification of potential landscape mitigation measures. Mitigation measures may take the form of

- adopting alternative design or revisions to the basic engineering or architectural design to prevent and/or minimize adverse impacts,

- remedial measures such as colour and textural treatment of physical, engineering and building features,

- compensatory measures such as the implementation of landscape design measures (e.g. tree planting, creation of new open space etc) to compensate for unavoidable adverse impacts and to attempt to generate potentially beneficial long term impacts.

A programme for the mitigation measures is provided and discussed in paragraph 8.12. The agencies responsible for the funding, implementation, and maintenance of the mitigation measures are proposed in Table 8.8 and Table 8.9.

· Predicted significance of landscape impacts before and after the implementation of the mitigation measures. By synthesising the magnitude of the various impacts and the sensitivity of the various landscape resources it is possible to categorise impacts in a logical, well-reasoned and consistent fashion. Table 8.1 shows the rationale for dividing the degree of significance into four thresholds, namely insubstantial, slight, moderate, and substantial, depending on the combination of a negligible-small-intermediate-large magnitude of impact and a low-medium-high degree of sensitivity of landscape resource/character.

Table 8.1 Relationship between Receptor Sensitivity and Impact Magnitude in Defining Impact Significance

Magnitude of Impact (Change)	Large	Moderate	Moderate / Substantial	Substantial
	Intermediate	Slight / Moderate	Moderate	Moderate / Substantial
	Small	Slight	Slight / Moderate	Moderate
	Negligible	Insubstantial	Insubstantial	Insubstantial
		Low	Medium	High
		Receptor Sensitivity (of Landscape Resource, Landscape Character Area or VSRs)

· Prediction of Acceptability of Impacts. An overall assessment of the acceptability, or otherwise, of the impacts according to the five criteria set out in Annex 10 of the EIAO TM.

8.3.3 The assessment of visual impacts has involved the followings:

· Identification of Zones of Visual Influence (ZVIs) during the construction and operation phase of the Project. This is achieved by site visit and desktop study of topographic maps and photographs, and preparation of cross-section to determine visibility of the Project from various locations.

· Identification of Visual sensitive receivers (VSRs) within the Zone of Visual Influence (ZVIs) at construction and operation stages. These are the people who would reside within, work within, play within, or travel through, the ZVIs.

· Assessment of the degree of sensitivity to change of the VSRs. Factors considered include:

- the type of VSRs, which is classified according to whether the person is at home, at work, at school, at play, or travelling. Those who view the impact from their homes are considered to be highly sensitive as the attractiveness or otherwise of the outlook from their home will have a substantial effect on their perception of the quality and acceptability of their home environment and their general quality of life. Those who view the impact from their workplace and at school are considered to be only moderately sensitive as the attractiveness or otherwise of the outlook will have a less important, although still material, effect on their perception of their quality of life. The degree to which this applies depends on whether the workplace is industrial, retail or commercial. Those who view the impact whilst taking part in an outdoor leisure activity may display varying sensitivity depending on the type of leisure activity. Those who view the impact whilst travelling on a public thoroughfare will also display varying sensitivity depending on the speed of travel.

- other factors which are considered (as required by EIAO GN 8/2002) include the number of individuals, value and quality of existing views, the availability and amenity of alternative views, number of VSRs, the duration or frequency of view, and the degree of visibility.

The sensitivity of VSRs is classified as follows:

High:	The VSRs are highly sensitive to any change in their viewing experience.
Medium:	The VSRs are moderately sensitive to any change in their viewing experience.
Low:	The VSRs are only slightly sensitive to any change in their viewing experience.

· Identification of relative numbers of VSRs. This is expressed in term of whether there are few, medium or many VSRs in any one category of VSR.

· Identification of potential sources of visual impacts. These are the various elements of the construction works and operation procedures that would generate visual impacts.

· Assessment of the potential magnitude of visual impacts. Factors considered include

- the compatibility with the surrounding landscape,

- the duration of the impact,

- the reversibility of the impact,

- the scale of the impact and distance of the source of impact from the viewer, and

- the degree of visibility of the impact, and the degree of which the impact dominates the field of vision of the viewer.

The magnitude of visual impacts is classified as follows:

Large:	The VSRs would suffer major change in their viewing experience.
Intermediate:	The VSRs would suffer moderate in their viewing experience.
Small:	The VSRs would suffer small change in their viewing experience.
Negligible:	The VSRs would suffer no discernible change in their viewing experience.

· Identification of potential visual mitigation measures. These may take the form of adopting alternative designs or revisions to the basic engineering and architectural design to prevent and/or minimise adverse impacts, remedial measures such as colour and textural treatment of building features, and tree planting to screen the roads and associated bridge structures. A programme for the mitigation measures is provided and discussed in paragraph 8.12.

· Prediction of the significance of visual impacts before and after the implementation of the mitigation measures. By synthesising the magnitude of the various visual impacts and the sensitivity of the VSRs, and the numbers of VSRs that are affected, it is possible to categorise the degree of significance of the impacts in a logical, well-reasoned and consistent fashion. Table 8.1 shows the rationale for dividing the degree of significance into four thresholds, namely, insubstantial, slight, moderate and substantial, depending on the combination of a negligible-small-intermediate-large magnitude of impact and a low-medium-high degree of sensitivity of VSRs.

The significance of visual impacts is categorised as follows:

Substantial:	Adverse / beneficial impact where the proposal would cause significant deterioration or improvement in existing visual quality.
Moderate:	Adverse / beneficial impact where the proposal would cause noticeable deterioration or improvement in existing visual quality.
Slight:	Adverse / beneficial impact where the proposal would cause barely perceptible deterioration or improvement in existing visual quality.
Insubstantial:	No discernible change in the existing visual quality.

· Prediction of Acceptability of Impacts. An overall assessment of the acceptability, or otherwise, of the impacts according to the five criteria set out in Annex 10 of the EIAO TM.

8.3.4 It is assumed that funding, implementation and maintenance agency of the mitigation measures can be satisfactorily resolved according to the principles in ETWB TCW 02/2004. All mitigation measures in this report are practical and achievable within the known parameters of funding, implementation and maintenance agency. The suggested agencies for the funding and implementation (and subsequent maintenance, if applicable) are indicated in Table 8.8 and 8.9. Agreement-in-principle to the implementation and maintenance of the proposed mitigation measures is being sought from the appropriate agencies.

8.4 Scope and Content of the Study

8.4.1 The Study Area, as shown in Figure 8.1, is demarcated by Sam Shing Hui to the east, the Tuen Mun River Channel to the west. Detail of the Project is described in Section 2 of the report.

8.4.2 According to EIA Study Brief No. ESB-161/2006, the study area for the landscape impact assessment shall include all areas within 100m extended from the boundary of the scope of the EIA study as described in section 8.4.1 above. The assessment of landscape character areas will include all areas within the study area. The assessment area for the visual impact assessment shall be defined by the visual envelope of the Project and associated works.

8.4.3 In this study, relevant Outline Development Plans (ODPs), Outline Zoning Plans (OZPs), Layout Plans and other relevant published land use plans, planning briefs and studies which may identify areas of high landscape value, open space and amenity area will be reviewed. Any guidelines on landscape strategies, landscape frameworks, urban design concepts, building height profiles, special design areas, landmarks, designated view corridors, open space networks, landscape links that may affect the appreciation of the Project and associated works will also be reviewed. Any conflict with statutory town plan(s) and any published land use plans shall be highlighted and appropriate follow-up action will be recommended.

8.4.4 In the landscape assessment, the existing and planned landscape resources and character of the assessment areas will be described, appraised, analyzed and evaluated. Plans of suitable scale showing the baseline landscape resources and landscape character mapping of impact assessment are used to present the findings of impact assessment. The assessment focuses on the sensitivity of the landscape framework and its ability to accommodate change. The degree of compatibility of the Project and associated works with the existing and planned landscape settings will be identified. The landscape impact assessment quantifies the potential landscape impacts as far as possible, so as to illustrate the significance of such impacts arising from the Project and associated works. All landscape impacts are clearly mapped.

8.4.5 In the visual impact assessment, clear illustrations including mapping of visual impact will be provided. The assessment includes:

· Identification and plotting of visual envelope of the Project and associated works,

· Identification of key groups of sensitive receivers within the visual envelope with regard to views from ground level, sea level and elevated vantage points,

· Description of the visual compatibility of the Project and associated works within the surrounding, both existing and planned uses, its obstruction and interference with the key views of the adjacent areas, and

· Description of severity of visual impacts in terms of nature, distance and number of sensitive receivers. The visual impact of the Project and associated works with and without mitigation measures shall be assessed, and the effectiveness of the mitigation measures shall be demonstrated.

8.4.6 The merits of preservation in totality, in parts or total destruction of existing landscape resources and the establishment of new landscape character areas are evaluated. Alternative alignment(s), design(s) and construction methods that would avoid or reduce the identified landscape and visual impacts have been evaluated for comparison before adopting other mitigation or compensatory measures to alleviate the impacts. The mitigation measures proposed will not only be concerned with damage reduction but will also include consideration of potential enhancement of existing landscape and visual quality.

8.4.7 Measures will be included in the detailed design, construction and operation of the Project and associated works to mitigate landscape and visual impact and reduce them to the acceptable levels. Relevant responsible parties will be identified for the on-going maintenance of the proposed mitigation works to ensure their effectiveness throughout the operation phase of the Project and associated works. A practical programme and funding proposal for the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures is provided in paragraph 8.12.3.

8.5 Considerations on Alternative Schemes for Tuen Mun Road Town Centre Section (TMRTCS) Traffic Improvement:

8.5.1 For considerations on Alternative Schemes for the Project, please refer to Paragraph 2.4 of Section 2 of this EIA.

8.6 Comments on Landscape and Visual Issues received during Previous Consultations

8.6.1 The proposed works comprise, inter-alia, the widening of the TMRTCS between Yan Oi Town Square to Wong Chu Road with one additional traffic lane for both Kowloon bound and Yuen Long bound carriageways, and the installation of associated noise barriers and noise enclosures.

8.6.2 The road improvement under the Project is basically an online widening of TMR along the TCS. The space necessary for the construction of the additional traffic lanes will need to be taken up from the existing central median and verges/footpaths alongside of TMR. The existing trees at the above locations will need to be removed to facilitate the proposed road widening works. The road alignment has been carefully designed to minimize the impact on existing trees. Unavoidably, there will still be a large number of existing trees affected by the works.

8.6.3 Views from LCSD and Tuen Mun District Council (TMDC) on tree treatment proposals have been sought. Other consultations have been held with TMDC and other DC members on the layout of road widening works and the associated noise enclosures and barriers extent. It has been agreed to provide specific landscape themes in the compensatory planting. Preliminary designs on the compensatory planting have been devised and provided to TMDC DFMC members. The tentative planting schemes are well-received by TMDC DFMC members and site walks have been held amongst TMDC DFMC members to finetune the planting details like locations and species. Further details will be studied, developed and provided to TMDC. Various meetings and site walks have been held with TDMC in 2007 and 2008. Please refer Paragraph 2.4.12 of Section 2 for more details.

8.6.4 In summary, the TMDC fully support the provision of noise barriers and enclosures and understand that tree impact due to the proposed works is unavoidable. Comments on the tree treatment strategy raised from TMDC have been considered and will be addressed in the detailed design of the Project.

8.7 Consideration of Alternative Landscape and Aesthetic Design Treatments for Noise Barriers and Enclosures

Introduction

8.7.1 The provision of the noise barriers and enclosures is derived from the result of the environmental impact assessment. These noise mitigation structures are massive and the magnitude of the visual impact induced by them is large and will affect the visual quality of the nearby areas. In order to mitigate the visual impact of these massive structures, the design intent is to provide aesthetically pleasing architectural designs to minimize the visual impacts to the surrounding environment and dwellings while maintaining the functions of the infrastructures and minimizing the need for maintenance. Considerations on physical site constraints, forms of structures and alternatives on landscape and aesthetic designs will be discussed below. Recommendations on the preferred landscape and aesthetic designs will also be provided. Aesthetic design of the four footbridges to be demolished and re-provided will be discussed.

Site Constraints and Form of Structure

8.7.2 The Project site is highly constrained by limited land, existing utilities, facilities, footbridges and buildings. The widening work from dual 2 to dual 3 carriageways is basically achieved by narrowing the existing central median, verges, slopes and planter areas. The physical space allowed for the installation of noise enclosures/barriers is highly restrained by the widths of these central medians and verges which are the only spaces available for placing the supporting columns of the noise barriers/enclosures structures. Spaces for noise enclosures supports are therefore highly limited.

8.7.3 The other key constraint is current live traffic on Tuen Mun Road (TMR). Due to the importance of TMR, the current lane arrangement of TMR would have to be maintained throughout the construction. Besides, safety distances have to be maintained between the construction works and the live traffic. In this case, the construction methodologies and the allowable working spaces would be further restrained by the current TMR traffic. The use of concrete structures would be extremely difficult and even impractical at some of the locations as it requires large spaces for erection of formworks. These long processes of erecting formworks next to live TMR traffic would not only increase the potential risks of construction workers and existing TMR road users, they would also result in significant transient impacts to adjacent dwellings and residents during construction. The use of concrete structure is therefore not a practical choice.

8.7.4 To cope with these constraints, prefabricated steel structures would be the best structural arrangements and the most appropriate approach for the construction of the noise enclosures as the structural steel frameworks are prefabricated off site and the installations will only require occasionally lane closures during non-peak hours for structural frame erections. It minimizes the transient impacts to TMR traffic as well as to the surroundings dwellings and residents. The risk of construction workers is also minimized as the construction duration next to live traffic is minimized.

8.7.5 Therefore, prefabricated steel structure will be the best practical form of the structure to be adopted for the noise barriers/enclosures construction. The following landscape and aesthetic alternatives are derived based on the structural steel structures.

Alternative Landscape and Aesthetic Design Treatment

8.7.6 Alternative landscape and aesthetic design treatment has been considered based on the site context analysis as shown in Figure 8.5.1. The landscape and aesthetic design treatment has considered the intensity of pedestrian VSRs who see the facade of the structure at ground level and the VSRs at high level who see the roof of the structure. Alternative landscape and aesthetic design treatments for the noise barriers and enclosures have been considered in the following aspects during the design process. They are:

- Vertical Facade Design and Thematic Treatments,

- Roof Treatments, and

- Colour Scheme.

8.7.7 Options are generated in the above aspects and assessed accordingly to the practicability, aesthetic considerations, cost-effectiveness and maintenance requirement.

Vertical Facade Design and Thematic Treatment

8.7.8 The following landscape and aesthetic design options have been considered and assessed as follows:

Facade Design Option	Practicability	Aesthetic Considerations	Cost-effectiveness	Maintenance Requirement	Recommendation
Option 1 - Green Panels with Simple Pattern	Practical	Can marginally soften the engineering structure, maybe monotonous over a long span.	Cost effective as the green panel can be used as absorptive barrier	Very High Maintenance Requirement	It is only recommended to be used in some of the visually sensitive area with maintenance access and adequate sunlight for plant grows
Option 2 - Green Panels with Random Pattern	Practical	Can marginally soften the engineering structure, maybe monotonous over a long span and likely to be less aesthetic pleasing than Option 1.	Cost effective as the green panel can be used as absorptive barrier	Very High Maintenance Requirement	It is only recommended to be used to create variety in visual interest.
Option 3 - Green Panels with Decorative Film	Practical	Could add visual interest provided that it is properly designed.	Cost effective as the green panel can be used as absorptive barrier	Very high Maintenance Requirement	It is recommended to be used in the key important visually sensitive areas with maintenance access and adequate sunlight for plant grows, provided that it is properly designed.
Option 4 - Green Panels with Metal Sculpture Plates	Practical	Could add visual interest provided that it is properly designed.	Moderately cost effective	Very high Maintenance Requirement	It is recommended to be used in the key important visually sensitive areas with maintenance access and adequate sunlight for plant grows, provided that it is properly designed.
Option 5 - Reflective Panels with Decorative Film	Practical	Could add visual interest provided that it is properly designed.	Moderately cost effective	Low Maintenance Requirement	It is only recommended to be used in key important visually sensitive areas with inadequate sunlight for plant grows.
Option 6 - Absorptive Panels with Decorative Film	Practical	Could add visual interest provided that it is properly designed.	Moderately cost effective	Low Maintenance Requirement	It is only recommended to be used in areas where full absorptive panels are required and where maintenance accesses for greening is not available.
Option 7 - Reflective and Absorptive Panel Only	Highly practical	Not aesthetic pleasing	Most cost effective	Low Maintenance Requirement	It is only recommended to be used in areas where there is no visually sensitive receiver at ground level at the vicinity of the enclosures and barriers.
Option 8 - Absorption Panel with Colour Variations	Practical	Not aesthetic pleasing	Mostly cost effective	Low Maintenance Requirement	It is only recommended to be used in areas where full absorptive panels are required and where maintenance access for greening is not available.

8.7.9 Based on the above considerations and assessments, different facade design treatments are proposed to noise barriers and enclosures according to its location and adjacent site context. In additional to aesthetic considerations, the choice of the noise barrier/enclosure facade design treatments is governed by the following key factors:

(1) The maintenance accesses – Vertical greening panels require intensive routine maintenance. For locations without proper safety maintenance access, vertical green panels are considered not feasible.

(2) From the findings of the Noise Impact Assessment, some of the vertical walls are required to be installed with absorptive panels to their full height to absorb road noises and prevent the noise from reflections. The choice of design treatments will be limited by this requirement.

(3) The availability of sunlight – Some of the noise barriers/enclosures are located at locations without sunlight. Vertical greening walls are not recommended at these locations.

Noise Barrier/Enclosure Thematic Design

8.7.10 In addition to the treatment options, a number of themes have been considered to be applied to the facade design treatments in key areas. They are summarized as below:

· Local Tourism Theme: A series of panels showing pictures of local attractions in Tuen Mun are proposed as a Local Tourism Corridor to promote local tourism in Tuen Mun area.

· Local History Theme: A series of panels showing pictures of different years are proposed as a Heritage Corridor to illustrate how Tuen Mun Town was evolved from an undeveloped land.

· Local Fauna & Flora Theme: A series of panels showing pictures of animals and plants commonly found in Hong Kong as a Green Education Corridor along both sides of the enclosures in key areas.

· Local Development Theme: A series of panels showing pictures of the development history of Tuen Mun New Town or some of the major local projects as a Development Corridor to illustrate the development of Tuen Mun.

8.7.11 It is considered that either of these thematic facade treatments on the noise barriers and enclosures is able to mitigate the potential adverse visual impact and in the contrary, it will become the iconic feature of Tuen Mun. Amongst the four options, Local Tourism Theme is recommended as it would add value to local communities to attract more tourism trips to Tuen Mun. Nevertheless, Tuen Mun District Council will be consulted during the design stage on the theme prior to implementation.

8.7.12 For details, please refer to Figure 8.5.2A to Figure 8.5.2D illustrating the choice of the vertical treatments and the respective limitations at each area.

Green Roof Treatment

8.7.13 Green Roof has been proposed as much as possible in areas that are engineering viable and maintenance access can be provided without difficulties. The green roof treatment on the Noise Enclosure is proposed to mitigate any potential visual impact on adjacent VSRs at high level.

8.7.14 The following Green Roof options have been considered and assessed as follow:

Options	Practicability	Aesthetic Considerations	Cost-effectiveness	Maintenance Requirement	Recommendation
Option 1 - Simple Green Roof	Practical	Able to soften the engineering structure but with monotonous tone and texture	Cost effective	High maintenance requirement	It is only recommended to the areas where engineering is viable and maintenance access is allowed. It is less preferred as it is not the most aesthetic pleasing option.
Option 2 - Random Mix Green Roof	Practical	Able to soften the engineering structure but without any pattern	Cost effective	High maintenance requirement	It is not recommended as it is less visually aesthetic pleasing.
Option 3 - Green Roof with Pattern	Practical	Able to soften the engineering structure with aesthetic pleasing pattern	Cost effective	Very high maintenance Requirement	It is recommended to areas where engineering is viable and maintenance access is allowed. It is the preferred option as it is the most aesthetic pleasing option.
Option 4 - Green Roof with Tuen Mun DC Logo	Practical	Able to soften the engineering structure but monotonous	Cost effective	Very high maintenance requirement	It is not recommended as most people at high level may not be able to appreciate the logo at a far and oblique angle.

8.7.15 Based on above considerations and assessments, it is considered that Option 3 is preferred from aesthetic point of view as shown on Figure 8.5.3. The detailed design of the pattern is subjected to further consultations with local residents and District Council. Tuen Mun District Council will be consulted during the design stage on the pattern prior to implementation.

Color Scheme

8.7.16 Colour Scheme for the noise enclosures and barriers has been considered so as to mitigate the adverse visual impact as much as possible. The following colour options (as shown in Figure 8.5.4) have been considered and assessed as follow:

Colour Scheme	Practicability	Aesthetic Considerations	Cost-effectiveness	Maintenance Requirement	Recommendation
Option 1 - Light Green frame with tinted green panel	Practical	Colour to match with Tuen Mun Road Improvement Work which provides visual continuity from Tsuen Wan to Tuen Mun.	Cost effective	Low maintenance requirement	The colour provides visual continuity and the use of light colour makes the structures visually less bulky and heavy subject to detailed design.
Option 2 - Dark Green frame with tinted green panel	Practical	Colour to match with existing greenery in the town centre	Cost effective	Low maintenance requirement	The colour treatment is considered as dark. The structure becomes more visually bulky and heavy. It is not recommended.
Option 3 - Sky Blue frame with tinted blue panel	Practical	Colour to match with the blue sky	Cost effective	Low maintenance requirement	This treatment is mainly concerning about the experience from the motorists on road. It is considered that the colour is not referenced to the colour scheme of the area. It is not recommended.
Option 4 - Beige frame with tinted beige panel	Practical	Colour to match with urban context of Tuen Mun	Cost effective	Low maintenance requirement	This treatment may be able to blend in with green panels proposed for the facade subject to detailed design.

8.7.17 It is considered that Option 1 – Light Green Frame with Tinted Green Panel is preferred in aesthetic point of view. However, Tuen Mun District Council will be consulted during the design stage on colour scheme prior to implementation.

Preferred Landscape and Aesthetic Treatments on Noise Enclosures and Barriers

8.7.18 Based on above considerations and assessments, the preferred landscape and aesthetic treatments on noise enclosures and barriers is shown Figure 8.5.5. This preferred option is adopted as the proposed design scheme for landscape and visual impact assessment.

Construction Details and Maintenance of the Green Roof

8.7.19 The construction arrangement of green roof would compose of the common type of corrugated steel sheeting deck used in many steel footbridges in Hong Kong. Basically, the green roof comprises a corrugated steel sheeting deck sitting on the noise enclosure steel framework. Above the deck, it would comprise of a layer of 50mm to 60mm concrete slab, a 30mm prefabricated polyester drainage layer, a 35mm water retaining layer and a 50mm topsoil layer. Sprinklers will be provided on the roof sitting on the sides of the enclosures pointing towards the centre of the roof. Exact structural details are subject to detailed design of the pattern above.

8.7.20 Safety guide wire and 1m wide maintenance corridor would also be provided. Route maintenance accesses will be made use of the future accesses from the footbridge or ladders on suitable locations. Detailed maintenance arrangements are to be confirmed with relevant government departments.

Design of the four footbridges to be re-provisioned

8.7.21 Due to the widening, four existing footbridges (Chi Lok Footbridge, Siu On Footbridge, Yan Ching Footbridge and Yan Oi Footbridge) will be demolished and re-provided. Four new footbridges with new aesthetic designs will be constructed to replace the existing footbridges. The aesthetic design of the footbridges is described as below. Please refer to Figures 8.5.6 & 8.5.7 for more details.

Bridge General Layout

8.7.22 The proposed footbridges are proposed to be constructed in steel and comprise 2 main spans of approximately 35~45m in length. Staircase and lifts will be provided at both ends of the footbridges. Minimum internal widths for the existing footbridge shall be maintained. Detailed aesthetic designs will be prepared at a later stage of the Detailed Design Phase under this Project and is subject to relevant comments of government department. Below is the brief description of the preliminary aesthetic design.

Superstructure Form and Appearance

8.7.23 The footbridge is proposed to be supported by steel girders with crossheads on both sides and on central median. All the footbridge decks would be supported by the girders cladded with decorative claddings.

8.7.24 On the deck, the roof is proposed to be supported by vertical circular columns on both sides of the footbridges. The roof is proposed to be an extended roof with cantilevers on both sides. The middle part of the roof would compose of transparent glass panels and cross beams to catch more sunlight.

Initial Concept for Finishes

8.7.25 In contrast to the largely green noise enclosure, low-key light grayish white is proposed as the theme colour for the main element of the footbridges. The small cross beams on the roof would be painted in different color in order to provide identities to the 4 different footbridges. This color painting could be replaced by small green roof toppings should the maintenance to the roof top considered to be safe and practical.

8.7.26 All structural steel members for the trusses are proposed to be painted metallic grayish white colour. Aluminum roof cladding could be adopted for the whole bridge to enhance the outlook.

8.7.27 Low-key and soft tones are proposed throughout the footbridge to avoid any possible glare caused by sunlight reflection, which is not comfortable to pedestrians.

8.7.28 Matt silver colour aluminum suspended ceiling will be used for the soffit of the non-skylight areas to provide a neat and tidy surface to conceal the lighting systems.

Handrail and Parapet

8.7.29 All the metal fittings and supporting brackets for handrails and parapets are proposed to be stainless steel with insulators at the contact surface with the main steel structure to avoid bi-metallic corrosion as detailed below.

· Handrail	Stainless steel hair-line finished.
· Parapets	15mm thick, clear glass with stainless steel supporting brackets satin finished.

8.7.30 In addition to the handrail, 1.8m height glasses parapets is proposed to be installed between the handrail and the green roof to separate pedestrians from entering the green roof areas. For where sign gantries are installed on the footbridge, advertisement boards are proposed to shield off the backside of the gantries.

8.8 Review of Planning and Development Control Framework

Review of the Outline Zoning Plans (OZPs)

8.8.1 A review of the existing and planned development framework for the proposed works and for the surroundings has been considered. It aims at identifying issues for the neighboring planned land uses, identifying potential resources and sensitive receivers, and ensuring a high compatibility between the proposed project and the surroundings.

8.8.2 The Study Area is covered by Draft Tuen Mun Outline Zoning Plan No. S/TM/24 (4 July 2008). The review of OZPs has not only included a review of the plans, but also of the ‘Notes’ and “Explanatory Statements’ which accompany, and form part of, these plans.

8.8.3 Most of the proposed traffic improvement works are located within the Road Zone as shown in Figure 8.1A. However, some of the existing land use will be permanently alienated by the proposed works and they are listed as follow:

· approximately 0.5ha Residential (Group A) zone of On Ting Estate,

· approximately 0.2ha Residential (Group A) zone of planting areas near Yan Oi Tong Circuit,

· approximately 0.2ha Residential (Group A) zone of Tsing Sin Playground, and

· approximately 0.1ha Residential (Group A) zone of Tsing Hoi Playground.

8.8.4 Under the proposed project, four existing footbridges across Tuen Mun Road will be re-provided. They include:

· Yan Oi Footbridge,

· Yan Ching Footbridge,

· Siu On Footbridge, and

· Chi Lok Footbridge.

8.8.5 Temporary footbridges are proposed and the 4 existing footbridges will be re-provided. Due to the temporary nature of the re-provision of footbridges, it is considered that the connectivity can be maintained.

8.8.6 There is no area of high landscape value found within the study boundary. The proposed work will not encroach in any Country Park (CP), Amenity Area (A), Conservation Area (CA) and Green Belt (GB).

8.8.7 Apart from the impact on R(A) Zones as mentioned above, there will not be any impact on guidelines on landscape strategies, landscape frameworks, urban design concept, building height profiles, special design areas, landmarks, designated view corridors, open space networks, and landscape links of the area.

8.8.8 The proposed works will have slight reduction on R(A) areas. However, such reduction will not create any insurmountable impact on the existing and proposed landscape framework.

8.8.9 Due to the permanent landtake in the affected R(A) areas, draft remedial proposals to the affected R(A) areas have been devised and sent to LCSD. Minor comments were received on the detailed design of the affected areas. These details will be sorted out during the Detailed Design Stage to the satisfaction of LCSD.

8.9 Baseline Study

8.9.1 The Study Area is bordered by the following elements:

Physical Landscape Resources

8.9.2 The baseline landscape resources that will be affected during the Construction Phase and Operation Phase, together with their sensitivity to change, are described below. The locations of baseline landscape resources are mapped in Figure 8.2A to 8.2C. Photo views illustrating the landscape resources within the study area are illustrated in Figure 8.2.1. For the ease of reference and co-ordination between text, tables and figures, each landscape resource is given an identity number.

8.9.3 Within the landscape study boundary, open spaces and existing trees are the key landscape resources of significance. They are shown in Figure 8.2A to 8.2C and described in Table 8.2.

Landscape Character Areas

8.9.4 Landscape character areas have been identified within the Study Area in accordance with the Study on Landscape Value Mapping of Hong Kong. These Landscape Characters Areas are overlaid on aerial photo as illustrated in Figure 8.3A & 8.3B and described in Table 8.2.

Landscape Sensitivity to Change

8.9.5 The landscape resources and landscape character areas that will be potentially affected during the construction phase and operation phase, together with their sensitivity to change, are listed in Table 8.2.

8.9.6 For landscape resources, the sensitivity to change depends on the number, the species, the size and amenity value of trees, the amenity value of the open spaces. The sensitivity to change of several landscape resources is considered as high due to the presence of large number of mature trees with high amenity value; the sensitivity of change of several landscape resources is considered as medium because the trees are of small size and of low to medium amenity value.

8.9.7 For landscape character areas, the sensitivity to change depends on the quality of the characters and whether there are importance and rarity of special landscape elements. Three landscape character areas are identified and their sensitivity is considered as medium because the landscape can accommodate change and there is no special landscape element within the area.

Table 8.2 List of the Landscape Resources / Landscape Character Areas and Their Sensitivity to Change

Id. No.	Landscape Resources / Landscape Character Areas	Sensitivity to Change (Low, Medium, High)
Landscape Resources
LR1	Tsing Sin Playground Tsing Sin Playground (0.5 ha) consists of tennis court, skating area and sitting area. There are approximate 160 trees in the playground. The trees are of generally uniform height and medium size, fair to good health, and medium to high amenity value. Dominant species includes Aleurites moluccana, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Ficus microcarpa and Lagerstroemia speciosa.	High
LR2	Roadside Planting along Tuen Mun Road adjacent to Kam Fai Garden The roadside trees located in slope feature (Slope feature SIMAR no. 6SW-A/FR10) along the Tuen Mun Road adjacent to Kam Fai Garden are of small to medium size, fair health and low to medium amenity quality. There are approximately 200 trees. Dominant species includes Acacia confusa, Eucalyptus citriodora and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	Medium
LR3	Street trees along Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay The street trees along Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay are of small size, poor to medium health and amenity value. There are approximately 23 trees along the street. Dominant species includes Acacia confusa, Casuarina equisetifolia and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	Medium
LR4	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road west of Chi Lok Fa Yuen and east of On Ting Estate The street trees along Tuen Mun Road west of Chi Lok Fa Yuen and east of On Ting Estate are of generally uniform height, medium to large size. Most of the trees are of fair to good health, and medium to high amenity value. There are approximately 57 trees along the street, of which about 10 mature Ficus virens var. sublanceolata have high amenity value. Dominant species includes Aleurites moluccana, Bauhinia variegata, Bombax ceiba, Ficus microcarpa, Ficus virens var. sublanceolata and Hibiscus tiliaceus.	High
LR5	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road west of Waldorf Garden and CMA Choi Cheung Kok Prevocational School The street trees along Tuen Mun Road west of Waldorf Garden and Tuen Mun Town Hall cum Tuen Mun Central Library are of generally uniform height, medium to large size. There are approximately 159 trees located in these roadside planter and central planting strip, of which 10 mature Ficus virens var. sublanceolata are of high amenity value. Most of the trees are of fair to good health, and medium to high amenity quality. Dominant species includes Acacia confusa, Albizia lebbeck, Aleurites moluccana, Bauhinia variegata, Delonix regia, Ficus virens var. sublanceolata and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	High
LR6	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road near Tuen Mun Town Plaza The street trees along the along Tuen Mun Road near Tuen Mun Town Plaza are of generally uniform height, medium to large size. Most of the trees are of fair to good health, medium to high amenity value. There are approximately 35 trees along the street, of which 3 mature Ficus virens var. sublanceolata are of high amenity value. Dominant species includes Aleurites moluccana, Bauhinia variegata, Bischofia polycarpa, Callistemon viminalis and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	High
LR7	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road east of Yan Oi Tong The street trees along the along Tuen Mun Road east of Yan Oi Tong are of generally uniform height and medium size. Most of the trees are of fair to good health, medium to high amenity value. There are approximately 181 trees along the street. Dominant species includes Aleurites moluccana, Archontophoenix alexandrae, Bauhinia variegata, Callistemon viminalis, Delonix regia, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Melaleuca quinquenervia and Thevetia peruviana.	High
LR8	Trees at roadside planting areas near Yan Oi Tong Circuit There are approximately 89 trees at the planting area near Yan Oi Tong Circuit. They are of medium size, fair to good health, medium to high amenity value. Dominant species include Albizia lebbeck, Aleurites moluccana, Archontophoenix alexandrae, Bauhinia blakeana, Callistemon viminalis, Delonix regia and Sapium sebiferum.	High
LR9	Trees at planting area near Tuen Mun Town Plaza There are approximately 6 trees at the planting area near Tuen Mun Town Plaza. They are of medium size, fair to good health, low to medium amenity value. Species include Bischofia polycarpa, Bischofia javanica and Melia azedarach.	Medium
LR10	Trees at planting area near New Town Mansion There are approximately 14 trees at the planting area near New Town Mansion (0.1 ha). They are of medium size, fair to good health, low to medium amenity value. Species include Acacia confusa, Bauhinia variegata and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	Medium
LR11	Trees at planting area near On Ting Estate There are approximately 60 trees at the planting area near On Ting Estate (0.5 ha). They are of medium size, fair to good health, medium to high amenity value. Species include Aleurites moluccana, Bauhinia variegata, Bombax ceiba, Ficus microcarpa, Peltophorum pterocarpum and Terminalia arjuna.	Medium
LR12	Tsing Hoi Playground There are approximately 58 trees at the planting area near On Ting Estate (0.3 ha). They are of medium size, poor to fair health, low to medium amenity value. Dominate species include Acacia confusa, Albizia lebbeck, Aleurites moluccana and Bauhinia variegata.	Medium
Landscape Character Area
LZ1	Tuen Mun Residential Urban Landscape The medium / high-rise development along Tuen Mun Road includes Rainbow Garden, Chi Lok Fa Yuen, On Ting Estate, Siu Lun Court and Siu On Court, which is characterized by residential blocks.	Medium
LZ2	Tuen Mun Mixed Modern Comprehensive Urban Development Landscape The medium / high-rise development along Tuen Mun Road includes Tuen Mun Town Plaza and Waldorf Garden, which is characterized by residential blocks on podium and with commercial and retail land uses.	Medium
LZ3	Tuen Mun ‘Hui’ Urban Landscape The medium / high-rise development along Tuen Mun Road includes Tuen Mun San Hui Market, which is characterized by residential blocks and with commercial and retail land uses.	Medium

Zone of Visual Influence (ZVI)

8.9.8 The ZVI does not vary between the construction and operation phases. The Zone of Visual Influence for the Project is illustrated in Figure 8.4. Photo views illustrating the Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs) within the study area are illustrated in Figure 8.4.1 to 8.4.3. Due to the flat land area, the ZVI is quite intensive and is generally defined by the following:-

· In the east by the building blocks, namely, Waldorf Garden, Chi Lok Fa Yuen, Rainbow Garden, Hoi Tak Garden, Harvest Garden and Handsome Court;

· In the west by the Siu Lun Court, On Ting Estate, Tuen Mun Town Plaza and Hong Lai Garden.

Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs)

8.9.9 Table 8.3 lists the key VSRs found within the ZVIs. For ease of reference, each VSR is given an identity number, which is used in all relevant tables and figures in this report. VSRs are divided into 6 types: Commercial/ Residential, Residential, Recreational, Government/ Institution/ Community, Transport Related and Other Specific Uses.

Table 8.3 Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs) and Their Sensitivity to Change

Id. No.	Key Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs)	Type of VSRs	Number of Individuals (Many/ Medium/ Few)	Quality of Existing View (Good/ Fair/ Poor)	Availability of Alternative Views (Yes/ No)	Amenity of Alternative Views (Good/ Fair/ Poor)	Degree of Visibility (Full/ Partial/ Glimpse)	Frequency of View (Frequent/ Occasional/ Rare)	Sensitivity to Change (Low, Medium, High)
C/R1	Tuen Mun Town Plaza, Waldorf Garden	Commercial/ Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Frequent	High
C/R2	Tuen Cultural Centre, Tuen Mun Town Plaza	Commercial/ Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Frequent	High
C/R3	Chelsea Height	Commercial/ Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
GIC1	Tuen Mun Church and Tuen Mun Tseng Choi Street Joint-user Complex	Government/ Institution/ Community	Medium	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
GIC2	Sin Hing Tong Temple	Government/ Institution/ Community	Medium	Fair	Yes	Fair	Glimpse	Rare	Medium
GIC3	Semple Memorial Secondary School and Chung Shing Benevolent Society Mrs. Aw Boon Haw Secondary School	Government/ Institution/ Community	Medium	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
GIC4	Car park (Open)	Government/ Institution/ Community	Medium	Fair	Yes	Fair	Glimpse	Rare	Low
GIC5	Yan Oi Tong Community & Sports Centre	Government/ Institution/ Community	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Rare	Medium
GIC6	Tuen Mun Government Secondary School, Choi Cheung Kok Secondary School	Government/ Institution/ Community	Medium	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
GIC7	Madam Lau Wong Fat Primary School, Lui Cheung Kwong College, Leung Kau Kui College, Lui Cheung Kwong Primary School, Wu Siu Kui Primary School	Government/ Institution/ Community	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Occasional	Medium
GIC8	Sam Shing Temple	Government/ Institution/ Community	Medium	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
O1	San Hui Playground	Recreational	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Glimpse	Occasional	High
O2	Tsing Sin Playground	Recreational	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Occasional	Medium
O3	Siu Lun Sports Ground	Recreational	Medium	Fair	Yes	Fair	Glimpse	Occasional	Medium
O4	Hoi Sin Playground	Recreational	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
R1	Residential Area of Tuen Mun San Hui	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Frequent	High
R2	Residential Area along Yan Oi Tong Circuit	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Frequent	High
R3	On Ting Estate and Siu On Court	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Frequent	High
R4	Residential Area along Tsing Hoi Circuit	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Full	Frequent	High
R5	Handsome Court, Alpine Garden, Hoi Tak Garden and Harvest Garden, Kam Fai Garden	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
R6	Siu Lun Court	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
R7	Goodview Garden and Tsui Ning Garden	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Glimpse	Occasional	Low
R8	Sam Shing Estate	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Glimpse	Occasional	Low
R9	Hanford Garden	Residential	Many	Fair	Yes	Fair	Partial	Occasional	Medium
T1	Tuen Mun Road – Vehicular and Pedestrian	Transport	Many	Fair	No	N.A.	Full	Frequent	Low

8.10 Landscape Impact Assessment

Sources of Landscape Impacts

Construction Phase

8.10.1 The sources of impacts in the construction phase would include:

· construction of at grade and elevated roads,

· construction of noise barriers/screening/semi-enclosures,

· piling works for the elevated road, noise barriers and retaining structures,

· tree transplantation and felling works,

· construction traffic,

· proposed slope works,

· utilities diversions works,

· the laying of utilities, including water, drainage and power,

· temporary site access areas, site cabins and heavy machinery,

· increased road traffic congestion,

· after dark lighting, and

· dust during dry weather.

Operation Phase

8.10.2 The sources of impacts of the Project in the operation stage would be:

· provision of noise barriers/screening/semi-enclosures, and

· operation of additional traffic lane along the at-grade roads and the elevated roads.

Prediction of Significance of Landscape Impacts

8.10.3 The magnitude of the impacts, before implementation of mitigation measures, on the landscape resources and character areas that would occur in the construction phase are described and tabulated in Table 8.4. All impacts are adverse unless otherwise stated.

8.10.4 Within many landscape resources, lots of trees will be affected, the proportion of affected trees is large, and many of the affected trees are of medium to large size. Given the long duration and irreversibility of impacts, the large scale of development, the magnitude of changes on many landscape resources is considered as large. Under the development, the landscape character of the road will be changed from open to enclosure. Given the long duration and irreversibility of impacts, magnitude of changes on all landscape character areas is considered as large.

Table 8.4 Significant Landscape Impacts of the Proposed Works during Construction Phase

Id No.	Landscape Resources/ Landscape Character Areas	Source of Impact	Description of Impacts	Magnitude of Changes
LR1	Tsing Sin Playground	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure and cantilevered barrier	· Approximately 700 sqm (14% of total sitting area and planting area) will be permanently alienated. · Approximately 118 trees will be transplanted. The species include Callistemon viminalis, Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Lagerstroemia speciosa and Peltophorum pterocarpum.	Large
LR2	Roadside Planting along Tuen Mun Road Adjacent to Kam Fai Garden	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure and slope works · additional traffic lane	· Approximately 119 trees will be affected, of which approximately 30% will be transplanted, approximately 70% will be felled. Species include Acacia confusa, Eucalyptus citriodora and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	Large
LR4	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road west of Chi Lok Fa Yuen and east of On Ting Estate	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure · additional traffic lane	· Approximately 89 trees along the street will be affected, of which approximately 15% will be transplanted, approximately 85% will be felled. There are about 6 Ficus virens var. sublanceolata have a high amenity value. Dominant species includes Aleurites moluccana, Bauhinia variegata, Bombax ceiba, Ficus virens var. sublanceolata, Hibiscus tiliaceus and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	Large
LR5	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road west of Waldorf Garden and CMA Choi Cheung Kok Prevocational School	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure · additional traffic lane	· Approximately 99 trees will be affected and will be felled. There are approximately 24 Ficus virens var. sublanceolata are of high amenity value. Dominant species includes Acacia confusa, Albizia lebbeck, Aleurites moluccana, Bombax ceiba, Delonix regia, Ficus virens var. sublanceolata and Melaleuca quinquenervia	Large
LR6	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road near Tuen Mun Town Plaza	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure at Tuen Yan Street and Tuen Hi Road	· Approximately 35 trees will be felled. There are 3 Ficus virens var. sublanceolata of high amenity value. Dominant species includes Aleurites moluccana, Ficus virens var. sublanceolata and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	Large
LR7	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road east of Yan Oi Tong	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure at Yan Oi Tong Circuit and Yan Ching Street · reconstruction of Yan Ching Footbridge	· Approximately 144 trees will be affected by the proposed noise barrier/enclosure, of which approximately 60% will be transplanted, approximately 40% will be felled. Dominant species includes Aleurites moluccana, Archontophoenix alexandrae, Bauhinia variegata, Callistemon viminalis, Delonix regia, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Melaleuca quinquenervia.	Large
LR8	Trees at roadside planting areas near Yan Oi Tong Circuit	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure at Yan Oi Tong Circuit and Yan Ching Street · reconstruction of Yan Oi Footbridge	· Approximately 700 sqm of the planting area will be permanently alienated · Approximately 66 trees will be transplanted. Dominant species include Albizia lebbeck, Aleurites moluccana, Archontophoenix alexandrae, Bauhinia blakeana, Callistemon viminalis, Delonix regia, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Sapium sebiferum.	Large
LR9	Trees at planting area near Tuen Mun Town Plaza	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure at Tuen Mun Town Plaza	· Approximately 6 trees will be transplanted. Species include Bischofia polycarpa, Bischofia javanica and Melia azedarach.	Intermediate
LR10	Trees at planting area near New Town Mansion	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure near New Town Mansion	· Approximately 14 trees will be transplanted due to the proposed noise barrier/enclosure. Species include Acacia confusa, Bauhinia variegata and Melaleuca quinquenervia	Intermediate
LR11	Trees at planting area near On Ting Estate	· proposed footpath at On Ting Estate · reconstruction of Siu On Footbridge · reconstruction of Chi Lok Footbridge	· Approximately 4100 sqm will be temporarily alienated · Approximately 60 trees will be affected, of which approximately 70% will be transplanted, approximately 30% will be felled. Species include Aleurites moluccana, Bauhinia variegata, Bombax ceiba, Ficus microcarpa, Peltophorum pterocarpum and Terminalia arjuna	Large
LR12	Tsing Hoi Playground	· proposed slope works and noise barrier/enclosure	· Approximately 350 sqm of the planting area will be permanently alienated · Approximately 950 sqm of the planting area will be temporarily alienated · Approximately 37 trees will be affected by the proposed noise barrier/enclosure, of which approximately 10% will be transplanted, approximately 90% will be felled. Dominant species includes Acacia confusa, Albizia lebbeck, Aleurites moluccana and Bauhinia variegata	Large
LZ1	Tuen Mun Residential Urban Landscape	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure	· Change of landscape character of the road from open to enclosure	Large
LZ2	Tuen Mun Mixed Modern Comprehensive Urban Development Landscape	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure	· Change of landscape character of the road from open to enclosure	Large
LZ3	Tuen Mun ‘Hui’ Urban Landscape	· proposed noise barrier/enclosure	· Change of landscape character of the road from open to enclosure	Large

8.10.5 The potential significance of landscape impacts during the construction and operation phases, before and after mitigation, is provided below in Table 8.5. The assessment follows the proposed methodology and assumes that the appropriate mitigation measures identified in Table 8.8 and 8.9 would be implemented, and the full effect of the soft landscape mitigation measures would be realized after 10 years. Photomontages of the proposed project without and with mitigation measures are shown in Figure 8.7.1 to 8.7.13. The locations of the viewpoints are indicated in Figure 8.7.

8.10.6 In general, unmitigated impact on most landscape resources are substantially adverse because many trees will be affected, the proportion of affected trees is large, and many of the affected trees are of medium to large size.

8.10.7 There will be substantial adverse unmitigated impact on existing open spaces and amenity areas such as Tsing Sin Park, Yan Oi Tong Circuit, On Ting Estate and Tsing Hoi Playground due to the temporary land alienation and impact on existing trees within the open spaces and amenity areas.

8.10.8 For the LCAs, in general, the proposed development will change the landscape character of the road from open to enclosure. Therefore, the magnitude of change is considered as large.

Table 8.5 Significance of Landscape Impacts in the Construction and Operation Phases

Id. No.	Landscape Resource / Landscape Character	Sensitivity to Change (Low, Medium, High)		Magnitude of Change (Negligible, Small, Intermediate, Large)		Impact Significance before Mitigation (Insubstantial, Slight, Moderate, Substantial)		Recommended Mitigation Measures	Impact Significance Day 1 after Mitigation			Impact Significance 10 years after Mitigation
		Sensitivity to Change (Low, Medium, High)							(Insubstantial, Slight, Moderate, Substantial)
		Construction	Operation	Construction	Operation	Construction	Operation		Construction	Operation	Operation
Part 1 – Physical Landscape Resources (Topography, Vegetation, Soil, Open Space, Special Features)
LR1	Tsing Sin Playground	High	High	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR2	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road south of Kam Fai Garden	Medium	Medium	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR3	Street trees along Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay	Medium	Medium	Negligible	Negligible	Insubstantial	Insubstantial	Not required	Insubstantial	Insubstantial	Insubstantial
LR4	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road in-between west of Chi Lok Fa Yuen and east of On Ting Estate	High	High	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR5	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road west of Waldorf Garden and CMA Choi Cheung Kok Prevocational School	High	High	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR6	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road near Tuen Mun Town Plaza	High	High	Large	Large	Substantial	Insubstantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR7	Street trees along Tuen Mun Road east of Yan Oi Tong	High	High	Large	Large	Substantial	Insubstantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR8	Trees at roadside planting areas near Yan Oi Tong Circuit	High	High	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR9	Trees at planting area near Tuen Mun Town Plaza	Medium	Medium	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Slight	Slight	Slight
LR10	Trees at planting area near New Town Mansion	Medium	Medium	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Slight	Slight	Slight
LR11	Trees at planting area near On Ting Estate	Medium	Medium	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LR12	Tsing Hoi Playground	Medium	Medium	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM1 to CM4, OM2 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
Part 2 – Landscape Character Areas
LZ1	Tuen Mun Residential Urban Landscape	Medium	Medium	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM1 to CM, OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LZ2	Tuen Mun Mixed Modern Comprehensive Urban Development Landscape	Medium	Medium	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM1 to CM4, OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
LZ3	Tuen Mun ‘Hui’ Urban Landscape	Medium	Medium	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM1 to CM4, OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

Table 8.6 Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs) and the magnitude to changes

Id. No.	Key Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs)	Compatibility of the Project with the surrounding landscape (Yes, No)	Duration of impact (short, medium, long)		Scale of development (small, medium, large)	Reversibility of change (Yes/No)	Minimum Distance between VSRs and Impact Source (m)	Potential blockage of view (little, partial, full)	Magnitude of changes (Negligible, Small, Intermediate, Large)
Id. No.	Key Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSRs)		construction	operation	Scale of development (small, medium, large)	Reversibility of change (Yes/No)	Minimum Distance between VSRs and Impact Source (m)	Potential blockage of view (little, partial, full)	construction	operation
C/R1	Tuen Mun Town Plaza, Waldorf Garden	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	0	Partial	Large	Large
C/R2	Tuen Cultural Centre, Tuen Mun Town Plaza	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	0	Partial	Large	Large
C/R3	Chelsea Height	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	350	Little	Intermediate	Intermediate
GIC1	Tuen Mun Church and Tuen Mun Tseng Choi Street Joint-user Complex	Yes	Long	Long	Small	No	20	Little	Large	Large
GIC2	Sin Hing Tong Temple	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	10	Partial	Large	Large
GIC3	Semple Memorial Secondary School and Chung Shing Benevolent Society Mrs. Aw Boon Haw Secondary School	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	90 (from school)	Little	Large	Large
GIC4	Carpark (Open)	Yes	Long	Long	Small	No	100	Little	Small	Small
GIC5	Yan Oi Tong Community & Sports Centre	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	10	Partial	Large	Large
GIC6	Tuen Mun Government Secondary School, Choi Cheung Kok Secondary School	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	30	Partial	Large	Large
GIC7	Madam Lau Wong Fat Primary School, Lui Cheung Kwong College, Leung Kau Kui College, Lui Cheung Kwong Primary School, Wu Siu Kui Primary School	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	10	Partial	Large	Large
GIC8	Sam Shing Temple	Yes	Long	Long	Medium	No	70	Partial	Intermediate	Large
O1	San Hui Playground	Yes	Long	Long	Small	No	220	Little	Small	Intermediate
O2	Tsing Sin Playground	Yes	Long	Long	Medium	No	10	Partial	Large	Large
O3	Siu Lun Sports Ground	Yes	Long	Long	Medium	No	40	Little	Intermediate	Intermediate
O4	Tsing Hoi Playground	Yes	Long	Long	Medium	No	10	Partial	Large	Large
R1	Residential Area of Tuen Mun San Hui	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	0	Partial	Large	Large
R2	Residential Area along Yan Oi Tong Circuit	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	0	Partial	Large	Large
R3	On Ting Estate and Siu On Court	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	10	Partial	Large	Large
R4	Residential Area along Tsing Hoi Circuit	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	10	Partial	Large	Large
R5	Handsome Court, Alpine Garden, Hoi Tak Garden and Harvest Garden, Kam Fai Garden	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	20	Partial	Large	Large
R6	Siu Lun Court	Yes	Long	Long	Medium	No	160	Partial	Intermediate	Intermediate
R7	Goodview Garden and Tsui Ning Garden	Yes	Long	Long	Small	No	420	Little	Intermediate	Intermediate
R8	Sam Shing Estate	Yes	Long	Long	Medium	No	220	Little	Intermediate	Intermediate
R9	Hanford Garden	Yes	Long	Long	Medium	No	220	Little	Intermediate	Intermediate
T1	Tuen Mun Road – Vehicular and Pedestrian	Yes	Long	Long	Large	No	0	Full	Large	Large

Table 8.7 Significance of Visual Impacts in the Construction and Operation Phases (Note: All impacts adverse unless otherwise noted.)

Id No	Key Visual Sensitive Receiver (VSR)	Receptor Sensitivity (Low, Medium, High)		Main Source of Visual Impacts	Magnitude of Impact (Negligible, Small, Intermediate, Large)		Impact Significance without Mitigation Measures (Insubstantial, Slight, Moderate, Substantial)		Recommended Mitigation Measures	Residual Impact Significance with Mitigations (Insubstantial, Slight, Moderate, Substantial)
		Receptor Sensitivity (Low, Medium, High)								construction	Operation
		construction	operation		construction	operation	construction	operation			Day 1	Year 10
C/R1	Tuen Mun Town Plaza, Waldorf Garden	High	High	Noise barrier & road widening works	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
C/R2	Tuen Cultural Centre, Tuen Mun Town Plaza	High	High	Noise barrier & road widening works	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
C/R3	Chelsea Height	Medium	Medium	Noise barrier & road widening works	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
GIC1	Tuen Mun Church and Tuen Mun Tseng Choi Street Joint-user Complex	Medium	Medium	Yan Oi Footbridge reconstruction	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Slight	Slight
GIC2	Sin Hing Tong Temple	Medium	Medium	Noise barrier & road widening works	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
GIC3	Semple Memorial Secondary School and Chung Shing Benevolent society Mrs. Aw Boon Haw Secondary School	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
GIC4	Carpark (Open)	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Small	Small	Slight	Slight	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Insubstantial	Insubstantial	Insubstantial
GIC5	Yan Oi Tong Community & Sports Centre	Medium	Medium	Noise barrier & road widening works, Yan Oi Footbridge and Yan Ching Footbridge	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
GIC6	Tuen Mun Government Secondary School, Choi Cheung Kok Secondary School	Medium	Medium	Noise barrier & road widening works, Siu On Footbridge reconstruction & Chi Lok Footbridge re-construction	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
GIC7	Madam Lau Wong Fat Primary School, Lui Cheung Kwong College, Leung Kau Kui College, Lui Cheung Kwong Primary School, Wu Siu Kui Primary School	Medium	Medium	Noise barrier & road widening works, Siu On Footbridge reconstruction & Chi Lok Footbridge re-construction	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
GIC8	Sam Shing Temple	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Intermediate	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Slight	Slight
O1	San Hui Playground	High	High	Yan Oi Footbridge reconstruction	Small	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Slight	Slight
O2	Tsing Sin Playground	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Slight	Slight
O3	Siu Lun Sports Ground	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Slight	Slight
O4	Tsing Hoi Playground	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Slight	Slight
R1	Residential Area of Tuen Mun San Hui	High	High	Noise barrier & road widening works, Yan Oi Footbridge and Yan Ching Footbridge	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
R2	Residential Area along Yan Oi Tong Circuit	High	High	Noise barrier & road widening works, Yan Oi Footbridge and Yan Ching Footbridge	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
R3	On Ting Estate and Siu On Court	High	High	Noise barrier & road widening works, Siu On Footbridge reconstruction & Chi Lok Footbridge re-construction	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
R4	Residential Area along Tsing Hoi Circuit	High	High	Noise barrier & road widening works, Siu On Footbridge reconstruction & Chi Lok Footbridge re-construction	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
R5	Handsome Court, Alpine Garden, Hoi Tak Garden and Harvest Garden, Kam Fai Garden	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Large	Large	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate
R6	Siu Lun Court	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Slight
R7	Goodview Garden and Tsui Ning Garden	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Slight
R8	Sam Shing Estate	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Slight
R9	Hanford Garden	Medium	Medium	Flyover over Castle Peak Road – Castle Peak Bay and the noise barrier	Intermediate	Intermediate	Moderate	Moderate	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Slight	Moderate	Slight
T1	Tuen Mun Road – Vehicular and Pedestrian	High	High	Road widening works and noise barrier	Large	Large	Substantial	Substantial	CM4 to CM6 OM1 to OM4	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

* C/R = Commercial/Residential, GIC = Government/Institution/Community, O = Open space, OU = Other use, R = Residential, T = Transport related (land).

8.12 Mitigation Measures

Landscape and Aesthetic Design Measures incorporated in the Proposed Scheme

8.12.1 Landscape and Aesthetic Design Measures incorporated in the proposed scheme are illustrated in Landscape Master Plan in Figure 8.6A to 8.6C and Landscape Sections and Elevations in Figure 8.6.1 to 8.6.4. Details of such measures are described as follows:

· An integrated landscape and engineering design approach has been adopted in the design phase. A wavy horizontal profile is proposed for the noise enclosures integrated with the reprovision of 4 nos. of existing footbridges across Tuen Mun Road.

· Light weight metal structure is proposed for the noise enclosures and noise barriers so as to reduce the overall bulkiness of the proposed structures.

· Translucent panel is proposed for the roof of the enclosures to minimize the reflective glare.

· Various shades of green tinted reflective panels are proposed to the vertical upper part of the noise barriers and enclosures to provide visual transparency across the structures.

· Green absorptive panels are proposed as the lower part of the noise barriers to fulfill noise mitigation requirement.

· Vertical green panels are proposed on the outer face of the noise enclosures and noise barriers to soften the absorptive panels.

· Green panels with various texture and colour pattern are proposed to the facade of noise barriers and enclosures where space for routine maintenance and sunlight is available.

· Green Roof with pattern is proposed on enclosures where access for routine maintenance is allowed.

Advance Off-site Tree Planting Proposal

8.12.2 Due to the limited available space for tree planting within the Tuen Mun Road to mitigate the loss of greenery for the proposed works, off-site tree planting is being actively considered to plant compensatory trees within the Tuen Mun Road Town Centre as early as possible to compensate for the loss of greenery of the Project. The boundary of off-site tree planting has been identified with DFMC of TMDC and is shown in Figure 8.6D. Detailed proposals with specific landscape themes will be further studied in detailed design stage.

Landscape and Visual Mitigation Measures

8.12.3 The proposed landscape and visual mitigation measures in the construction and operation are listed in Table 8.8 and 8.9 below and illustrated in Figure 8.6A to 8.6D and Figure 8.6.1 to 8.6.4, together with an indication of Funding, Implementation and Maintenance Agencies.

Table 8.8 Proposed Construction Phase Landscape Mitigation Measures

ID No.	Landscape and Visual Mitigation Measures	Funding Agency	Implementation Agency
CM1^{1, 2}	Topsoil, where identified, should be stripped and stored for re-use in the construction of the soft landscape works, where practical.	HyD	HyD
CM2^{1, 2}	Existing trees to be retained on site should be carefully protected during construction.	HyD	HyD
CM3¹	Trees unavoidably affected by the works shall be transplanted where possible and practical.	HyD	HyD
CM4¹	Compensatory tree planting should be provided to compensate for felled trees.	HyD	HyD
CM5^{1, 2}	Control of night-time lighting.	HyD	HyD
CM6¹	Erection of decorative screen hoarding compatible with the surrounding setting.	HyD	HyD

Note: (1) HyD shall be responsible for the implementation of road works and associated roadside landscape areas;

(2) Mitigation measures refer to Good Site Practices.

Table 8.9 Proposed Operation Phase Landscape Mitigation Measures

ID No.	Landscape and Visual Mitigation Measures	Funding Agency	Implementation Agency	Maintenance Agency¹
OM1	Aesthetic design of road-related structures, including viaducts, footbridges and noise barriers and enclosure.	HyD	HyD	HyD
OM2	Vertical Green Panels and Green Roof to soften the noise barriers and enclosures	HyD	HyD	HyD/ LCSD¹
OM3	Buffer Tree and Shrub Planting to screen proposed roads and associated structures.	HyD	HyD	HyD/ LCSD¹
OM4	All hard and soft landscape areas disturbed temporarily during construction shall be reinstated to equal or better quality, to the satisfaction of the relevant Government departments.	HyD	HyD	HyD/LCSD¹

Note: (1) HyD shall be responsible for the maintenance of hard and soft landscape works within Tuen Mun Road Expressway Boundary.

(2) LCSD shall be responsible for the maintenance of landscape works within open spaces.

Programme of Implementation of Landscape and Visual Mitigation Measures

8.12.4 The Construction Phase Measures listed above shall be adopted from the commencement of construction and shall be in place throughout the entire construction period. The Operation Phase Measures listed above shall be adopted during the detailed design and be built as part of the construction works so that they are in place at the date of commissioning of the Project. Tree Planting Works will be commenced as soon as possible.

8.13 Residual Impact

Residual Landscape Impact during Construction Phase

8.13.1 Based on broad brush tree survey, there are approximate 1,000 existing trees within the proposed works area boundary as shown in Figure 8.5A to 8.5C. Of these, approximate 860 trees (approximate 790 trees within the Project Boundary and approximate 70 trees outside the Project Boundary) will be affected by the construction of traffic improvement works to Tuen Mun Road and proposed noise barriers and enclosures. Approximately 50% of the affected trees will be transplanted and approximately 50% will be felled. Many of affected trees are mature. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees or Registered Old and Valuable Trees. There are no rare species or endangered species but common species. Detailed tree preservation and felling including compensatory planting proposals shall be submitted to relevant government departments for approval in accordance with ETWB no. 3/2006.

8.13.2 Heavy standard and standard trees will be planted to compensate for the felled trees at 1:1 ratio in terms of quantity. The boundary for compensatory trees has been identified in Tuen Mun District (Figure 8.6D). Final locations for the transplanted tree shall be agreed among various government departments in the detailed design stage. As a whole, it is considered that there will be moderate residual impact on existing trees during construction phase.

8.13.3 During the construction phase, the following open space/planting areas will be temporarily alienated as works areas:

· approximate 700 sqm of sitting area and planting area in Tsing Sin Park (LR1),

· approximate 700 sqm of roadside planting areas near Yan Oi Tong Circuit (LR8),

· approximate 4100 sqm of planting areas near On Ting Estate (LR11), and

· approximate 1300 sqm of planting area in Tsing Hoi Playground (LR12).

8.13.4 Only small areas of open space and planting areas will be temporarily alienated during construction stage. It is considered that the overall residual impact on open spaces and landscape areas is slight.

8.13.5 Due to the large scale of construction, the proposed decorative hoardings to screen the construction activities are at low level. It is considered that there will still be moderate residual impact on the Landscape Character Areas during construction phase.

Residual Visual Impact during Construction Phase

8.13.6 There will be large magnitude of visual impact due to the construction activities and loss of existing greenery of the proposed works along Tuen Mun Road. With the implementation of proposed mitigation measures during construction phase, there will still be moderate residual impact on Traveler VSRs along Tuen Mun Road, Institutional VSRs and Residential VSRs at both sides of Tuen Mun Road.

Residual Landscape Impact during Operation Phase

8.13.7 Approximate 350sqm of open space area (12%) will be permanently lost in Tsing Hoi Playground and approximate 700sqm of open space area (14%) will be permanently lost in Tsing Sin Park due to the road works. The impact on these open spaces is slight as only a very small percentage of the overall park or playground will be affected.

8.13.8 Based on a broad brush estimate, approximate 860 trees will be affected by the construction of traffic improvement works to Tuen Mun Road and the proposed noise barrier/enclosure. Only approximate 100 new trees will be planted along roadside planting areas (See Figure 8.6A to 8.6C) within Tuen Mun Road due to the limited available landscape space for tree planting. Based on preliminary investigation, new trees will be compensated off-site within the Tuen Mun Town Centre at 1:1 ratio in terms of quantity as shown in Figure 8.6D. Off site tree planting shall be carried out as soon as possible to compensate for the loss of greenery in Tuen Mun Road. It is anticipated that off site tree plantings shall be completed prior to the completion of TMRTCS construction works.

8.13.9 Approximate 6800 sqm of planting areas will be permanently lost for the proposed works. With the proposed mitigation measures, approximate 3.3 km vertical greening panels will be proposed on the facade and the roof of the Noise Enclosures and Barriers as shown in Figure 8.6A to 8.6C. The total area of vertical greening is approximate 11,000sqm. The total area of green roof is approximate 20,000sqm.

8.13.10 It is considered that the residual impact on existing trees and planting areas are still moderate with on site and off site tree compensation and provision of vertical green panels at the facade of noise enclosures and barriers.

8.13.11 The proposed noise enclosures and barriers are primarily within the existing Tuen Mun Road boundary except a few open spaces and planting areas outside the road boundary. The scale, colour and texture are fairly compatible with the adjacent urban setting as shown in Figure 8.3B. The impact on Landscape Character Areas will be mainly due to the drastic change from an open traffic corridor with mature roadside tree planting to a confined traffic corridor with enclosures and barriers. With the implementation of mitigation measures, it is considered that there are still moderate residual impacts on Landscape Character Areas identified within the study areas.

Residual Visual Impact during Operation Phase

8.13.12 During the Operation Phase, there will still be moderate residual impact on Travelers VSRs along Tuen Mun Road because the unobstructed open sky view will be fully or partly lost, lateral view will be fully or partly blocked by proposed absorptive barriers and existing greenery along Tuen Mun Road will be permanently lost. However, with the thematic design treatment on the vertical facade at key areas with high pedestrian circulation, it is considered that the residual visual impact on VSRs at low level has been reduced to a marginally acceptable level.

8.13.13 With the implementation of proposed mitigation measures including provision of green roof with pattern, there will still be moderate residual impact on Institutional VSRs and Residential VSRs at low level at the close proximity of Tuen Mun Road. There will be less impact on Residential VSRs where the developments are built on podium, such as Tuen Mun Town Plaza, Waldorf Garden and New Town Mansion, because the view from the VSRs at the lower floor will be partially or fully blocked by the existing trees on podium. Residual impacts on VSRs further away from Tuen Mun Road will become moderate or slight. However, with the provision of green roof, it is considered that the residual impact on VSRs at high level has been significantly reduced to a marginally acceptable level.

8.14 Conclusion

8.14.1 The source of landscape and visual impact is mainly due to the provision of noise barriers and enclosures for the road widening works. Under the EIAO, noise barriers and enclosures must be provided to mitigate the traffic noise. Such provisions are supported by the Tuen Mun District Council because the current noise level due to the existing traffic at TMRTC is high. The provision of noise enclosures will reduce the noise level to satisfy current standard. The relevant meetings with TMDC were held on 14 September 2007, 21 September 2007, 19 February 2008, 14 March 2008 and 21 November 2008.

8.14.2 Given the tight space within the Tuen Mun Road, the additional lane and provision of noise barriers and enclosures will cause significant impact on existing trees along Tuen Mun Road and such impact is unavoidable. The impact on trees has been consulted with TMDC and comments on tree treatment proposals will be incorporated in detailed design of the Project. Approximate 860 trees (out of approximately 1000 existing trees) will be affected by the construction of traffic improvement works to Tuen Mun Road and the proposed noise barriers and enclosures. Approximately 50% of the affected trees will be transplanted and approximately 50% will be felled. Many of the affected trees are mature. None of these are LCSD Champion Trees or Registered Old and Valuable Trees. There are no rare species or endangered species but common species. Opportunities for tree compensation within the site boundary and outside the site boundary within Tuen Mun Town Centre have been fully explored and incorporated in the mitigation measures as much as possible. Heavy standard and standard trees will be planted to compensate for the felled trees at 1:1 ratio in terms of quantity. Tree planting is proposed within Tuen Mun Town Centre as soon as possible and practical to mitigate the loss of greenery during construction and operation of the Project.

8.14.3 A number of open space and planting areas in Tsing Sin Park, Yan Oi Tong Circuit, On Tin Estate and Tsing Hoi Playground will be alienated by the temporary works during the construction phase. Many of the affected areas during the construction will be reinstated after the construction work. Approximate 350sqm of open space area (12%) will be permanently lost in Tsing Hoi Playground and approximate 700sqm of open space area (14%) will be permanently lost in Tsing Sin Park due to the road works. The residual impact on these open spaces is slight as only a small percentage of the overall park or playground will be affected.

8.14.4 To minimize the visual impact due to the provision of noise barriers and enclosures, an integrated landscape and engineering design approach has been adopted. Design measures have been incorporated to minimize the visual bulkiness of the structure. Vertical greening panels with design theme in area with adequate sunlight and maintenance access to reflect the local context are proposed. The green roof for the noise enclosure has been fully explored and proposed where space for maintenance access is allowed. There are a number of design options considered for the green roof, vertical facade treatment and colour scheme for the noise barriers and enclosures. Based on the assessments and considerations documented in the report, the preferred overall landscape and aesthetic design treatments on the noise barriers and enclosures is recommended as the proposed design scheme for the landscape and visual impact assessment.

8.14.5 Having implementation of the proposed mitigation measures as per the preferred landscape and aesthetic design treatment, unavoidably, there will still be moderate residual visual impact on adjacent Visual Sensitive Receivers (VSR) as well as the traveling VSRs along Tuen Mun Road due to the blockage of views by the noise enclosures and barriers and loss of existing greenery. However, with the thematic design treatment on the vertical facade and green roof treatment with pattern, it is considered that the residual visual impact has been reduced to a marginally acceptable level.

8.14.6 In summary, the provision of the noise barriers and enclosures for the road widening works is a mandatory requirement under the EIAO and is supported by the Tuen Mun District Council. With the implementation of the mitigation measures, including the provision of approximate 11,000sqm vertical green panels with thematic treatment along the noise barriers and enclosures facade, the provision of approximate 20,000sqm green roof and the implementation of Tuen Mun District Planting Scheme, it is believed that the landscape and visual impact will be brought down to a marginally acceptable level after 10 years.