Put streets on two levels
I'VE often wondered why no-one has ever considered the 'Chicago solution' to Hong Kong's traffic flow.
Chicago has an entire level of underground streets - in some places two levels - including an underground freeway.
Not all Chicago streets are double-decked. But if you take a taxi to the hotel where there are two or three levels of streets, the taxi drops you at the main front door on ground level.
If you drive your own car (or with a friend) you go to the second level where there is a second front door - and lots of underground parking. And in some areas, trucks make their deliveries on the third level.
Although double-decking Queen's Road or Causeway Bay may be out of the question (though one could hardly imagine Hong Kong landlords objecting to having a second street frontage on their buildings where they could charge $900 per square foot) imagine how much better the traffic flow would be if Tsim Sha Tsui east or Wan Chai north had been built with two underground levels of streets.
Perhaps when the next part of Hong Kong Harbour disappears, this idea could be given some attention.
MARK TIER Sheung Wan
