Tear down harbour eyesores: report
Concern group says tunnels should replace two roads that cut city off from waterfront
Two eyesore structures along the city's shoreline - the Eastern Island Corridor and the Kwun Tong Bypass - should be torn down and relegated to history, according to a prominent harbour concern group.
Their report on how to beautify Victoria Harbour, released today, urges the government to study the feasibility of replacing the two elevated highways with tunnels, to free up the land for public use.
The report was compiled by the Designing Hong Kong Harbour District group, over the past six months.
The group includes professionals, planning experts and business representatives, such as Christine Loh Kung-wai of the Civic Exchange think-tank and Paul Zimmerman of MF Jebsen International. The South China Morning Post is the event's media sponsor.
The report noted the waterfront is dominated by roads and other transport infrastructure that cut it off from the city. It suggested the government consider turning the eastern waterfront on Hong Kong Island into an area for leisure-time activities, with beaches, a cruise terminal, berths for boating and promenades.
The suggestion is more aggressive than a proposed plan the government is considering - namely, demolishing one section of the corridor and building a long tunnel to solve traffic congestion in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay.
The report said the government should build a tunnel next to the corridor, then pull down the highway when the tunnel was completed. North Point pier should be preserved, it said.
The project could be financed through property developments on the North Point waterfront, and by redeveloping some private warehouses and industrial buildings into five-star hotels and serviced apartments.
Mr Zimmerman, chief co-ordinator of the campaign, cited Boston's experience of pulling down the half-century-old elevated central artery, and reconnecting the downtown and the waterfront.
'Other cities are pulling down elevated roads to free up the waterfront, Hong Kong is doing the opposite. We are adding roads, this is unsustainable,' he said.
'We don't have the resources to know if it is going to work, so we suggest the government have a feasibility study. We hope to stimulate the public to think and discuss what exactly we can do to enhance the harbour.'
In the long term the area west of the Star Ferry terminal should become the working harbour, he said. To the east, the harbour should be for leisure, with traffic limited to cruise liners, ferries, military vessels, sailing and fishing craft.
Replacing the Kwun Tong Bypass with a tunnel would free up land and give the surrounding, decayed industrial area a chance to revitalise itself. The report urged the government to consider building temporary parks and facilities in waterfront areas, such as Tamar and the 40-hectare West Kowloon cultural district.
