What do you think of the decision not to build an MTR station at Happy Valley?
Deciding against having an MTR station in Happy Valley illustrates a short-sighted approach to the provision of a long-term sustainable transport system in Hong Kong.
The Happy Valley-Wan Chai area is badly served by the MTR. This is a result of a decision to delete the original station proposed between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay stations when the Island Line was built. The same mistake is about to be repeated.
The MTR generally plans stations every kilometre along its lines so that people are usually within walking distance of a station. The transport policy is based on a railway-led strategy, and a comprehensive network of lines and stations could achieve this objective by providing a station within 500 metres of everywhere in urban Hong Kong.
Happy Valley is a case where the long-term view of a sustainable transport system - independent of road systems, air pollution and traffic congestion - should be applied, rather than a short-term argument relating to construction costs.
There is traffic congestion in Happy Valley on a regular basis, and this results in major delays at the Queen's Road East/Wong Nai Chung junction, which can lead to major delays in all directions. There is no other practical long-term solution than to remove trips from the road and put them underground in a railway.