Q Can a method be devised to determine whether late-night bars are too noisy? It seems there is one law for the rich (or expensively housed) and another for the rest. Noise from late-night bars is not confined to Knutsford Terrace. Noisy pubs and karaoke bars abound in Tsim Sha Tsui, subjecting residents to intense noise from the bars, from drunks on the streets and the honking of taxi horns. This goes on every night. It is a problem for thousands of people who have to endure broken sleep. It gets worse as the number of bars increases. By contrast, the residents of Broadwood Road have been able to turn the Hong Kong Stadium into a white elephant, even though concerts would never extend beyond 11.30pm. The balance is wrong. Broadwood residents have been unduly favoured while the Tsim Sha Tsui (and other) residents' legitimate concerns are ignored. Clearly, it is possible to measure levels of noise and disturbance as sound levels are applied to new roads and other developments, but a simple solution would be to restrict the licences of bars in residential areas to no later than 11.30pm while permitting all-night bars in non-residential areas. At the very least, an objective restrictive noise standard should be imposed, together with tight restrictions on hours for bars operating in residential streets. Name and address supplied Q Are Hong Kong's road signs clear enough? While the new numbering system goes some way to easing the difficulty of driving in Hong Kong, and I agree the initiative should certainly be lauded, there remain several problem areas that have not been addressed, and for which the new system is less than useful. These are: Sign placement: countless times I have been in the situation where the sign for the road or motorway exit or entrance is too close to the actual road, entrance or exit it addresses, so there is no time to get into the correct lane, even if you are well below the speed limit; Sign destination information: too often the destinations shown are for the immediate exit or destination, but not some further destination, so you are not really sure if you are taking the correct off-ramp; and Sign visibility: put them somewhere visible. I highly recommend the Transport Department get a group of people who have never driven in Hong Kong to drive around the city with a series of given destinations and see how they fare. I am sure they would come to a similar conclusion. Perhaps Michael Schumacher would be interested. Kristian Murfitt, Clearwater Bay In response to the Transport Department's new numbering system, I wonder if it could give some thought to repainting some of the road markings? A lot of roads are poorly marked, which can make driving hazardous. An example of this can be found whenever roadworks are completed. Having repaired the road, the workers seem to forget to repaint the markings. Would the Transport Department also consider installing cat's eyes on certain roads? Simon Wiggs, Mid-Levels Q Should the government press ahead with its super-jail plan? The unnamed official quoted on Monday in an article entitled 'Super-jail seen as best use of island' completely misses the point, as usual. The fact that Hei Ling Chau is a closed area and not accessible to tourists is irrelevant. What sustainable development groups are pointing to among the many valid economic arguments against this horrible project is the massive visual impact the jail would have on the surrounding areas, including dominating the vista from Mui Wo and Cheung Chau during the day. At night it will be illuminated on an industrial scale like Kwai Chung and dominate the ambience for the very wide area that is supposed to be a prime leisure and tourist zone. We will lose the night sky and rural peace in South Lantau forever. The people of Mui Wo will have their tourist trade destroyed by heavy construction for almost 10 years, yet they are being conned into believing they will benefit economically. I would like to know why the Security Bureau is so anxious to push this particular project, and most importantly, what does the financial secretary, who is in charge of the development strategy for Lantau, have to say? Let's have some serious strategic thinking about development in this area instead of disjointed piecemeal initiatives from different government departments. John Schofield, Lantau The project is going to ruin the character of South Lantau - it will add traffic to the roads and will require the construction of a large bridge linking the prison to Mui Wo. The prison will be visible from many tranquil areas which people enjoy because they are away from urban turmoil. Why spoil yet another part of Lantau Island, when the government seems to have a perfectly viable option (if indeed a super-prison is the answer to the prison space problem) at Kong Nga Po? The argument of saving Kong Nga Po for economic development is short-sighted and biased, privileging business/political interests and property development over the community's interest and indeed common sense. Name and address supplied Q Has the Tourism Board got it wrong over the TST tower? Regarding the idea of decorating the clock tower in a shopping bag, I don't think it's right or wrong. Instead it's a very subjective issue. To me, I don't think there is any problem as long as the clock tower is not damaged. Hong Kong is famous for its mixture of Chinese and western cultures and I think this is a good example. In addition, this is only a temporary arrangement. Maybe we should take the opportunity to take a photo, or we will not see this happen again. Eddie Tsang, Tsing Lung Tau On other matters ... It must be emotionally exhausting being one of the poor souls who spends 5? days a week working in the government's Department of Railings, Safety Barriers and Cover-It-With-Shotcrete-Just-In-Case-A-Pebble-Falls-Off. Lots of potential stubbed toes here and grazed elbows there, it is enough to give you sleepless nights. With regard to the half-dozen or so recently installed safety barriers along the path from Po Shan Road to the Peak, gentlemen (and ladies), I suggest you have overreacted. Have a spate of accidents happened whereby people have slipped off the path and got trapped in the drains? I suspect not. If you want to set up cigarette packet-type warning signs at the top and base of the Peak trails informing people of the potential dangers of using the asphalt-sealed paths then do so. But you do not need to put in the railings - they are a waste of the taxpayers' resources, are ugly and give this attractive recreation spot the aura of a communal bathroom. Jason R. Ali, Sheung Wan
