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SCMP Reporter

Q What should be done to improve street furniture?

While admittedly an amateur designer, I was delighted and invigorated by Polytechnic University

researchers' idea of replacing Hong Kong's street furniture to better match the environment and

character of the city.

I offer  several concepts.

As a visual boundary between buildings and streets, lamp posts ought to better unite the two elements,

so I propose adding clothes lines to the posts to meld public and private spaces.

To foster better public hygiene and bring trash cans into sync with local culture, I propose linking all

bins with the Octopus network and entering people in a lucky draw every time they dispose of a piece

of garbage (assuming they remember to tap the Octopus card on the bin as they throw out their waste).

Perhaps, the most distressing element of street furniture  is the drab and uninspired traffic signs. How

can one know where you are in the city or obey the speed limit when the traffic signs hover in the

background like the plain girl at a party while the commercial neon signs display themselves like a

couple of ... well, you get the analogy.

Clearly, we must fight neon with neon and scrawl Nathan Road in hot pink script above each

intersection.

Naturally, we ought to provide residents and visitors with some tasteful and soothing respite from the

onslaught of the city, so I propose transforming our public benches into seated sound environments.

Take a break from shopping on one of these seats and you will enjoy the distinctive sounds of Hong

Kong like: 'You have a lucky face', or the soothing pounding of pylons being driven into the ground.

Hong Kong offers too many delights to list.

Undoubtedly, some sceptics will suggest that perhaps we should address other issues before moving

on to this urgent need. They will ask: shouldn't we replace the corroding and exploding gas lines,

shouldn't we address overcrowding in our schools, shouldn't we push for centralised poultry

slaughtering while retraining  vendors to minimise the chance of bird  flu, shouldn't we better monitor

toxins in our food supply? They will offer distraction after distraction.

Ask yourself: would you really rather have a prosperous, well-educated, healthy community or one on

the cutting edge of street furniture fashion?

I trust we will make the sensible choice.

Mark Mulkerin, Mid-Levels

Connoisseurs of appalling street furniture really should make the effort and inspect some of the ghastly

installations near the picturesque Silvermine Bay waterfall at the back of Mui Wo,  Lantau.

On stamping out such a dreadfully poor design, both the artists and the commissioners of the works

need to be targeted.

Perhaps it should be made compulsory for the designers and commission chairmen to have their

mobile phone numbers appended to their objects so that particularly irate punters can harangue them

in the early hours of the morning.

Also, there should be an annual televised awards event where offenders are shamed, followed by

synchronised ceremonial demolitions by fung shui masters driving bulldozers.

Jason Ali, Sheung Wan

David Booth's observation (Tuesday, Talkback) is very significant. Street paving is very important for

the  urban landscape. According to the British  Design Council, paving is part of the street furniture.

Nevertheless, it is not only for beautification. One of the key functions of paving is to provide a

landscape to reflect local culture and have a connection point for street furniture and architecture.

Yes, it is time for us to improve our  urban environment while we claim, or expect  Hong Kong to be an

international and inhabitable city - that is, not only some gimmicky and expensive fireworks and

lighting decorations across the harbour.

Michael Siu, Hunghom

Q Do children spend too much time surfing the Net?

Children are often stuck to the computer for more than four hours a day, ignoring their studies and

leisure time with parents. As a result, relationships between parents and children worsen.

They spend most of the time playing online games - instead of surfing the Net for useful information.

They not only spend time on games on the internet, but also in chat rooms such as ICQ and MSN.

Parents cannot stop them.

Wasting too much time on the internet affects both their physical and mental health. As they do not

have enough sleep, they do not pay attention at school. They have poor relationships with their brothers

and sisters.  We must find ways to solve  the problem. Maybe more communication can be the way

forward.

Alison Tse, Wan Chai

Other matters ...

I wonder if you know that Independent Commission Against Corruption founding commissioner Sir

Jack Cater  was a  good friend of the fishermen in Hong Kong. As chairman of the Fishermen's

Society of Hong Kong, I read with deep sorrow that Jack is not with us any more.

Jack's contribution to Hong Kong's fishing industry was immeasurable.

When he was the director of the Fish and Vegetable Marketing Organisation in 1946, he made every

effort to improve the livelihood of fishermen  by creating a number of  co-operatives. The more active

ones were those in Tai Po, Cheung Chau,  Aberdeen, Stanley and Sai Kung. There were then about

30,000 fishing junks in Hong Kong, all operating by means of the traditional Chinese sails.

Jack, who believed in mechanising the industry, later helped build the first fleet of trawlers in 1949-50 -

two in Cheung Chau and two in Aberdeen. It's sad to see that Hong Kong's fishing industry is slowly

disappearing because the younger generation is more interested in other businesses.

I, as well as most older fishing folk, am most nostalgic of those easy-going, happy days and feel

extremely sad that Jack, who cared so much about us, has passed away. We'll get together to raise

our glasses and wish him all the very best in the other world.

Philip Lai, Fishermen's

Society of Hong Kong



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