Harbour advisers have suggested the government review the designs of a bridge and a helipad planned at the tip of the Kai Tak development to give the public more access to the harbourfront.
The proposed bridge, which would connect the runway of the former airport and Kwun Tong, could become an eyesore taking space away from a future park on the runway, said Vincent Ng Wing-shun, a member of the government's Harbourfront Commission.
The architect said the bridge's anchor points must stand on the two sides of the channel and not on the seabed, given reclamation in the harbour was not allowed anymore.
'The bridge must be built high enough to allow barges to pass underneath. This means the ramps on both sides would have to be several storeys high, swirling like spaghetti before reaching the ground,' Ng said.
Paul Zimmerman, of the Society for Protection of the Harbour, agreed that the bridge would take up some beautiful open space at the runway. The society is member organisation of the Harbourfront Commission. Both men were expressing their individual views.
The Kai Tak development into a cruise terminal, and residential, commercial and community facilities covers more than 320 hectares and will be completed in three phases in 2013, 2016 and 2021.
