Out-of-the-box thinking went into the design of a logo chosen to adorn signs to point the way to newly accessible parts of Victoria Harbour's waterfront. Lo Hiu-tang's winning entry in a government competition is colourful and abstract, a wave-like letter V that the artist says is meant to give the feeling of flying. Some will like it, some will not, but at least he has produced something that authorities have so far failed to do with the very part of our city that it aims to promote. After years of talk, the majority of the harbour remains inaccessible for public enjoyment. The Harbourfront Commission, set up a year ago to advise the government on the way ahead for development, replaced the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee, which ended life with little to show for six years of meetings. But as the commission does not have executive powers, and therefore the ability to plan and implement, what it thinks is best is at the mercy of the host of government agencies involved in harbourside work. The result is that the centrepiece of the harbour, between the Central ferry piers and the yacht club in Causeway Bay, looks unlikely to be the crowd pleaser it ought to be. A multi-storey ventilation shaft for the Central-Wan Chai bypass will blot one end, while roads blocking direct access to the harbour will make getting to the water's edge less than straightforward. A ban on building on top of the bypass tunnel will mean that we can forget about cafes, kiosks, boat moorings and all the attractions that make waterfronts in Sydney, San Francisco and Boston so vibrant. A temporary promenade is planned for 2013, although nothing permanent will be in place until 2020. We can only wish that authorities take on a modicum of the creativity displayed in the logo competition.