Source:
https://scmp.com/article/114759/residents-vow-protect-park

Residents vow to protect park

RESIDENTS, district board members and Urban Councillors in Shamshuipo are prepared to take 'radical action' to oppose a plan to build part of the Western Corridor railway across Lai Chi Kok Park.

In the past three days more than 7,000 residents signed a petition to the Transport Branch and the Planning, Environment and Lands Branch.

'We'll collect 10,000 signatures and ask for a meeting with department officials,' said Urban Councillor Cheung Wing-sum.

'We do not rule out more radical action if the Government fails to come up with a satisfactory solution.' Urbco's standing committee will meet on May 2 to decide whether to scrap the planned development of stage two of the park, or develop it and risk removal in 1997 when the Western Corridor project begins.

Mr Cheung described the government decision to put on hold construction of the park's second stage as another disaster which proved the failure of inter-departmental co-ordination.

Under a plan passed by the Executive Council last December, 40 per cent of land prepared for stage two of the 20-hectare park will be sacrificed to the building of a passenger and freight railway for the $23 billion Western Corridor project.

The $105 million main construction contract for a squash centre and cafeteria has been delayed indefinitely despite completion of piling works costing $4 million. The site had been reclaimed from Lai Chi Kok Bay to the west of Mei Foo Sun Chuen.

Mr Cheung, who is also a Shamshuipo District Board member, said Urban Councillors had yet to find out whether the railway would be built under or above ground but said it would be difficult to hide it underground, where there is a Mass Transit Railway route.

The proposed alignment of the Western Corridor means existing facilities in the park's first stage - including four tennis courts, a mini-soccer pitch and a standard soccer pitch with spectator stand - will also be affected.

And since the proposed railway will cut across the area reserved for stage three of the park, future development will be obstructed.

But Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation chief executive Kevin Hyde said the precise alignment had still to be finalised and construction was unlikely to start for another year.

'The final feasibility study won't be concluded until September or October of this year. So if people have fears the alignment is going to go in a certain place, we can't be certain of that at this stage,' he said.

He said that most of the line, particularly in the urban area, would be built in a tunnel to reduce noise and other environmental effects. 'The KCRC will be taking into account all of the environmental and social issues associated with the construction of the line and will wherever possible do everything it can to ameliorate the issues,' said Mr Hyde.

Mr Cheung said the Lands Department formally allocated the seven-hectare park site to the Urban Services Department last August without mentioning the railway reserve.

He said the Government had promised to use the park as a buffer zone to protect residents from infrastructural projects.

'The park has a very important amenity value . . . as many residents from the whole of the West Kowloon district are regular users.'