Road rage

It’s been some time since I last wrote the blog. A combination of things including a lot of work and the absence of sharks conspired to the silence. Anyway it feels nice to get back into it and hopefully there will be a regular entry from now on.

Walking through my home town Sai Kung the other day (the holiday Monday for the Dragon Boat festival), we were stopped by some people with clipboards looking for signatures to oppose the plan for the doubling up of the road from Ho Chung village to Sai Kung. According to the government, the road has too much traffic and therefore needs to be made into a dual carriageway. The Friends of Sai Kung however maintain that the work will mark the beginning of the end for Sai Kung, leading to development out of character with the area and even more strain on the environment. Sai Kung is often regarded as a good example of unspoilt nature in Hong Kong and of course it is the gateway to the huge Sai Kung Country Park.

A few days later, I was thinking about the issue on the 101 minibus back to Sai Kung from Hang Hau. It struck me that a park and ride at Ho Chung would help to reduce much of the weekend traffic. Of course when I checked their website, the Friends of Sai Kung had undertaken a far more detailed analysis as well as digging up the history of the development planning (www.friendsofsaikung.org), and they had made the same simple suggestion for a park and ride. Sometimes, ideas look less attractive after a little consideration, but this idea has not developed any serious setbacks I can think of yet. Of course the people of Ho Chung are the ones to judge, but on the face of it there are plenty of derelict buildings (hence space to redevelop) and a park and ride would allow plenty of opportunities for local employment, perhaps a few supplies stores for vegetables grown locally, snacks etc. The shuttle bus service to Sai Kung should be frequent and no charge, in addition to free parking if an onwards journey to Sai Kung is made using Octopus. This would be quite an incentive for people to use it rather than paying for parking in Sai Kung. The costs of the operation could probably be met for many years by the savings from not constructing the dual carriageway.

Whatever your thoughts about Sai Kung, the environment or public works, do take a moment to consider the problem and if you have strong feelings get in touch with Friends of Sai Kung.