Hiram’s Highway Improvement Stage 2 – Pak Wai to Fuk Man Road – Proposals for review and amendment

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I write to you as a concerned citizen of Hong Kong since 1967 and a resident of Sai Kung since 2005. As a founding member and former chair of the Friends of Sai Kung, I have been making suggestions and counter-proposals on both stages of the Hiram’s Highway Improvement Project since its inception.

I now urge you to review this massively expensive and disruptive project in the light of current economic and social priorities and actual necessity.

The Project:

The project will irreversibly change the nature of Sai Kung as “The Garden of Hong Kong” (as Stage 1 already has) with the destruction of hundreds of trees and the cutting off of communities and villagers from each other, the coast and the hinterland – as do most dual carriageways. 

Stage 2 of the dualling is planned, inexplicably, to terminate at the Fuk Man Road roundabout on the north side of Sai Kung Town instead of more logically at the Sha Ha roundabout where there are large proposed developments on either side of Tai Mong Tsai Road.

Consequently, the plan in its present form will destroy the nature of Sai Kung Town itself to no perceivable purpose and little benefit.

Proposal:

I according urge you to review and amend the plan to instead terminate the dual carriageway with a roundabout at the Centro building on the Chui Tong Road junction south of the town. 

This would “save” Sai Kung Town and the livelihood of the many shops and restaurants and kindergarten lining its high street, Po Tung Road.

It would also provide ready access to parking in the Centro building and in adjacent approach roads as well as an alternative route back towards Kowloon along Hong Tsuen Road.

Alternative Proposal:

An alternative and perhaps more attractive variation would be to interrupt the dual carriageway as I propose with a roundabout at Centro/Chui Tong Road and resume it with a roundabout at Fuk Man Road and a continuing dual carriageway to terminate at the existing Sha Ha roundabout. This would similarly provide access to parking off Wai Man Road and an alternative route back into Sai Kung Town.

This variation would leave Sai Kung Town untouched, facilitate the planned new developments north of the town and retain the attractive nature of the overall contract.

Summary:

Delete: dual carriageway through Sai Kung Town

Substitute: new roundabout at Chui Tong Road, planned roundabout at Fuk Man Road and new dual carriageway to existing roundabout at Sha Ha

Respectfully submitted,

Guy Shirra