HK Govt Needs to Walk This Way

Hong Kong is walkable to a degree and then it gets frustrating and dangerous

It's odd that transport minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung says if Hong Kong people want a more walkable city then they should walk more.

Shouldn't the government take the lead? How can we walk more if there are impediments in the way or paths that are not developed yet?

He said this during the Walk21 Conference hosted by think tank Civic Exchange. While he acknowledged some people are keen on more walking and cycling for a health lifestyle, he noted there were others "less ready to change their commuting habits and patterns".

During Occupy pedestrians enjoyed walking along freeways

Cheung said there were many cases where communities were opposed to the re-routing or frequency of a bus network that would result in commuters having to walk an extra 10 or 15 minutes.

There is also the ongoing issue of car owners wanting to have more car parks in all 18 districts in the city.

"For many people, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. We need actionable change and even a paradigm shift on how our city life is to be organized," he said.

"Are we willing to endure more congested trains and buses and to walk more so that we do not have to go for continuous expansion of the infrastructure? Tough questions and a tough trade-off indeed."

Part of the problem is that some offices are too far away to walk. In my case walking or taking the bus from Kennedy Town to Taipo is completely unfeasible.

I think I am like most commuters, always taking public transport and walking wherever I can.

The red path is a nice walk from Central to Wan Chai

But the government should be making more public land more accessible, particularly the harbourfront for people to exercise and have leisurely walks. There also needs to be more safe areas for people to cycle other than the bike paths in the New Territories.

Currently one can walk from Wan Chai all the way to Sai Ying Pun where the Western wholesale market is, but then one has to do a major detour before getting back to the harbourfront again towards Kennedy Town. If that was one wide, safe, continuous path, more people would use it for sure, including myself.

And by the way has he seen what it's like in the MTR during rush hour? He really should experience it himself to understand people's frustrations of having to wait for several trains before they can squeeze on?

Don't get us wrong -- we appreciate the MTR, but is it ready for a greater onslaught of people once the south line opens?

What are the alternatives?

Gastown Grand Prix

Watching the women go by after a sharp turn in the race course

One of my good friends is a cycling fanatic and even went to Paris to watch the finish of the Tour de France one year.

He told me he'd be watching Vancouver's Gastown Grand Prix today and suggested I come along to check it out so I did.

We had to line up early at The Diamond to get a seat by the window, but already a few people were in front of us. We didn't get a window seat, but we had easy access to the race course which was only steps away.

At another point of the course the women racers whiz by

It all started at 5.30pm when the teenagers raced, followed by the women at 6.15pm, and then the men at 7.30pm.

I saw a bit of the teens racing, but when the women competed, it was very impressive. I stood right by the fence and as they came by, they really hugged close to the temporary railing. They really did whoosh by and in seconds were gone.

They followed a red Tesla and then a black one rounded the rear. If riders were too slow and rode behind the black Tesla, they were deemed disqualified from the race.

This year is the 33rd running of the race, that was started by Dr Roger Sumner in 1973, who wanted to organize a bike race to show people what top level bike racing in Canada was like.

The course is quite tight, making it highly intense and the chances are great for spills because some of the turns are quite tight.

If you're not fast enough, your picture looks like this...

But there's a lot of money at stake -- the announcer explained first prize was CAD$12,000, only a few thousand euros short of what racers in the Tour de France win for clinching a stage of the grueling race. Racers also got a chance to win money if they sprinted particular laps.

Nevertheless, another friend remarked to me she was surprised to see much fewer people watching the race compared to last year... wonder why the sudden drop in interest.

My cyclist friend suggested I stay a bit longer to watch the men's race, but a fire alarm went off in the area and the fire trucks were trying to get to it, which meant a big delay in starting the men's race.

I had a dinner to go to so I couldn't stay, but can imagine the speeds were even faster than the women... maybe next year!