Get the other harbourfront right, too
The proposed new bus terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui has stirred up much controversy. The officials who worked so hard must feel exasperated as yet another project ends in conflict. Clearly, our planning and consultation mechanisms continue to fail to sufficiently include the public, Legislative Council and key stakeholders, leading to a significant waste of resources.
Leaving the design of the new facility aside, the basic motives behind moving the bus terminal are now being questioned in Legco and the media. I for one welcome this, as the bus terminal is only the tip of the iceberg. Land use, transport and harbourfront enhancement plans are entirely out of sync in Tsim Sha Tsui.
With the number of tourists rising, and our failure to put a moratorium on redevelopment following the removal of the height restriction, there will soon be no space left where people can move around. Salisbury Road has already been widened for vehicles, keeping tourists away from the harbourfront. The foreshore is inaccessible, except via awkward footbridges and badly designed subways. The foreshore consists of a narrow and sterile promenade. There is a complete lack of visual corridors to the harbour and its views. And one can only guess how the world's largest cultural experiment in West Kowloon will fit in.
To me, it is clear that the only way forward is to have one figure of authority - a chief planner - take charge of the problem, in the same way that Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has taken charge of West Kowloon and Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen oversees Lantau, to whip vision, leadership, creativity and innovation into the system.
Tsim Sha Tsui urgently needs a sustainable development plan. We need to start at the beginning; get the objectives right and look at the area as a whole. We must consider land use, transport, tourism, leisure and harbourfront enhancement as a whole. We need to ensure that a process is established where the Transport Department is just one of the stakeholders. And we must not be afraid to make painful choices, including removing some of the foreshore structures.
A new process for community participation is needed. Whatever format is followed, it needs to be visible at the earliest possible stage. It also needs to be well funded to ensure that we move on from the 'invisible-hand' syndrome.
We need to engage the community early on, from local retailers to the large property developers, residents and local councils, and give a voice to the anonymous tourist. Based on this insight, we need to devise solutions and decide how to finance them. After that, a new design brief can be drafted, and the best people can be invited to put forward their best ideas.
Although this is about more than just the new bus terminal, let us concentrate on this aspect for a minute. We know that the site is a major crossing point. With a little positive thinking, it could potentially prove to be an important solution, facilitating the need for access and pedestrian mobility in the area, bringing Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsim Sha Tsui East and the foreshore together. Even allowing for constraints and designated usage, architects and developers can turn this into an opportunity. With this project, it is possible to achieve so much more than has been accomplished with our bus terminals elsewhere in Hong Kong, especially because we know this area is critical for tourism.
So, let's do it; let's reorganise our planning and rethink Tsim Sha Tsui before the next 'crisis' further frustrates an already disappointed bureaucracy filled with great minds and good intentions.
Paul Zimmerman is executive director of MF Jebsen International, principal of The Experience Group, a policy and strategy consultancy, and chief co-ordinator of Designing Hong Kong Harbour District
