Letters | Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars is better than before, but not the best it can be
- The revamped stretch of waterfront has better food on offer and a variety of seats, but could use more shade, some water-filling points and other amenities
I love the food on offer, the quality of the materials, the finessed lighting, and the variety of seats. New standards are also being set in West Kowloon with our first stretch of waterfront without railings, and in Kwun Tong where you can now cycle through the park, and enjoy various cafeteria.
The best tree cover, though, is along the waterfront promenade in front of Ching Tai Court in Tsing Yi. A quality of shade never replicated since.
A critical review of what works and what goes wrong is healthy, as well as an ability to learn and improve. Apart from the four large trellis seating areas, there is little shade at the Avenue of Stars. People have difficulty enjoying the handprints at night, and kids have a hard time reaching them. The environmental performance could be improved with water bottle refill points, a reduction in plastic containers used for the food and drink servings, and recycling bins.
The Avenue of Stars is not just a promenade but also a viewing platform for events such as the fireworks shows and sailing regattas. The new design performed poorly during the recent Lunar New Year fireworks, as much of the newly widened avenue was blocked off by mills barriers. Some retrofitting is required to reduce these obstacles, a cost that could have been avoided had crowd control measures been taken into consideration when the design was developed.
Paul Zimmerman, CEO, Designing Hong Kong, member, Harbourfront Commission
