I am converted.

Humm... my posts seem to have majestically disappeared.

Ok, here is my opinion. Opinions relevant to the discussion are retained, right?

I agree with Anonymous Guy's opinion in its entirety. You are wrong Alan.

I've noticed that some extremely thoughtful people are now parking their bykes directly in front of the recycle bins on the ferry pier. Thanks a million for that.

There are no rules now.

Instead of regulating how bikes are parked on the pier to stop such inconsiderate practices, the government would rather use it as an excuse to justify their project.

Really, just paint a white line and tell people to park inside it.

How about a compromise?

No congestion in the pier and no moronic concrete growth making the shore on the library side thrice as ugly as it is now...

Just build a simple covered "bicycle park" on the toxic wasteland behind Jackson's. Also build a basic rain sheeting for Main St. from there to end of pier and the whole thing will still cost only a fraction of the "proposed" price for the library shore concreting.

No fuss, no need to flood the shore in concrete and no need for controversial old concrete boys' political network lai see parcels.

The "downside" is that cyclists would need to walk the last one minute stretch after parking their bike — rather than navigating the heaving mass of pedestrians while still technically riding on their bikes.

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"Non calor sed umor est qui nobis incommodat!"

I hope I'm wrong.... but I still think it's going to be chaos.

People coming OFF the ferry,.. and people all dashing FOR the ferry. Getting bikes in and out of the 'cycle area'.. and hearing that bell ring as ferry is about to depart! LOL

And tourists...... bottlenecks at end of the pier, and by rubbish bins.

Quite frankly I thing that all the bicycles along the ferry pier lend it a particular 'charm'

I don't think the bicycle park will work.

And I think money could be spend on much better things on this island.

Let's start with the puddle outside the Yan Yan store

And that's just for starters.

SO MANY projects could benefit from 18 million dollars, that could really benefit the community.

A part of me hopes that the cycle area is a disaster .....spending this amount of money on something so uneccessary on the island. It's not needed. Other things are.

And then finally we may have a new councillor, who actually takes into consideration what the locals want.. Chinese and overseas. Not just 'money and concrete'.

if they want to pour concrete *and* resolve some of the access problems there's another possible solution:

put the concrete slab along the section of path in front of the hotel

that would
- widen the narrow section of path there,
- remove the illegal abandoned building materials storage platform eyesore
- provide better access to the CPA - it could be 2 bikes deep and very long

proposing this would have a couple of ancillary benefits:
- delaying the project for several more years
- generating more forum threads like this one for the amusement of the general public.

<*sits back and grabs pop-corn*>

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dots your problem

That was a suggestion some in Living Lamma made last year.

Home Affairs refuses to consider this even though there is a planned reclamation below the hotel, part of the whole YSW reclamation.

That demonstrated their total lack of good faith, as during months of discussion last year they didn't even mention the waterfront plan when this was suggested, knowing full well they were talking about the same area that they were busily planning to reclaim. But they didn't want to show their hand on the reclamation, so just nodded and smiled and led us on, pretending to consider the suggestion when they knew right from the start it would conflict with their plan. (It's too hard for them to think about combining them, the same idiotic and lazy "planning" that led to the clock being built in the middle of the sitting out area, as that land belonged to LCSD, so they didn't have to negotiate with any other departments.)

And of course Yu Lai Fan is against this. She wants the big YSW reclamation AND her own CPA platform. Combining them and thus using less concrete and money is not in her interests. No doubt she is dreaming of cracking a bottle of champagne over it when it's finished.

It made it all very clear that the last thing on any of these people's minds is our welfare, or using resources efficiently.

wouldnt it be easier just to put bicycle racks at a 45 degree angle along the railing of the pier - that would free up half the space and be a lot neater - not sure people would use any parking space too far from the ferry and in time would most likely simply continue doing what they do now - after all most cyclists just want to get to the ferry quickly

What's going on here -- you're agreeing with me?

Yes, I suggested that to them over 2 years ago.
Any solution will require some enforcement -- especially the CPA since no one will use that by choice.

Here's some specs for angled parking from Bicycle Victoria.
http://www.bv.com.au/bike-parking/
I think we could tighten up the spacing a bit.

Alan

Good research there, and I am generally with you on this one.

Is it possible though that getting rid of the bikes from the pier is part of the Government's grander plan of providing an unobstructed emergency access route along the front of YSW? this would paint the issue in a different light.

ps You still let yourself get wound up far too easily

The "emergency vehicle access" card is played whenever possible.

I don't see how it's very relevant though, the emergency vehicles must negotiate many roads and paths (Including Main Street) which are 1/2 or 1/3 as wide as the pier. And since the helipad and the new kaido pier was built, there isn't any need for medevacs to go to the ferry pier.

Like I said: paint a couple of lines and enforce it and have 3.5-4 metres clearance. The emergency vehicles are less than 1.5 metres wide. If they need to go along the pier they have to go slow because of pedestrians, and even if there were no bikes, they could not safely go faster. And in a real emergency use the siren.

Ultimate goal

So the local rumours of the last few months were true, the CPA is back on track, soon going ahead as planned in their preferred location - a platform, no reclamation - by Home Affairs Dept.?

Here's a excerpt from a news story Google-translated from our Chinese forum:
http://news.hkheadline.com/dailynews/content_hk/2011/11/11/168069.asp

"... the Public Library and the coast between pier pedestrian bridge to be built overhead, without reclamation, come to an area about 400 square meters of platform, almost square platform designed to provide about 300 bicycle parking spaces to meet the demand.

However, the Home Affairs Department said initial estimates of project costs up to $ 15 million, in other words, each bicycle parking spaces actually cost $ 50,000.

Hing of the Legislative Council question ... the cost is too expensive and unreasonable, he urged the Administration to explain in detail .

The project has been incorporated into the Home Affairs Department's rural minor works projects, expected to be gazetted in December this year, begin next year, the same year completed. As regards the existing pedestrian bridge leading to the library by the terminal flyover will be demolished."

Watch out for the "expected" public notices next month.

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Interesting, that's Wong Kwok-hing, who is a member of the DAB, but apparently a bit independent.

If he is questioning whether this project makes sense there is a small amount of hope.

Not much though.

Wong is a member of The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unoins, a right-wing union which is also a pro-government and have a close relationship with DAB. I think he makes a good question on the issue of budget.

Yeah, well it's the same point I made three years ago in numerous letters and in meetings since with the HAD and CEDD, which they studiously ignored.

It's pretty obvious that the the project is simply a pork barrel, designed to spend to the maximum allowed by the "Rural Minor Works" scheme. I guess the counsellors take turns as to who gets the lai see and now it's YLF's turn.

There isn't a single legal public bike parking facility on the whole of Lamma. Not a single place where you're allowed to lean your bike. She doesn't care about bikes, traffic, safety or any of the bollocks she used to justify it, or anything except getting the concrete contract.

I spoke to Albert Chan about this last year and he thought it was a pretty dumb idea too. But I don't know if any of these other politicians are willing to take the candy out of YLF's mouth.

As ejsarn noted, the "CPA" was gazetted today.
See http://paper.thestandard.com.hk/?date=2012-01-06&page=30&pubkey=2012010600


Any attempts at pointing out its shortfalls or suggesting alternatives have been met with a brick wall. Home Affairs are simply acting as lapdogs of the DAB, they don't care in the slightest about filling in the harbour, pissing away government funds, and nothing at all about where and how hundreds of commuters are going to park their bikes once this stupid platform is built..

I wonder is "Y on the Y" has a vested interest invested in CEMENT, and she is so trigger happy for these construction projects because of this.

This govt. notice has NOT been posted on the public noticeboards, not even the one opposite HSBC, but only on the walkway to the Library, taped to the railing.

All gazetted Govt. notices are posted online at the Govt. Logistics Dept, website, for example this one about the Bike Park:

Checking over the recent ones, there's only about one gazette per month re: Lamma matters.

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