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February, 2007:

Destruction Of Our Harbour Justified By Ghost Traffic

Wednesday February 28 2007

Jake van der Kamp proves that the arguments for the Central-Wan Chai bypass are invalid in his column ‘Donald’s best option: admit error and rethink capital spending plans’ (February 26).

The Third Comprehensive Transport Study, posted on the Transport Department’s website, says the number of private cars on the road should be 38 per cent greater than it was at the end of 1997. ‘The actual number,’ writes van der Kamp, ‘is 13 per cent’.

The government’s justification for the Central-Wan Chai bypass was that the number of private cars would increase by almost 40 per cent between 1997 and now – but these cars have not materialised. Yet the figure is still being used to justify destroying our harbour rather than introducing cheaper and more fair road congestion charging.

We are hearing an election promise from Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen to build unnecessary infrastructure. This will increase the already heavy traffic in Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay by putting new developments on top of land reclaimed from the harbour.

And all this was originally justified by ghost cars.

ANNELISE CONNELL, Clear The Air