Returning the Waterfront to North Point

In the shorter term, to address the urgent need to advance and beautify this section of the Island East waterfront, this proposal is in full accord with the improvements suggested by the Harbour Business Forum. These include a pathway running under the existing Island Eastern Corridor. In the longer term, however, this stretch of Hong Kong's harbour has the potential to become one of its most dramatic features in the form of an extended promenade.

In this regard, we draw attention to the worldwide phenomenon of the dismantling of elevated roadways, and their replacement with submerged expressways. Adopted here, such a bold move would allow for the construction of a waterfront park that would boost the quality and value of life in the entire North Point neighbourhood.

Bike paths encircle Vancouver waterfront
The Big Dig removed elevated roads to reconnect the city to its waterfront, Boston1
Revived Embarcadero waterfront after double-decked freeway removed, San Francisco2
Sculpture Park in Seattle bridges the highway

Elsewhere in this area, the proposal envisions:

Enhancement of the existing pier

More interconnects to Victoria Park and environs

Better interconnects within the neighbourhood

An extensive waterfront park as a major attraction

These modifications to infrastructure, plus the addition of attractive park and pedestrian footpaths, would result in an extended frontage to the harbour's eastern identity. Linked cohesively and holistically to improvements in Central to the west and environs further eastwards, North Point could become a renewed focus for diverse harbourfront leisure activities.

1photo by Misha Kononov   2photo by Mike Stone