Zim City

Great waterfronts bend the rules Paul Zimmerman on making use of the opportunities Hong Kong’s waterfront settings provide

The experience of the Sai Kung waterfront is greatly enhanced by the unauthorised floating market and the restaurant seating extending onto public space.

The appreciation by visitors of the restaurants and market shops in Stanley has resulted in the government regularising their unauthorises encroachment of public space.

Dogs and scooters breach the rules of the waterfront park at Cyberport to the delight of thousands who descend on the park every holiday. The popularity of sunset at the western cargo working area can be gleaned from its nickname “Instagram Pier’’ despite the large signs warning of jail time for visitors.

Besides informal community pressure and free market enterprise there are institutional setups which allow better for bending the rules of the myriad of government departments to create enjoyable experiences. The waterfront and adjacent piazza at the pier in Discovery Bay is an example of vibrancy as a result of having a single owner determined to make it happen.

The same can now be seen at the Art Park where the management team of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority has worked hard to bend the rules to create a magnificent waterfront with long benches, no vehicles, no railings, and restaurants with ample outdoor seating.

For the same reason – the ability to bend rules - we called in 2004 for the setting up of a Harbour Authority to look after the waterfronts of Victoria Harbour. That never happened and we are trying to make due in the fight for better spaces with a committee advising a Harbour Office under the Development Bureau. The outcomes are mixed. The space under the Kwun Tong bypass is generally seen as a success. The new waterfronts at the North Point Ferry Piers, the Hung Hom ferry piers and Tsuen Wan West Rail station are abysmal failures. Planter boxes to meet greening ratios, emergency vehicle access devoid of amenities, adjacent building fronts which fail to animate the public space, hard division between public and private, long lists of activities which are disallowed, and so forth, are testament to the failure to bend the rules of the many departments involved.

The drawings we were presented looked nice but the outcomes are dismal in making use of the opportunities these waterfront settings provide. It is upon the Development Bureau to figure out soon how to avoid the same at waterfronts which are in progress in Yau Ma Tei, Kai Tak, Yau Tong and elsewhere. It is upon us all to push for retrofits of waterfronts which have been completed.

Paul Zimmerman is the CEO of Designing Hong Kong, a Southern District Councillor and the coconvenor of Save Our Country Parks alliance.

MARKETPLACE marketplace

To advertise, email talk@hongkongliving.com or call 2776 2772.

Ask a vet...

Dr Pauline Taylor on how to be a responsible dog owner

Our pet dogs are usually warm loving creatures who are always ready to welcome us home. They don’t hold grudges if treated respectfully and are well fed, watered and are allowed to exercise and socially interact with other dogs. I love my own dogs immensely but I never forget their natural instincts and understand my responsibility as a pet parent is to be aware of their predator instincts at all times.

A few weeks ago my beautiful hand reared domestic cat Georgie was sleeping happily in the sunshine under a kayak, when he was attacked by two large off leash adult mongrels, each weighing between 28-32kg. I was startled by the shouts of “Dog come!” “Dog come!” by the person allegedly in charge of these two dogs. The control she had over them in this situation was absolutely nil. They had either no ears and were deaf, or ears trained not to listen to hysterical cries to “come” when they were excitedly barking, trying to tear apart my pet cat. Even when they eventually did come out from under the kayak, the ill-fitting neck collar on one dog meant it slipped over the head when the alleged controller tried to leash it up. So in other words two approximately 30kg killers, registered with the government (I have to assume), were on the loose in a small New Territories village having fun tearing apart my cat. While I accept it’s fairly natural for dogs to try and chase cats and other moving objects considered prey, it is not acceptable to keep dogs that you cannot control in society. We have a social responsibility to each other to maintain harmony and good relations with neighbours, even though we may dislike them and as dog owners, we are by law supposed to control them at all times.

In Hong Kong, we have a Dogs and Cats Ordinance (Cap.167) and Dangerous Dogs Ordinance (Cap.134) that sets rules on how we should behave being keepers of canines. By law under the Rabies Ordinance (Cap.421), we are required to register our dogs vaccinated against Rabies with the Government and we must abide by the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap 169).

In other countries, the above dogs wouldn’t be so lucky and walk away from their socially unacceptable crime. They would, for attacking another living creature, be immediately put on “death row” by government officials and their keepers summoned to court. So please, if you want the “kudos” of owning a dog, learn your responsibility and be responsible for every person you allow to take your dogs out of your property. There is no substitute for good behavior and training. This time it was my cat. Next time it could be a child.

Got a question for Dr. Pauline? Email editorial@hongkongliving.com

photo credit: freepik.com

What to plant in July

Weather facts:

- Average high temperature: 31.4°C - Average low temperature: 26.8°C - Average rainfall: 376.5mm (14.8”) - Average rainfall days: 17.6 days - Average sunshine hours: 6.8 hours

As Hong Kong hikes to its hottest month of the year, July continues what the past month started: increasingly heated weather, unrelenting rain and the warning of summer thunderstorms. But in spite of this uprootedness comes growth, especially in our gardens where life begins anew.

Key practice this month will be to use disinfectant fluid to keep pests like caterpillars from damaging your seedlings. Plants in shrubberies and creepers, will want prudent pruning to avoid overcrowding and container plants are to be brought indoors as strong winds and heavy rain will continue to persist in the months to follow.

Seeds of the following may be sown: mustard and cress, Chinese spinach, cucumber, lettuce, sweet corn, Chinese short beans, celery, Chinese white and green cabbage. Help your plants endure the high temperatures by avoiding overwatering as nutrients can be leached and the supply of oxygen in the roots can be cut off. Instead, focus on watering at the base of the plant so the roots can benefit effectively.

‘Rain or shine’ is this month’s motto. Expect the heavy barrages of rainfall but also the beautiful gleaming beams of sunshine in your garden. Nevertheless, don’t lose heart for July will test your convictions for gardening and more!

By William James Tutcher F.L.S. (1867-1920)

Superintendent of Hong Kong Botanical Gardens. Paraphrased from his seminal 1906 work Gardening for Hong Kong.