Fairview Park (Hong Kong)

Fairview Park (Traditional Chinese: 錦綉花園; Cantonese Yale: gám sau fā yùhn; Jyutping: gam2 sau3 faa1 jyun4) is a substantial private residential estate in Yuen Long District, New Territories, Hong Kong.

History

Fairview Park was built in 1976 by Canada Overseas Development Co. Ltd.(Traditional Chinese: 加拿大海外發展有限公司)

Arrangement

Fairview Park covers an area of 1,160,000 m² and has in total, 5024 houses. There are 13 different types of houses, ranging in sizes from 79 to 157 m². Each house has a front and back garden as well as a car port. There is a 15,000 m² artificial lake. Fairview Park has its own sewage treatment plant, the end product of which is used for watering vegetations, cleaning streets within the estate as well as providing a source of water for the nearby Mai Po prawn farm. Statistically, there are more than 100 streets covering 27km in distance. It has 3 schools, 60 parks, a Christian and Missionary Alliance church, a supermarket, a fire station, medical centres, a post office, restaurants and automated teller machines and a club house.

Controversy

*On 31 January2007, a 12 year-old pupil riding his bike and on his way to school, was run over and killed by a large engineering truck at the corner of Fairview Park Boulevard. Fairview Park residents accused the Hong Kong Government of delaying the opening of the recently built Kam Pok Road which cost roughly $10 million. This delay, they said, has resulted in Fairview Park Boulevard being turned into a major traffic thoroughfare.
:*On 2 February 2007, Fairview Park residents attended a special meeting organised by the Yuen Long District Council in which the Transport Department announced it would open Kam Pok Road on 5 February without banning the use of heavy vehicles that are over 7 metres in length on Fairview Park Boulevard. Fairview Park residents responded with outrage by waving placards and shouting. Some council members immediately left the meeting in a huff as a sign of protest. Fairview Park residents decided to convene a residents meeting themselves on 3 February 2007, to discuss further tactics. They revealed their desire to block trucks coming through by lying on the road. [ [http://www.mingpaonews.com/20070203/gsk1.htm MingPao new article in Chinese] ] Fairview Park residents made a public pledge to drop their legal proceedings against the Transport Department if the Transport Department would ban heavy vehicle use on Fairvew Park Boulevard. The Transport Department said it would only make the next move when all legal proceedings are settled. The Transport Department was accused of cowardly-behaviour by not standing up to certain groups. Transport Department deputy director Law Fung-ping was evasive and ambiguous in her answer when grilled by the hosts of RTHK Radio 1's HK2000 phone-in programme. Host Robert Chow Yung accused her department of cowardly-behaviour. [ [http://www.rthk.org.hk/asx/rthk/radio1/HK2000/20070201.asx RTHK Radio 1's HK2000 phone-in audio] ]

Clashes

:*Kam Pok Road was opened to traffic by the Transport Department at 10:00 on 5 February 2007. According to Cable TV news images at 12:00 through their reporters, 100 Fairview Park residents demonstrated at the site of the bike accident by holding up placards. Fairview Park management staff then placed obstables on the road blocking both access to part of the boulevard and consequently the ability of trucks making a turn. 100 Tai Sang Wai villagers traded insults with Fairview Park residents. Deputy chairman of the San Tin Rural Committee Fung Kan-cheung stressed that their village road which turned onto the boulevard, remains their only major access road to the outside world. Ms Leung, a Fairview Park resident, insisted that banning heavy vehicles on the boulevard would have no impact on the access of local villagers who used smaller vehicles. She went on, "We have tried every peaceful means in the past. The government does not listen when we are civilised." [ [http://www.cabletv.com.hk Cable TV news] ] The owner of a nearby container storage yard objected to the heavy vehicle ban, saying Kam Pok Road was too narrow for container trucks to pass as he clashed with Fairview Park management staff. [ [http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/elocal/news.htm?elocal&20070205&56&376598 RTHK news article] ] [ [http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/clocal/news.htm?clocal&20070205&55&376477 RTHK news article] ] [ [http://hk.news.yahoo.com/070205/318/219ok.html Hong Kong Standard news article] ] Mr Lam Kok-fai, the manager for Fairview Park management together with RTHK Radio 1's HK2000 phone-in programme host Robert Chow Yung, questioned what sort of powerful organisations would cause such a delay in the opening of Kam Pok Road from the Traffic Department. Transport Department deputy director Law Fung-ping again failed to sufficiently explain such cause. [ [http://www.rthk.org.hk/asx/rthk/radio1/HK2000/20070205.asx RTHK Radio 1's HK2000 phone-in audio] ]

References