Recently, the Eastern District Office, Transport Department and Highways Department have submitted documents to the Traffic and Transport Committee of the Eastern District Council, proposing to demolish the footbridge on Tong Shui Road next to the North Point Tram Terminus.
Dangjun pointed out that the environmental sanitation problem in the area has long caused nuisance to the community, and that part of the overpass was damaged after the fire last year. The Transport Department considered that the ground facilities were sufficient to meet the needs of pedestrians.
According to the government’s recommendation, the flyover will be closed until the demolition project begins, and the nearby traffic lanes will also need to be temporarily closed during the construction period. The project is expected to take two years to complete.
Since the Transport Department added a pedestrian crossing on the ground of King’s Road in 1993, the use of the footbridge involved has been low. It has not only become a gathering place for street sleepers, but also has a large amount of debris placed on it. The gathering of pigeons has made the sanitary environment in the area deteriorating.
Coincidentally, another major fire broke out on the flyover in April last year. The fire spread to most of the flyover. The severity of the fire broke through the top of the flyover, and the government must enclose and inspect it, and set up barbed wire and iron gates to prohibit citizens from entering.
On April 25, 2020, a fire broke out on the footbridge off the junction of King's Road and Tong Shui Road in North Point. The fire was very violent.
(Photo provided by the respondent, Miss Au)
The problem of street sleepers is not resolved
On the surface, the demolition of the flyover seems to be beneficial to the district, but the bureau did not consider making any arrangements for the street sleepers who originally gathered there.
Even if the flyover is demolished, this group of street sleepers will not disappear. They will only move to another place where street sleepers gather, such as the park in the same district and the North Point Pier.
From the perspective of cracking down on street sleepers, the demolition of the flyover is basically in line with what the authorities have done in the past, and it is of little help in solving the problem of street sleepers in the long run.
Under the premise that the current policy does not provide adequate assistance to street sleepers, the Hong Kong Government has taken actions to drive them away. In fact, it is just a matter of delay.
Support is more important than combat
Moreover, there is a chance that the above-mentioned methods to deal with street sleepers may have counterproductive effects and negatively affect the government's image of governance. The case of street sleepers clearance on Tung Chau Street in Sham Shui Po in 2012 is an example.
During the winter solstice of the previous year, the LCSD and dozens of riot police officers arrived at the scene to drive away the homeless people in Tung Chau Street Park, Sham Shui Po, and discarded the other's belongings as trash with less than three minutes' notice.
Subsequently, 14 homeless people, with the help of community organizations, filed a claim with the government in the Small Claims Tribunal, and the case happened to be officially opened on Tuesday (9th).
According to the "Hong Kong Homeless Population Survey 2021" report, the current number of homeless people in Hong Kong is approximately 1,532.
Although the homeless only make up a very small minority of the population in Hong Kong, it does not mean that the society can turn a deaf ear to them or treat them with disrespect.
The homeless are often unable to apply for government benefits and subsidies because they lack a stable address. At the same time, they have been double-struck by the epidemic in recent years, making it difficult for them to accumulate motivation and living capital to rejoin the society.
Since crackdown methods are not helpful in dealing with the problem of street sleepers, the government should think more about how it can assist and support them.
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The economy continues to improve and citizens are homeless?
