On his way after exercise in Cyberport Park(數碼港海濱公園), a young father slipped from the top of the waterfall at Wah Fu(華富邨). He hung onto tree branches and cried for help. Unfortunately, he fell down the 15 meter cliff and was killed before fire services arrived(從瀑布頂墮崖死亡). Many Wah Fu residents use the path despite two earlier casualties in 2006 and 2008.
After I joined the Southern District Council, I urged the Government to fix missing and unsafe pedestrian links(欠缺或未符合標準而的行人路) throughout the southern district.
As early as 2010, I proposed a safe pedestrian footbridge to give more people the chance to enjoy the spectacular Waterfall Bay(瀑布灣) area. The Government was not interested.
In 2011, the Southern District Council jointly urged the Government to start implementing a promenade linking Kennedy Town to Aberdeen. We asked for it to be done section by section and along the waterfront. A consultancy study that followed proposed fixing the link at Waterfall Bay.
In 2013, the Government announced that every district council would have HK$100m for a Signature Project Scheme(社區重點項目). I immediately proposed that a portion would be spent on the waterfall bay footbridge. The district council chose to build a seafood restaurant at the Aberdeen Promenade. This was rejected by residents and nearby restaurant operators. Members in the council now want to spend this project fund on 5 years of welfare services.
Although I have secured some funding to study the design of a footbridge, yet construction is unsure given district minor work budget is limited(或超出地區小型工程的預算). With this accident, I would like to remind my fellow councilors once again, that spending money on fixing pedestrian links will bring enjoyment to residents and visitors for a thousand years.
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