Sun, Sep 07, 2008 page4

• FEATURE : Tanbei Expressway draws ire, praise

  OFF THE HOOK Residents and activists are upset that the route will not undergo an EPA assessment because at 4.7km, it falls short of the minimum length of 5km

  • By Meggie Lu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Taipei County Government representatives on Thursday finished a presentation at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) on their controversial plan to construct an alternative route for Provincial Highway 2 in Tamsui Township (淡水).

  Newspaper headlines said the Tamsui-Taipei, or Tanbei, Expressway would start construction by the end of this year.

  Since the county held its first public presentation for the road in June, construction of the alternate highway has stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy.

  

  Former Environmental Protection Administration minister Winston Dang looks out from his apartment on Saturday last week at the riverbank in Hongshulin, Taipei County. The area is marked for a proposed alternate route to Provincial Highway 2.

  PHOTO: MEGGIE LU, TAIPEI TIMES

  When approached for comment, the Taipei County Government’s Water Resources Bureau said the road would not only aid the development of Tamsui Township, but also provide the township with an alternative highway to improve traffic flow and speed up emergency traffic such as ambulances.

  TRAFFIC TROUBLES

  “It is a consensus that traffic is congested in the area; if we want to expand Provincial Highway 2, it would first be necessary to build an alternative road so that traffic is not blocked while we expand the highway,” said the official, who declined to be named.

  Meanwhile, environmental activists and local residents have criticized the project because of its potential damage to the environment.

  The groups also questioned the necessity for the county to spend NT$3.8 billion (US$119.2 million) on a road so short.

  “The county is walking a thin line between legal and illegal,” said Green Citizens’ Action Alliance (GCAA) secretary-general Tsui Su-hsin (崔愫欣), whose organization has collected more than 5,000 signatures against the project.

  The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act (環境影響評估法) stipulates that high-rise roads more than 5km long must undergo an environmental impact assessment, Tsui said.

  The proposed expressway, which would go by a mangrove conservation, the Tamsui River waterfront and a potential historic site, would be a 4.7km stretch, Tsui said.

  Investigations are under way on a site near Hungshulin MRT station where pottery potentially 3,000 years old has been unearthed.

  Half of the road would be high-rise, while the whole length would connect Denghui Boulevard in Tamsui with Dadu Road, which crosses the border between Taipei City and County, Tsui said.

  “The county is also avoiding calling it an ‘expressway,’ intentionally setting the speed limit at 50kph — although it has no entry or exits — in order to avoid having to go through an EIA,” Tsui said.

  As a resident of Tamsui Township, former environmental protection minister Winston Dang (陳重信) strongly opposes the project.

  “The EIA Act clearly states that damage to conservation efforts, scenery and historic sites should be carefully evaluated,” he said. “The Environmental Protection Administration [EPA] and Forestry Bureau have already advised against the construction because of the potential impact ... Though the road is only 4.7km, the EPA should consider interceding, as it is not the length of a road that matters, but where it passes.”

  CARBON EMISSIONS

  The environmentalists said if the county government were serious in its determination to reduce carbon emissions, it would develop alternative transportation routes to and from Tamsui.

  “The government can clean up the Tamsui River and develop its ferry service ... All developed metropolitan areas in the world have a beautiful waterfront and it would be ridiculous to block that off for a road,” said Chung Chi-chung (鍾基忠), chairman of the Anti-Tanbei Federation, an ally of Tamsui locals who are against the plan.

  Environmentalists also question the necessity of the road.

  “At off-peak hours, travel time from Denghui Boulevard to Dadu Road is 12 minutes,” Tsui said. “The county said the ‘alternative route’ would help develop Tanhai New Town [淡海新市鎮] and alleviate Tamsui’s traffic congestion. But in 2001, the Ministry of the Interior had already announced that city planning for the new town had failed ... It would be an irrational hope to think that a road could solve the problem.”

  Dang said that with one of the largest mangrove conservation areas in Taiwan, a bike trail beautifully situated along the riverside and a potential historic site at stake, the price to pay for the road outweighs its benefits.

  WRONG QUESTION

  Tamkang University transportation management associate professor Chang Sheng-hsiung (張勝雄) said the county was jumping the gun when it decided to build a new road to solve its problem.

  “First of all, without being a transportation expert, why is Taipei County’s Water Resources Bureau in charge of the road?” Chang asked. “Though the Water Resources Bureau contracted CECI Engineering Consultant to oversee the project, which the company is capable of doing, the bureau made a fundamental mistake by asking the wrong question; instead of asking: ‘How can I improve the traffic situation,’ it asked, ‘how can I get a new road?”

  Since the bureau asked the wrong question, it received the wrong answer, Chang said.

  “In addition to looking at roads that jam at rush hour, one should see if the road jams at off-peak hours, since traffic jams occur at rush hour in many places,” he said.

  Even if there are traffic problems, the bureau should investigate whether the problem can be resolved with other options, he said.

  “For example, are the traffic lights synchronized correctly, are the traffic lines drawn right, is there double parking along the way and are the food stalls on it managed well?” he asked.

  “Before exploring these options, it is illogical for the county to propose spending billions on a road that would take three years to build,” he said.

  Alluding to speculation that the road is being built not to resolve transportation difficulties, but to benefit construction companies as well as to connect Taipei City residents to a gambling and games area proposed to be built in the new town, Chung said: “While there may be local interests [under the table], the environment as a whole should not be harmed.”

  Whichever the case, the battle between the government and residents is likely to continue, as construction is set to begin next January or February.

  “Our blueprint avoids the mangrove conservation area and we are looking into the historic site. If it is indeed of value, we will formulate a strategy to accommodate it. We have organized six public presentations so far and plan to hold more if necessary,” the Water Resource Bureau said.

  In response, Chung said his organization would step up its protests against the road.

  “The county is only setting a date to make us think that everything is set in stone … We will fight against it until the last minute,” he said.
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