A 520m-long bridge that connects Taipei Hakka Culture Park and Gu-ting riverside park near the Gongguan area of Taipei was opened yesterday amid concerns about an incomplete safety inspection.
The bridge, which features a bicycle lane, pedestrian walkway and a recreational platform that overlooks Xindian River, provides a direct path between riverside bicycle lanes and the area from Shida Road to Taipei Water Park in Gongguan.
Attending yesterday’s -opening ceremony, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and Hakka community representatives applauded the opening of the bridge as creating a friendlier environment for cycling and recreational activities.
However, the opening of the bridge and ongoing construction at the adjacent Taipei Hakka Culture Park has raised safety concerns, because the bridge has yet to undergo a full safety inspection.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor -Wu Su-yao (吳思瑤) yesterday slammed the city government for rushing the opening of the bridge without it first passing a full inspection.
“The city government has also failed to keep people from entering the Hakka Culture Park which is still under construction. This is another example of Hau and his team rushing to show off city projects and ignoring public safety and project quality,” she said.
Taipei City Hakka Affairs Commission chief secretary Lin Wei-chong (林偉忠) said the city’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems, which is responsible for the construction of the bridge, will conduct a full inspection of the park later this month, but added that the department did complete a preliminary inspection on the safety of the bridge before the official opening.
The Hakka Culture Park, built on the former site of Taipei Children’s Museum of Transportation, will be officially opened to the public on Oct. 15. The construction of the 4-hectare park is behind schedule as a result of opposition from environmentalists over the removal of trees in the area.
The park will feature a central plaza, delonix plaza, tung flower trail, bike station, farming experience area and eco-pond.
A series of celebration activities are scheduled to be held from Oct. 15 to Oct. 17 to mark the opening of the park, the Republic of China Centennial and the Hakka Yimin Festival.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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