Macau light rail goes aheadwithout stops in poor areas

South China Morning Post
Fox Yi Hu
2007-10-14

Macau light rail goes aheadwithout stops in poor areas

Poor neighbourhoods in Macau will be bypassed by a HK$4 billion light rail, work on which will start in January and be finished in late 2011.

The 20km line will run along the eastern and southern fringe of Macau Peninsula and onto Taipa Island through a bridge, linking various casinos with the Border Gate checkpoint, the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and the airport.

There will be 23 stops on the elevated line, which will be able to move 16,000 passengers an hour, according to plans approved last week.

Activists who fought for the lower-income districts to be linked yielded to the plan, saying "half a loaf is better than none". Union leader Tang Kuok-leong said most workers would prefer to see the project go ahead despite their inability to change the government-designated route.

"The government would not listen. We can only hope the light rail's second phase will connect to the northwestern districts," he said.

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si-io said the government would study the feasibility of building a northwestern spur after the first phase's completion in 2011.

Legislator Ng Kuok-cheong has been arguing for the rail to connect Ilha Verde, a northwestern district where population growth of 100,000 is expected in the next four years because of home construction.

He said most local commuters, other than casino workers, would benefit little from a rail line that ran along the coastline.

"The rail system in Las Vegas was funded by casinos, but our government uses public money to help casinos amass tourists," Mr Ng said.

Nevertheless, the rail link might help reduce traffic jams by taking tourists off the roads, he said.

Traffic jams have become a frustration as the number of private cars has surged with the casino boom. In the first eight months of this year, 14,866 new vehicles - including motorcycles - were registered in Macau, 26.5 per cent more than for the same period last year. The city covers just 28 sq km.
More than 3,000 motorcyclists protested on September 30 against a deeply unpopular traffic law and especially a lack of parking spaces for them.

The government had drawn up three unsuccessful plans to build a mass transit system since 2003 before it unveiled the light-rail plan in July. After a 45-day consultation in August and last month, the final plans were published on Friday with little change from the July proposal. Tenders will soon be sought.

Some of the protesters at a National Day rally expressed anger over the government's refusal to run the link through the northwestern districts.
Macau's popularity as a tourist destination - with 22 million visitors last year - has created problems for officials.

Ferries are the main method of transporting them to and from the former enclave, and the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal has been feeling the strain of dealing with 200 to 300 sailings a day.

A new ferry terminal known as Pac On is being built on the north of Taipa Island to ease pressure on the city's two existing ones. At least five ferry companies are expected to operate at the new terminal, which will also feature a heliport. Part of the terminal may open by the end of the year.

The Venetian will also operate a fleet of 10 high-speed ferries between Hong Kong and Macau once the new ferry terminal is completed.

Lau says 45-day consultation on light metro ‘enough’

Lau says 45-day consultation on light metro ‘enough’

Macau Post Daily 18 July 2007
Suki Leong

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io said yesterday he believed that the government’s 45-day public consultation on its light metro project was “enough” because the government had already gathered a large amount of public views on the plan.

Mr. Lau made the remark on the margins of an interdepartmental working group meeting on the renewal of the city’s old quarters. The policy secretary’s remark came after the New Macau Association (NMA) called for a three-month consultation period during a press conference at its office on Sunday.

Mr. Lau also said that he did not expect all people to agree with the project but was keen that most people would back it. He also said he expected the project to break ground in the middle of next year. The government announced last Friday, when the 45-day consultation period formally began, that the first phase of the project would cost 4.2 billion patacas at last year’s prices. The first phase is planned to be completed in 2011.

Mr. Lau also said that the government had already held 20 consultation meetings about the project. He also said that any association could request the government to attend a consultation meeting during the 45-day period.

The secretary admitted that construction of the overhead track of the light metro would involve the closure of some streets below. He also said that contrary to some public views expressed recently it was technically not feasible to build a metro station in the Ilha Verde district and near the Barrier Gate at the same time since this would paralyze traffic in the northern district.

Meanwhile, an engineer working in the private sector has told The Macau Post Daily that the elevated light metro (ELM) proposed by the government is “quite different” from Hong Kong light rail transit (LRT) and Las Vegas’ monorail.

Govt. launches consultation on light metro

Govt. launches consultation on light metro

Macau Post Daily 16 July 2007
Suki Leong and Eva Lao Kai Lei

The government has launched a 45-day public consultation on its 4.2 billion pataca elevated light metro project, including a string of “clarification sessions” for different sectors of civil society and the gathering of citizens’ opinions through the website of the Infrastructure Development Office (GDA) – http://www.gdi.gov.mo/

The consultation process began last Friday, when Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io announced the project’s latest “optimization plan.”

Mr. Lau said Macau’s overhead light metro system on a track of stilts would span 20 kilometres in its first phase, which was scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Addressing a press conference on the project at the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM), Mr. Lau said the latest “optimization plan” already included the outcome of three public consultations that were held in 2003, 2005 and last year respectively.

Mr. Lau said he hoped that the current consultation process could result in a public consensus on the government’s biggest public infrastructure project since Macau’s return to the motherland in 1999. The policy secretary was quick to add that after conclusion of the public consultation process, the project was planned to be implemented “as soon as possible,” adding he expected the project to break ground in the middle of next year.

According to the optimization plan, the GDA planners decided to shorten the first-phase length of the system from 22 kilometres to 20 kilometres and to reduce the number of stations from 26 to 23.


40 per cent of population ‘in walking distance’

According to GDA planners present at the press conference, 40 per cent of the population lives “within walking distance” of the 23 stations. The caption areas of the stations comprise a radius of between 300 metres (four minutes’ walking distance) and 500 metres (seven minutes’ walking distance), according to the planners. A ride from the Barrier Gate to the future ferry terminal in Pac On in Taipa will take 34 minutes.

Asked about claims that the project caters for tourists and fails to take locals’ public transport needs into account, Mr. Lau said, “That’s a misunderstanding. Our design is not just convenient for tourists. The network covers Macau’s most densely populated high-rise building areas, such as the northern district, Nape, Zape, and Ocean Gardens. Many residents will work in Cotai in the future. Many residents will benefit from the network.”

According to the plan presented at the press conference, the driverless and rubber-tired trains will run 19 hours a day, traveling at an average speed of 33 km/h. Each train will comprise four carriages, each measuring 30 metres in length, with a total capacity of carrying a maximum of 8,000 passengers per hour in either direction. The trains will depart every three minutes during peak hours and between every three and six minutes in off-peak hours.

According to the GDI, the system will carry an average of 110,000 passengers a day and 40.2 million passengers a year, based on an annual population growth of two per cent and an annual increase in the number of visitor arrivals of around eight per cent. Based on an annual population growth of 2.5 per cent and an annual increase in the number of visitor arrivals of 14 per cent, the light metro would carry an average of 150,000 passengers a day and 54 million passengers a year.

The plan also provides for a “feeder service” by public buses and taxis from several interchanges.


‘Light impact’

The GDI planners told the press conference that a monorail, underground metro and tram were all “locally not suitable” due to Macau’s specific conditions.

Asked about claims that the overhead track would negatively affect Macau’s cityscape, such as by blocking the view of the Praia Grande Government Headquarters and the Fortress of Our Lady of Good Birth, Kuong Wai Cheok, an engineer of the Lands, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), said the track would affect the cityscape “a little bit” only.

Mr. Kuong pointed out that the track would have a height of between 10 and 12 metres from street level and that the stilts would be separated by a distance of about 20 metres each. “The negative impact is light,” Mr. Kuong said, adding that each stilt had a diameter of one metre only.

International tender

Meanwhile, Mr. Lau said the government would launch an international tender for the project and set up an independent committee to assess the bids. He also said the government would hire an international consultancy to help launch the tender.

According to the GDI, due to its rubber tires and other technical specifications the light metro has a “low” noise level of just 50 to 60 decibel. Under the first-phase plan, the network will serve Macau’s border checkpoints and major residential areas and tourist spots. The second phase of the project would include the Inner Harbour, Patane (Sa Lei Tau) and an “east-west axis” across the Macau Peninsula, as well as a line around Taipa.

Meanwhile, an informed source told The Macau Post Daily last night that Mr. Lau would visit several European countries later this year to study the operations of light metro systems there.

Critical voices

The New Macau Association (NMA) held a press conference yesterday to criticize some aspects of the project, claiming that it failed to meet the needs of most residents.

The press conference was jointly held by the association’s president, Chan Wai Chi, and vice-president, Cheong Su Kin, as well as one of its two lawmakers, Au Kam San. The NMA held the press conference at its office.

The NMA representatives maintained that the proposed network failed to take into account the public transport needs of future home-ownership and public housing building complexes in the Ilha Verde and Fai Chi Kei districts. The representatives urged the government to extend the network to the peninsula’s north-western districts of Ilha Verde, Fai Chi Kei and Toi San, as well as along the Inner Harbour waterfront.


The representatives also called for a consultation period of least three months. Mr. Au also criticized the project’s “vague” budget, likening it to “asking citizens to issue a blank cheque.” Mr. Au said he was worried that huge cost overruns that affected the East Asian Games project in Macau in the recent past might hit the public treasury once again.


Meanwhile, indirectly elected lawmaker-cum-businessman Kou Hoi In criticized the project after its presentation by the government to the legislature last Friday. Mr. Kou said the project failed to meet the needs of the city’s old quarters.

Directly elected legislator-cum-trade unionist Kwan Tsui Hang said that while the project failed to “fully meet the needs of Macau,” she found it “overall acceptable.”

Both Ms. Kwan and Mr. Kou expressed doubts about the government’s price tag of 4.2 billion patacas for the project. Ms. Kwan urged the government to come up with a more detailed financing plan.

A straw poll by The Macau Post Daily over the weekend showed that some residents appear to be critical of the network’s proposed routing and believed that the project would in the end cost much more than the officially budgeted 4.2 billion patacas. On the other hand, some tourists said that even after the opening of the light metro system they would still prefer the free shuttle bus services provided by local casino operators. “Why should I pay for a metro ticket if I can get a free shuttle bus ride,” a regular casino visitor from Guangzhou asked.

GDI Director Antonio Jose Castanheira Lourenco said tickets would cost three patacas for a ride on the Macau Peninsula and four patacas for a trip between the peninsula and Taipa. However, the optimization plan released at the press conference includes an “alternative” ticket price structure ranging between four and six patacas.

Proposed stations:

On the Macau Peninsula, there are twelve stations: Barrier Gate (starting point), Avenida Leste do Hipodromo, Fire Service Station in Bairro da Areia Preta, Outer Harbour Maritime Terminal, Macau Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau Cultural Center, Dr. Carlos D’ Assumpcao Park, Jardim das Artes (near Galaxy Casino), Avenida Doutor Mario Soares (near Sintra Hotel), Rua do Chunambeiro (near Nam Van Lake), Fire Service Station at Sai Van Lake, Macau Maritime Museum (near Ma Kok Temple).

A ride from the Barrier Gate to the Maritime Museum at the entrance to the Inner Harbour (terminal station) will take 18 minutes.

The light metro will connect the Macau Peninsula with Taipa and Cotai via the Sai Van Bridge. There are eleven stations, spanning a network of some eight kilometres, on Taipa and Cotai: Sai Van Bridge, Taipa Tunnel, Macau Jockey Club, Estrada da Baia de Nossa Senhora de Esperanca (near Macau Olympic Aquatic Centre), Lotus Bridge Border Gate, Macau East Asian Games Dome, Taipa-Coloane Causeway, Macau University of Science and Technology Stadium, Macau International Airport, and the future ferry terminal in Pac On (terminal station).

A ride from the Sai Van Bridge (Taipa side) to the future ferry terminal in Pac On (terminal station) will take 16 minutes.

GDI to announce ‘optimization plan’ for light metro project

GDI to announce ‘optimization plan’ for light metro project

Macau Post Daily 9 July 2007
Suki Leong

The Infrastructure Development Office (GDI) will announce its “optimization plan” for the elevated light metro (ELM) project this week, a GDI source told The Macau Post Daily last night.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that under the optimization plan the number of metro stations would be less than the previously planned 26, adding that Avenida da Praia Grande had been cancelled from the route because of environmental and landscaping concerns.

The source said the optimization plan included just “minor amendments” to the ELM project that was announced in October last year. At that time, the GDI said the ELM was planned to be built on a track supposed by stilts high above street level.

Some sectors of local society have expressed their worries and concerns about the project, particularly regarding its environmental impact, such as the impact of the elevated track on trees below, according to a popular blog on the matter (http://macautransportation.blogspot.com) .

According to the worries, if the track would be built along Avenida da Praia Grande, it would affect trees on the avenue below and block the view of the Clube Militar.

Others raised concerns about the project’s expected socio-economic impact and questioned why the proposed network seemed to be excessively centred on providing public transport between the Barrier Gate checkpoint and local casinos, without taking the interests of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into consideration. Others wondered whether air pollution caused by exhaust fumes under the elevated track would kill trees and affect the health of pedestrians in the respective areas.

74 pct approve of ELM

Meanwhile, the GDI source also told The Macau Post Daily that the government had hired a local university to conduct a telephone and street opinion survey on the ELM project. The project was conduced between late last year and early this year, involving 1,508 respondents.

According to the survey’s finding, 74 per cent of the respondents said they approved of the proposed ELM network, and 65 per cent said they accepted a maximum walking distance of 15 minutes to the nearest ELM station. About 60 per cent said they agreed with the proposed track on stilts.

The source declined to tell The Macau Post Daily how many of the respondents disagreed with certain aspects raised by the survey, such as the project’s routing, construction costs and landscaping.

Secretary for Transport and Public Works Lau Si Io told lawmakers in May the government planned to complete the tendering procedures for the construction of the ELM project “by the end of this year or early next year.” Mr. Lau also said the project was expected to be completed within four years after the tendering process had been finalized.

According to previous reports, the government plans to invest 4.2 billion patacas in the project, covering 22 kilometres in its first phase. The government plans to launch the project as a public infrastructure undertaking. Tickets are planned to cost three patacas for at trip on the Macau Peninsula or in Taipa/Cotai, and four patacas when travelling between the peninsula and Taipa/Cotai.

GDI Director Antonio Jose Castanheira Lourenco has said he expects the ELM to start operating as early as 2010.

The idea of building a mass transit system in Macau goes back to the late 1980s, when the then Portuguese administration announced plans – which never got off the ground – to build a monorail. The idea of a mass transit system was revived by the government soon after Macau’s return to the motherland in 1999 but the first concrete pre-project was only presented to the public in 2003. The second pre-project was launched in 2005, ultimately resulting in this week’s “optimization plan.”

AAM Forum：Scenarios and Alternative Proposals for the Macao’s Metro

AAM Forum

Scenarios and Alternative Proposals　for the Macao’s Metro

Monday May 28th

The Light Metro proposal for Macao is a new transportation infrastructure, which willhave a large impact in the city landscape, heritage environment, etc. This infrastructure will　influence deeply future of the sustainable development of Macao in the Pearl River Deltacontext.

You are welcome to participate in the AAM Forum.

Program

6:30 to 7:20. Introduction and presentations

7:20 to 8:00. Discussion

8:00 to 8:10. Final remarks and conclusion

The Discussion will be held in English.

For more information please feel free to contact Francisco Vizeu Pinheiro(francisco.vizeupinheiro@gmail.com) or Estefânia Inácio (estefania@inacio.net).

Coordinator; Francisco Vizeu Pinheiro, the Liaison Director for the Interest Groups(Study & Opinion) on Green Environment, Traffic, Urban Planning, Pollution, and Climate.

Venue: 澳門美副將大馬路2F 號.

AAM headquarters at Avenida do Coronel Mesquita No. 2F,

MacauTel. (+853) 28703458; Fax. (+853) 2870 4089;

Email: macauaam@macau.ctm.net

Ponto Final:Nova solução ajustada do Metro para breve

Nova solução ajustada do Metro para breve
III/1302 / Património & Urbanismo
Data: 22/05/07 - 16:16

O governo vai apresentar, em breve, uma "nova solução ajustada" do traçado do sistema de Metro Ligeiro, "uma espécie de apanhado das preocupações que foram apresentadas " no processo de auscultação que teve início em Novembro do ano passado e que terminou em Maio, disse ao PONTO FINAL André Ritchie, do Gabinete de Desenvolvimento de Infra-estruturas

Entre as "preocupações apresentadas", Ritchie refere as expressas pela Associação de Arquitectos de Macau (AAM) que, sob a direcção de Eddie Wong, participou em Dezembro numa sessão de esclarecimento onde um dos membros da direcção, o arquitecto Carlos Marreiros, frisou as reservas quanto à parte do traçado prevista para a zona da Praia Grande.

No sábado passado, um grupo de trabalho que faz parte do programa da nova direcção da AAM, presidida por Nuno Jorge, promoveu uma sessão onde se analisou a proposta do governo para o sistema de Metro Ligeiro, tendo ficado consensual entre os arquitectos presentes, como confirmou a este jornal Nuno Jorge, que existe "insensibilidade em relação a certos aspectos do traçado" e "preocupação pelo facto de o metro aproveitar os últimos espaços graciosos da cidade para instalar neles o seu traçado e as suas estações, destruindo-os." Entre esses espaços, Nuno Jorge refere a zona da Praia Grande.

Nuno Jorge disse ainda que, desde que tomou posse da direcção da AAM, a associação não foi auscultada, mas André Ritchie lembra que a anterior direcção fez saber ao Gabinete de Desenvolvimento de Infra-estruturas as suas opiniões sobre o projecto."

Já terminámos a auscultação e vamos analisar os ajustes do traçado, e estamos a ter em conta as opiniões que foram expressas", disse Ritchie. Entre as opiniões, continuou, contam-se as relacionadas com "o impacto visual e ambiental na zona da Praia Grande e não só, repetidas várias vezes pelo arquitecto Carlos Marreiros. E nós tivemos essas preocupações em conta."Lembrando que o processo de análise que se seguiu à fase das auscultações é um "trabalho moroso", e porque "continuamos a estudar as melhores soluções", o responsável escusa-se a avançar que mudanças poderão estar contempladas na versão do traçado que será ainda não tem data definida para ser apresentada.

Autor: Hugo Pinto
hugommpinto@gmail.com

市民日報（05/23/07）

　　據葡文《句號日報》報道，政府將在短期內提出本澳輕鐵（軌道捷運系統）的新方案。這項新方案將考慮到公眾提出關於輕鐵對環境和景觀影響的意見，特別在南灣方面。　　

建設發展辦公室一名官員表示，政府在去年十一月至今年五月期間收集了居民對輕鐵設計方案的意見，短期內將提出輕鐵設計的新調整方案，方案中會納入所收集到的其中一些意見，包括輕鐵對南灣區景觀和環境造成的影響方面的意見。