I don’t want to sound like I’m anti-Ferris wheels. Generally, the mere mention of these carnival circles makes me giddy with excitement – yes, like a child at, say, the carnival. But there’s something so patently ridiculous about the ‘Giant Observation Wheel’ proposed for the Central waterfront that my usual gaiety at such sights has evaporated like a stick of delicious (oh so delicious) cotton candy in the breeze. It might be that Hong Kong is the last place that needs another observation lookout; or that this soaring landmark – predictably dubbed the Hong Kong Eye – would be laughably dwarfed by IFC and virtually every other building around it. Or perhaps it’s because the building of this circular monstrosity would be an utter travesty to the Central waterfront.

You may have heard about the plans to erect a ridiculous $95million temporary Ferris wheel on the Central waterfront – a 60m high observation wheel to provide yet another brightly lit, over-priced elevated vantage point to our ever-shrinking harbour. Indeed, London has a similar one, as does Singapore. Both are ugly. But with the announcement of this proposal – and the preliminary support given by the Central and Western District Council – it really brings into sharp focus this question: what do we want from this harbourfront?

The Central waterfront is the last chance to provide some proper lifestyle and recreational balance to Hong Kong Island. But over the years, the fantasy of an accessible, vibrant and green waterfront, replete with vast leisure space, has slowly been eroded. The hopes for full accessibility have already been destroyed by a huge new traffic artery running through Central, and just in the last week, the Commissioner for Transport Joseph Lai ruled out the concept of a cycle path running along the waterfront. Apparently, it is against government policy to encourage cycling in urban areas. Overall, the support for the Hong Kong Eye and the naysaying on the cycling paths together form a strange message about the future of our waterfront – essentially, that the authorities value tourist gimmicks over healthy exercise and everyday use. Not particularly promising.

Coupled with the plentiful murmurings about the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal being a thinly veiled excuse to build an epic new shopping complex (seemingly the Planning Department’s perennially key objective), and the underlying fear in much of the arts community that West Kowloon will be compromised for the profit and convenience of the property tycoons, this Ferris wheel nonsense doesn’t exactly imbue confidence in what’s to come in Central. Ironically, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam, ubiquitous go-to sound-bite queen for all matters harbourfront, recently called for a ‘common sense’ approach to reclamation. But what about the development of the land? The common sense approach, surely, would be to deliver a waterfront that the public can access and be proud of, free of gimmicks, exploitative commercial opportunities and, heaven forbid, some ridiculous eye-sore. Of course, that entirely depends whose interests you have at heart – or should that be hip pocket?

Mark Tjhung