The modern landscape of Kaohsiung Light Rail Transit

Original link: https://taiwan.chtsai.org/2023/06/16/gaoxiong_qinggui_renben_jiaotong/

It is good design for trams to return to the road. Not only wheelchair and stroller users can avoid the hassle of going up and down stairs and buses, but it is also more convenient for ordinary people to get in and out and move around. This is the modern landscape of human-oriented transportation.

The progress of the city does not lie in how tall the buildings are, how wide the roads are, and how big the shopping malls are, but how friendly the traffic environment is to pedestrians and people with disabilities.

I still remember that in 2014, I was invited to attend the Public Transport Development Strategy Symposium and delivered the introduction ” User Experience of Public Transport “. There was a trip in the middle of the trip at the Kaohsiung MRT Nanji Factory. Chen Junrong, the deputy chief engineer who gave birth to the light rail, introduced the Kaohsiung light rail with enthusiasm.

Saw the brand new Spanish CAF Urbos 3 tram at the machine factory.

I also came to the light rail station that was still under construction at that time, and listened to Deputy Chief Engineering Department Chen describe the vision of human-oriented transportation.

At that time, even Daluge Caoya Road (now Shin Kong Mitsukoshi SKM Park) was not yet completed.

Nine years passed in a blink of an eye. At the end of this year, the circular light rail will be fully opened to traffic. It is a pity that Deputy Chief Engineering Division Chen passed away in 2016, and he has not been able to witness the progress of Kaohsiung light rail in recent years. It is believed that his spirit in heaven is still guarding this construction.

Wheelchairs can easily enter and exit platforms and carriages without the assistance of elevators, lifting devices, ferry boards, steep slopes, drivers or station staff. This is the beauty of streetcars.

In the past, people thought that a city can only be considered progress if it has tall buildings and subways. It was only later that I learned that the buildings in a truly livable city may not be high, and the trams try to return to the road as much as possible.

Only streetcars allow Grandma to walk her grandchildren with ease.

City trams should return to the road from elevated and underground. After actually experiencing it, you will have a deeper understanding of why it should be so. After getting used to streetcars, I really dislike taking the MRT up and down the stairs, and taking the bus up and down the stairs, and the ride is shaking.

If the tram is running underground, everyone is looking down and swiping their phones. On streetcars, many people look out the windows. Streetcars reconnect people and cities.

The second phase of the light rail has entered the residential area from the suburbs, and has really entered people’s lives. The light rail is full of students during school and school hours. The street tram carried the students to the school safely, and also continued the social interaction after the students left the school. The warm sunshine healed the hearts of the students. No need to be shaken on the bus, no need to see the sun underground, no need to worry about the bicycle being dried away. So good and so beautiful.

The North Ring Road also connects Aozidi, which is not far away but has inconvenient transportation, with Neiwei. Art galleries have become less distant. It also made it easier for me to watch movies at Neiwei Art Center.

My favorite landscape of the North Ring Road is the two-way section of the central monorail of Yucheng Road. The width of this section of the road is not wide, so the light rail is only a single track. But it also highlights the value of trams returning to the road and the adaptability of light rail.

The interior window view of this section of the road is what I think is the most modern public transport and human-oriented traffic scene. There are roads on both sides, and pedestrians sit in the tram running in the middle of the road. Little by little, we return to pedestrians the space occupied by cars and motorcycles that should belong to pedestrians.

Finally, there is the light and shadow of Dashun Road between Boai Road and Zhongzheng Road. The road was really made for streetcars. And there are many schools along the road, and the tram just makes it safer for students to go to and from school. It is hoped that this last section of light rail will be successfully completed before the end of the year.

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