Good Lord, why do they keep on insisting on Songshan? Is Taoyuan that south, for crying out loud?!
[quote]Ma said more flights connecting Taipei, Shanghai and Tokyo would benefit the high-tech industries in those cities, adding that part of his election platform was to establish a āgolden aviation circle in Northeast Asia [sic].ā
Saying that his administration attached great importance to developing the high-tech industry, Ma said he wanted to see more convenient transportation between major Asian cities.
Ma said that many big cities in East Asia had two airports ā one domestic and the other international. The domestic airport is often more conveniently located, while the international one is outside of the city limits.
[color=#0000FF]āCity airports outside many big cities in Northeast Asia are usually far away from the city and travel time from the airport to the city takes a long time,ā he said. āMore cities are thinking of making their domestic [centrally located] airports international.ā[/color]
Tokyo was pushing flights between Haneda airport and Seoul, while Tokyo and Shanghai have begun charter flights between their domestic airports, he said.
[/quote]
ma doesnāt want to go to taoyuan, because then heād be forced to drive through all the poor peopleās areas. plus, if more planes leave from songshan he can have his motorcade progress in a stately fashion along the wide tree-lined boulevarde that is dun hua road, and get lots of nice police people to wave at him as they block traffic on the street corners.
also, songshan is close to his family home. and if he makes the airport expand, thatās another reason to force the military to downsize its presence there.
Ma lives in Wenshan, which is actually one of the more working class parts of Taipei and is probably the least convenient in terms of getting to Songshan airport.
The real problem is Maās Taipei-centric attitude. More and more business travelers are heading straight for Taipei County, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, where the tech industry clusters. And if we had a light rail line to the airport, even one just to the Taoyuan HSR station, the whole problem would be solved and we could have Taipeiās version of Central Park instead of a dirty old Cold War airport.
my bad, i thought he had a place near MinSheng road.
tearing down Song Shan Airport and replacing it with a huge park would surely be a boon for taipei. get rid of some of the older rubbish around Binjiang street (?), and unite the park with the riverside parkā¦
canāt see that happening with property prices being what they are, though, or until a decent taoyuan public transport link is set up.
I agreed with not closing Sungshan when domestic flights were still all the rage and there was not a fast link to Taoyuan Airport. Nowadays with domestic flights nearly pointless, there really seems no real need to have Sungshan anymore. Even for the China flights. If Sungshan becomes a park the whole area around it will be able to bloom and be rebuilt. All the buildings on the flight path will then be able to be rebuilt. There will be a chance to really come out with another hip part of Taipei. Those old parts of Taipei will not be redeveloped until they can build them high, and they cant do that now with the airport there.
[quote=āFeirenā]Ma lives in Wenshan, which is actually one of the more working class parts of Taipei and is probably the least convenient in terms of getting to Songshan airport.
The real problem is Maās Taipei-centric attitude. More and more business travelers are heading straight for Taipei County, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu (Xinzhu), where the tech industry clusters. And if we had a light rail line to the airport, even one just to the Taoyuan HSR station, the whole problem would be solved and we could have Taipeiās version of Central Park instead of a dirty old Cold War airport.[/quote]
Well, yes, if you consider taking one MRT line directly to the airport inconvenientā¦
As for Wenshan being working class, again, no. 10 years ago yes. But the area, or many parts, have āgentrifiedā as people finally caught on that it wasnāt the ends of the earth, and the environment is one of the best in Taipei. People walk their dogs in Muzha, pick up their shit, and clean up after barbecuing at the riverside. We are not Wugu, thank you very much.
[quote=āMucha Manā]We are not Wugu, thank you very much.
Agree with the rest of your post. [/quote]
Yeah, Wugu seems pretty tough. The mayor has a high school education and is proud of being a vigilante. What party is he from? Do they have a sister city arrangement with Chicago, New Orleans, or other cities that have been run by Democratic machines for years?
[quote][color=#FF0000]Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei should be demolished[/color] when Taiwan grows strong enough to share Hong Kongās functions or even replace it as a hub of trade and transportation services with China, a hotelier said Monday.
Stanley Yen (å“é·å£½), president of the Landis Hotels and Resorts Group who is also known as the godfather of Taiwanās hotel industry, floated the idea in a speech delivered at a monthly meeting of officials at the Presidential Office.
ā¦
[color=#FF0000]When the time comes, Yen said, the government should have Songshan Airport torn down to make way for a New York Central Park-like recreational area and a modern town patterned after Tokyoās midtown, which incorporates green technology in its construction.[/color]
With the demolition of the airport, all limitations on the height of buildings in its surrounding areas would be eliminated. Lower structures in the area could be integrated and rebuilt into skyscrapers while leaving more space for landscaping.
[color=#FF0000]In his view, Yen said only such large-scale construction opportunities could attract world-class land developers to invest in Taiwanās construction market.[/color]
By then, all flight services could be concentrated at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which will be connected with downtown Taipei by mass rapid transit (MRT) lines now under construction, Yen said.
Oh yeah. Replace HK as a transport hub. Tee hee. Thatāll go well with Taiwanās destiny as an Asia-Pacific operations hub and a green silicon island fueled on Hello Kitty Love Power. I can just imagine it: āHey! I know! Lets forget about our HK offices and instead set up on that daft wee skidmark in the Taiwan Strait that nobody recognizes! They even have an AIRPORT!ā
[quote]Taipei Songshan Airport, which now mainly host domestic and cross-Taiwan Strait flights, may begin hosting Japan-bound flights from next year, civil aviation officials said Saturday.
According to the officials, opening flight services between Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei and Haneda Airport in downtown Tokyo will be high on the agenda of a new round of Taiwan-Japan consultations on amending their bilateral aviation agreement that are set to take place in Tokyo next week.
Although the two sides have tentatively agreed to the opening of Songshan-Haneda flight services, the officials said the actual launch of such services will not begin until next year when a new runway construction project at Haneda Airport is completed.
[color=#FF0000]In consideration of the two airportsā limited capacity, the officials said each airline from both sides will be allowed to operate only one round-trip flight per day[/color].
[/quote]
CNA, via Taiwan Headlines http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=148980&CtNode=11
I think Taoyuan airport is fine, especially so since I know any improvements would simply involve more aluminum and glass and a lot more shopping. At Taoyuan airport I am in and out with a minimum of fuss. Thatās all that is important to me.
Unfortunately once you have made it outside everything degrades considerably.
[quote]Taipei Songshan Airport, which now mainly host domestic and cross-Taiwan Strait flights, may begin hosting Japan-bound flights from next year, civil aviation officials said Saturday.
According to the officials, opening flight services between Songshan Airport in downtown Taipei and Haneda Airport in downtown Tokyo will be high on the agenda of a new round of Taiwan-Japan consultations on amending their bilateral aviation agreement that are set to take place in Tokyo next week.
Although the two sides have tentatively agreed to the opening of Songshan-Haneda flight services, the officials said the actual launch of such services will not begin until next year when a new runway construction project at Haneda Airport is completed.
[color=#FF0000]In consideration of the two airportsā limited capacity, the officials said each airline from both sides will be allowed to operate only one round-trip flight per day[/color].
[/quote]
CNA, via Taiwan Headlines http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=148980&CtNode=11
:fatchance:[/quote]
The article says may. In any case, once the MRT line goes out to Taoyuan it will be a different story. Donāt expect Songshan to close down for a decade.
[quote=ākelakeā]I think Taoyuan airport is fine, especially so since I know any improvements would simply involve more aluminum and glass and a lot more shopping. At Taoyuan airport I am in and out with a minimum of fuss. Thatās all that is important to me.
Unfortunately once you have made it outside everything degrades considerably.[/quote]
Once upon a time I went to pick up a fellow country girl fresh off the boat. As the bus went by Taoyuan, she asked why so many favelas in Taiwanā¦ (actually, the factories and car parking lots).
I had the same reaction first time I came to Taiwan over 8 years ago, in fact I was going to Taoyuan, that was a shocker with the barred up grey concrete houses lining the road from the airport to Taoyuan city. Getting the subway line running to the airport sooner than later would be a good idea . Countries airports are important for image, itās the first thing you see when you enter a country. If your countryās airport resembles a provincial one, thatās what people will take in as their first impression. Having recently come back from a trip to southern europe, our client informed us that most of the locals thought Taiwan and China was the same thing and that was not a positive impression for our products which are soley Made in Taiwan. This is bad as our products are far superior to anything sourced from the mainland and actually equal or better to European sourced products, it affects the pricing we can give to customer. Another client in the same country thought Acer was an Italian brand, Taiwanese need to do a better job getting an idea of Taiwan out there, like Korea and Japan have.
yes , Taiwan needs to show a much better face to arriving passengers who are here for the first time.
I dont think SungShan will close anytime soon though.
The idea to develop it into a Central park kind of thing is really good. And the entire several square miles around the airport would be in for an entire make-over. A new area to rival the current king of new , the hsin yi district. Of course the politicians are busy buying up property all around SongShan so that when it does get rezoned. 3000 pct mark up in land prices anyone?
But as iv said before , cities and countries are loath to give up an airport. Although with the MRT going to Taoyuan, it will make less and less sense to have SongShan.
Yes Tommy, I agree, there will be many speculators in alliance with politicians agitating to make Songshan a park as then they can release the height restrictions on building in the area. It would be nice to have a park there and see the area redeveloped for urban living, although Taipei County really needs work more than Taipei City.
[/quote]
:fatchance:
. Countries airports are important for image, itās the first thing you see when you enter a country. If your countryās airport resembles a provincial one, thatās what people will take in as their first impression. Having recently come back from a trip to southern europe, our client informed us that most of the locals thought Taiwan and China was the same thing and that was not a positive impression for our products which are soley Made in Taiwan. This is bad as our products are far superior to anything sourced from the mainland and actually equal or better to European sourced products, it affects the pricing we can give to customer. Another client in the same country thought Acer was an Italian brand, Taiwanese need to do a better job getting an idea of Taiwan out there, like Korea and Japan have.