Shen Boyang promotes 3 strategies for urban stitching to light up the citizens' avenues

"Open, span, transform" to return the space under the viaduct to the citizens

The Democratic Progressive Party's Taipei mayoral candidate Shen Boyang yesterday announced the policy of "City Stitching-Lighting Up Citizens' Avenues". In view of the blind spots under the Citizen Avenue viaduct that have been "overweighting vehicles but neglecting people, and alienating the north-south neighborhoods" for many years, and drawing on cases under international viaducts such as Toronto and Tokyo, three major spatial strategies of opening, crossing and transforming were proposed. Three simulation bases in Huashan, Citizen Bade, and Citizen Dunhua were selected to propose improvement directions. They respectively created sports and parent-child uses, art, pedestrian and night corridors, making Citizen Avenue an urban space where citizens are willing to stay, and "returning Citizen Avenue to citizens."

Create three simulation bases in Huashan, Bade and Dunhua

Shen Boyang pointed out that in the past 30 years, under the citizens' viaduct, there has been darkness, noise and broken sidewalks. The viaduct is six meters long. Of the four kilometers, only about 1% of the space is used for citizen activities, and the rest are mostly parking lots, gas stations and vehicle-related facilities.

Shen Boyang advocated that on the premise of retaining the existing lanes, they should be combined and used according to the conditions of each site. First, they should "open", remove the closed hedges and fences, and introduce skylight, so that there is no longer a dividing line between light and dark under the bridge; then "cross", plan to install a north-south platform or pedestrian overland bridge, rebuild the crossing line, and sew the blocks on both sides of the north and south; and finally "transform", transform the protruding existing facilities into spaces for staying. With Huashan, Min Bade, and Min Dunhua as simulation bases, it is hoped that the seven surrounding MRT stations will jointly form a pedestrian urban space about one kilometer wide from north to south.

Shen Boyang explained that the Huashan Simulation Base is mainly used for sports and parent-child use. The second section of Citizen Avenue is the section with the most green space along the route. It is surrounded by Huashan Park, Central Arts Park and Huashan Cultural and Creative Park. The green spaces on both sides and the space under the bridge will be integrated, and sports stations, children's playgrounds, green spaces and pet-friendly spaces and animation IP bases will be set up. A pedestrian land bridge will connect the north and south sides.

Citizen Bade Simulation Base will connect Zhongtai Art Museum and Jianguo Brewery to create an art and cultural corridor. The intersection of Jianguo Elevated Highway and Citizen Avenue will be opened up as an open space following the renovation of Jianbei and the relocation of Bade Market and surrounding land, and will be placed into a holiday public cultural and creative market and exhibition space.

The Citizen Dunhua Simulation Base forms a pedestrian and nighttime corridor that connects the north and south business districts. The fourth section of Citizen Avenue, about one kilometer from Fuxing South Road to Yanji Street, is surrounded by commercial belts such as izakayas. It will connect the Zhongxiao Fuxing and Dunhua business districts with public and retractable night markets, small exhibition spaces and music plazas.

The overall renovation is estimated to be completed in one and a half years, with a budget of approximately RMB 500 million.

Shen Boyang emphasized that stitching together the Citizen Avenue is to return urban space to a people-centered approach. The stitching is not limited to under the bridge. In the future, urban renewal and design guidelines will be used to guide the buildings and commercial activities on both sides to face the citizen avenue, and a cross-bureau platform will be established to coordinate the space under the bridge. The three reconstruction bases are just the starting point. The east-west urban axis from Taipei Main Station to Songshan Cultural and Creative Park will be connected in the same mode to complete the underground railway "sew the city". The overall renovation is expected to be completed in one to one and a half years, with a budget of about 400 to 500 million yuan. The most expensive part is the three to four sky corridors.