崇明推进绿色交通建设 打造世界级生态岛 - 2017年02月24日

CHONGMING District will step up developing green transportation and improving its traffic as part of its plan to create a “world-class ecological island,” authorities said yesterday.

All buses on the island will be new-energy vehicles by 2020 and 80 percent of travel will be public transport, under a blueprint for the island’s development.

A Metro line to connect Chongming with the city proper has been approved by the city government and has been submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission for approval, Tang Hailong, governor of Chongming said yesterday. The line will connect east Chongming to Pudong New Area.

Preparation for the line is already underway.

“Chongming is getting increasingly crowded, particularly during holidays, thus developing green transportation and improving traffic is a priority,” said Tang.

“We hope to make people reach Chongming quickly and enjoy their time on the island slowly.”

A multiple transportation network is being created for the island.

The district is expanding ferry services, including building two small-capacity ferries which will shorten the time between Nanmen Port in Chongming and Shidongkou Port in Baoshan District to 40 minutes from 90, Tang said.

Eventually, it may be possible to take an overnight ferry to Chongming from the Huangpu River or even travel by cruise ship. Bus Rapid Transit routes are also planned.

The district will be developed into a “flower island on the sea” with forest coverage of 30 percent by 2020. The target is that the air quality on 78 percent of days of a year will be rated excellent or good — with an air quality index no higher than 100, by 2020, the blueprint says.

Chongming’s forest coverage of 24 percent is the best among all districts in Shanghai, but the plants are not colorful, said Gu Xiaojun, deputy director of the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

He said plans for the flower island include the expansion of Dongping Forest Park, an increase of flower species in the Mingzhu Lake Park and Beihu Lake area, and a wetland garden featuring reed catkins in Chongming’s east.

The island has set up Shanghai’s first district-level wildlife protection law enforcement team involving police, market supervision and forestry authorities, which has significantly curbed bird hunting, Tang said.

About 1 million migratory birds visit every year.