Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Wen-yi (黃文益) says the district’s street character makes it suitable for outdoor seating and night-time activity. He suggested allowing shops to place tables and chairs on sidewalks, provided pedestrian access and public safety are not affected.

The planned extension would run 26.2 kilometers south from Zuoying Station through Kaohsiung and into Liukuaicuo (六塊厝) in Pingtung. Most of the route would be built using shield tunneling, with other sections using cut-and-cover tunnels and elevated structures.

Activists said the Kaohsiung Science Park could consume about 11.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. They said that would be roughly equal to the amount of electricity used by Kaohsiung’s homes and businesses in 2025.

Aubs Takisvilainan (阿布斯), head of Kaohsiung’s Indigenous Affairs Commission, said many residents farm on the mountainside across from the bridge, growing green plums, red-fleshed plums, and high-mountain vegetables. He said the wider bridge will make it safer and easier for trucks and transport vehicles to move in and out, increasing shipping capacity and helping local industries.

At the center of the relocation ideas is a broader planning question: Should Kaohsiung continue operating under its current dual-administrative-center structure following the 2010 county-city merger, or use future infrastructure projects to create a more unified administrative hub?

The government aims to finalize all environmental and urban planning reviews by the end of 2026, with the goal of starting physical relocation in 2027.

If successful, the pilot could offer a relatively simple way to improve walking conditions at some of the city’s most exposed transfer points. But the broader debate is likely to center on whether Kaohsiung is prepared to treat shade as essential public infrastructure rather than a seasonal afterthought.

In addition to standard indoor fitness and recreation facilities, the project has drawn attention for including what officials say will be the city’s only rooftop croquet court.

The proposed “Kaohsiung Solution” (高雄方案) for the High-Speed Rail (HSR) southward extension will generate an average of 160 gravel truck trips per day through Sanmin District (三民區). While the exact duration of the project remains undetermined pending a second-stage environmental impact assessment, Kaohsiung City Councilor Cheng Meng-ju (鄭孟洳) warned Tuesday that the scale of excavation will create a multi-year logistical burden for the city.

Full completion is currently projected for 2034, meaning that many people excitedly sharing route maps online may still be waiting close to a decade before the full vision becomes a reality — if it stays on schedule. Some sections could open earlier, but for now, Kaohsiung’s future looks set to be years of traffic headaches.