Mong Kok’s pedestrian area to close on weekdays

(Credits: HKET)

Mong Kok’s bustling pedestrian area is now reopened to traffic on weekday nights after councilors voted by a large majority to restrict the road closures to weekends and public holidays. Previously, Sai Yeung Choi Street South was closed to traffic from 4pm to 10pm from Mondays to Saturdays and from noon to 10pm on Sundays and public holidays.

The former pedestrian area was popular with salespeople, political campaigners, street performers and even photography booths, all attempting to attract the attention of shoppers in a massive display of cultural vibrancy. On the night before the new arrangement, bands held farewell parties, attracting over a hundred pedestrians. Musician Chan Kim-hung, a regular performer in the precinct, said the decision was "completely wrong". If the restrictions were to be introduced, all of the street performers would rush there at once. "It will only get more crowded," he said. Another musician said that he originally intended to move to the pedestrian area in Causeway Bay to perform but was not welcomed by existing performers there, so he now planned to perform on the pedestrian bridges despite not knowing whether they were allowed there. Other performers complained that the District Council should not have closed the pedestrian area without first attempting to implement control measures such as limiting the volume of performers’ music.

However, the decision has been welcomed by people living and running businesses nearby, who say the crowds can be a nuisance due to noise pollution and may even be a danger. "An elderly woman told me that she couldn't get medical help, as the ambulance couldn't get through the jammed street," committee member Wong Shu-ming said. The Home Affairs Department had previously carried out a consultation with 750 residents and shop owners, of whom 80% wanted to see pedestrianisation hours limited to just weekends and public holidays. The survey, conducted by students from Shue Yan University, also questioned 600 people on the street, of whom 60% wanted to keep the status quo. In the past, the hours the pedestrian zone operated had already been reduced twice, but continuing complaints led to the current decision.

Some 13,500 pedestrians use the street each hour on weekdays, but the number surges to 20,000 during weekends and Sundays, according to figures from the department. The Transport Department said it would take three to four months to put the new arrangement in place and inform the public.