Opinions split over Mong Kok pedestrian zone hours
Polls show people who live and work in Sai Yeung Choi Street South at odds with its other users over altering the precinct's opening hours
Mong Kok district councillors are facing a difficult decision as public opinion is split over changing the opening hours of the pedestrian precinct in the area's most jammed street.
Sai Yeung Choi Street South is currently closed to traffic from 4pm to 10pm from Mondays to Saturdays and from noon to 10pm on Sundays and public holidays.
But complaints about a proliferation of street performers have prompted the Yau Tsim Mong District Council to ask the Home Affairs Department to launch a consultation on reducing the days on which the street is closed to traffic.
In a poll conducted by Shue Yan University students, more than 60 per cent of 600 street users indicated that they wanted to keep the status quo.
But the same poll conducted by the Home Affairs Department on 750 residents and shop owners showed that 80 per cent wanted to see the popular pedestrian precinct's opening hours limited to just weekends and public holidays.
The respondents complained of the frequent disruption and nuisance the street activities in the area had caused to their lives and businesses.
The results of both polls will contribute to today's discussion in a meeting with the Traffic and Transport Committee, which will decide whether to cut down on the pedestrian precinct's opening hours.
