Privilege of pedestrians in Sham Shui Po assured

Pedestrians will freely enjoy striding around vehicle-free streets when a part-time pedestrian street trial scheme takes effect in Sham Shui Po from tomorrow (October 4).

As planned, the sections of Fuk Wa Street, Apliu Street and Pei Ho Street in Sham Shui Po will be pedestrianised to facilitate pedestrians from 12 noon to 9 pm daily during which all vehicles will be banned from entering the streets.

The streets involved include:

	The section of Fuk Wa Street between Kweilin Street and Nam Cheong Street;
	The section of Apliu Street between Kweilin Street and Nam Cheong Street:
	The section of Pei Ho Street between Fuk Wa Street and Fuk Wing Street; and
	The section of Pei Ho Street between Apliu Street and Yu Chau Street.

A spokesman for the Transport Department said nowadays people from all walks of life were getting more and more aware of the importance of pedestrian environment.

He said: "To achieve this, we have started an ambitious programme, the pedestrian scheme, to improve streets in many crowded areas of Hong Kong with the aim of providing an enjoyable, pleasant environment to pedestrians.

"As pedestrians, we all know that it is pleasant to go shopping in a safe and comfortable street where no vehicles are allowed to enter during the pedestrianisation period."

About the pedestrian scheme in Sham Shui Po, the spokesman said there were substantial commercial, retail, leisure and other economic activities in Sham Shui Po areas.

In view of significant transport needs, permanent closure of many of the streets to vehicular traffic is not a viable option. Instead, the general concept is to reduce overall vehicular traffic and to divert traffic from the core areas and to establish pedestrian activity areas where pedestrian volume is high.

The spokesman revealed that the pedestrian flow of Apliu Street had recorded an average of 5,500 per hour during the peak hour, Fuk Wa Street 3,000 per hour, Pei Ho Street (section between Fuk Wing Street and Fuk Wa Street) 3,000 per hour and Pei Ho Street (section between Apliu Street and Yu Chau Street) 5,000 per hour.

With the support of the Sham Shui Po District Council and local organisations, the above streets will be designated as part-time pedestrian streets from October 4 onwards to relieve the crowded conditions there.

Following the successful implementation of the trial, the scheme will become permanent and the streets will be beautified with landscaping works.

The spokesman said: "The pedestrian scheme is the first of its kind implemented in Sham Shui Po district."

As part of its commitment to providing an improved level of service for pedestrians, Transport Department will pursue more pedestrian schemes in other crowded areas so as to provide a better environment and enhance safety measure road safety for pedestrians, he said.

End/Wednesday, October 3, 2001