Central and Western district councillors will decide tomorrow whether to press ahead with plans for handrails on a popular Hong Kong Island trail despite a petition signed by nearly 550 walkers.
Supporters of the proposal to erect the safety barriers along Hatton Road in Lung Fu Shan Country Park would submit a funding application to the council's facilities management committee, council vice-chairman Stephen Chan Chit-kwai said.
'The railings are needed. We put forward the proposal because a number of elderly people told us the walking trail is dangerous,' Chan said.
But walker-turned-activist Vivian Leung Tai Yuet-kam is unconvinced.
'This incident shows the arrogance of our district councillors,' the chairwoman of the Lung Fu Shan Concern Group said. 'Public opposition is very clear. But they insist on installing railings. If they are not here to represent us, why did they want to be politicians in the first place?'
The Department of Justice declined to give legal advice on whether the councillors could legally be held liable for any accidents without the railings, saying it did not advise non-governmental bodies.