Businesses back plan to make one-kilometre stretch of Hong Kong's Des Voeux Road Central vehicle free
Proposal by green groups would see cars cleared out while trams and clean buses stay
Businesses and commuters in Central have backed a proposal by green groups to make a section of a major thoroughfare in the district off-limits for vehicular passage, claiming the move could help boost pedestrian activity and thus drive business.
Under the proposal, the lanes adjoining either side of the tram tracks along a one-kilometre stretch of Des Voeux Road Central - from Pedder Street to Morrison Street - would be set aside for pedestrian use only.
But the centre strip of the road would still be open for trams and environmentally-friendly buses.
"Under our proposal there would no longer be traffic jams in Central," said Kwong Sum-yin, chief executive of Clean Air Network. "During lunchtime, office workers can come down here and have lunch with their friends. With less traffic, the air will also be fresher."
Kwong's group, together with Friends of the Earth, the Conservancy Association, and Designing Hong Kong, submitted their proposal to the Town Planning Board last week.
