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Olga Wong

Five streets in Mong Kok will be beautified to improve tourism, under a HK$100 million project that may see some thoroughfares turned into  pedestrian precincts. 
The project involves sections  of Tung Choi, Sai Yee, Fa Yuen and Nelson streets and Flower Market Road,   which are known for selling goldfish, flowers, sneakers and electrical appliances. 
The project, announced yesterday by the Urban Renewal Authority, will include a planning study and 12-month public consultation.  
Authority chairman Barry Cheung Chun-yuen said a traffic impact assessment would be conducted and the district council consulted on the feasibility of turning some of the streets into a  traffic-free zone. 
The lack of room on the narrow streets has long frustrated many shoppers and tourists drawn to the colourful and vibrant areas. 
Cheung said the project would also strengthen the links between these streets and the authority's renewal and conservation projects in Langham Place, Macpherson Indoor Stadium  and the renovated tenement buildings in Shanghai Street and Prince Edward Road West. 
For example, 'goldfish street' in Tung Choi Street will be widened and decorated with a blue footpath  and fish sculptures. More trees will be planted, and lighting poles in the floral market will be decorated with flowers.  
Before work starts in 2011, the authority will consult the public and the district council on the details and impacts of the project. A consultant will also be hired to draft plans. 
The beautification project falls under the Development Bureau's initiative announced this year to create jobs. Cheung said  the authority would announce the number of job opportunities after details of the project's implementation had been finalised.
Chung Kong-mo, chairman of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, welcomed the project, saying the council's annual fund of about HK$10 million could not finance such a large-scale initiative. But he feared  that a  traffic-free zone, if poorly managed, would encourage  many outdoor promotion stands  and unlicensed hawkers to set up in these areas.



Plan to make Mong Kok streets more tourist-friendly