Hong Kong's streets will soon be less colourful, but likely safer following the government's decision to remove all public notice banners from the middle of the city's roads.
The decision received mixed reaction from people, with some saying it hampered freedom of speech, while others applauded the attempt to allow drivers to see more around them and so hopefully reduce the number of accidents on the roads.
'Road safety is a life and death issue. There should be no concessions to that,' said Dr Hung Wing-tat, a member of the Road Safety Council's research committee.
'At road intersections, these signs can block the view of drivers about to make turns, while in other places accidents can happen if loose banners are pulled down by vehicles.'
Ching Kam-cheong, deputy head of the Transport Department, said 3,077 accidents occurred last year because drivers' attention was diverted, claiming 37 lives and causing 393 people to be seriously injured. However, he could not provide statistics on how many of these accidents were related to banners.
The city has 2,816 banners on central road railings hung by political parties, legislators, district councillors, government departments and non-profit organisations. All the signs will be pulled down by the middle of next month under a plan laid out by the Development Bureau, which followed findings from a 2008 Ombudsman's report warning of the dangers posed by loose banners.