Found in Mong Kok: a 'shared space' for people and cars

Several months ago, I predicted that the curtailment of the Mong Kok pedestrian zone's hours would result in a traffic-choked, overcrowded nightmare. I was wrong.

It turns out that because the street is divided into three segments, each with one-way traffic going in the opposite direction to the neighbouring segment, it is unusable to through traffic. As a result, traffic volume is very low.

This has allowed the street to settle into a calmer and less congested rhythm. It has become a sort of social experiment, one which may have a groundbreaking impact on the way pedestrians and traffic are managed in Hong Kong.

On a recent weeknight visit to Sai Yeung Choi Street, the first thing I noticed was that people completely ignore the fact it is no longer a pedestrian-only street. They continue to use the full width of the street, strolling down the middle of the road in groups of five or six, and only moving aside when a car comes along.

While most of the stalls and street performers are gone (to the relief of nearby residents), a few sketch artists and fortune tellers, and a greater number of broadband and cable TV salesmen, can still be found lined up along the pavement or, in some cases, occupying parking spaces.

One local business continues to employ a man to wave an advertisement in the middle of the street, although he moves off to the side for cars.

The street has become a de facto "shared space" in which pedestrians and vehicles mix.