‘Queen’s Road Central is a failed street’

Campaigners will take to the streets on Thursday afternoon to promote their idea to pedestrianise Queen’s Road Central, saying it will help businesses and lower carbon emissions.

James Ockenden, the editor of Transit Jam and producer of RTHK’s Wham Bam Tram! show, says the government put forward the idea 20 years ago but gave up pursuing it. He said the idea would help revive the area.

“Queen’s Road Central is a failed street,” Ockenden said in a statement.

“Police run sporadic enforcement campaigns but a design change could deliver a much better, healthier use of space than idling Alphards and illegally parked luxury cars.”

He said objections, such as claims that it would cause a traffic build-up around the zone, aren’t valid because the experience of European cities showed that overall traffic was reduced because people stopped making non-essential journeys.

The government has promised to study the plan as long as businesses in the area support it, and Ockenden said the European experience showed that people spent more money when there was greater pedestrian traffic.

The proposal, taken to the Transport Department a year ago, involves closing the road to motor vehicles from Theatre Lane to Queen Victoria Street, and creating Green Loading Zones to encourage non-motorised vehicles, such as cargo bikes and trolleys, to replace vans and small trucks.

“Many cities around the world are replacing smaller vans and trucks with cargo bikes, and if Hong Kong wants to achieve Carrie Lam’s ambitious carbon targets we will need to do the same. Green Loading Zones would enable more space for pedestrians and bikes while keeping the Queen’s Road Central lifeblood flowing, it’s a win, win, win for people, business and the environment,” Ockenden said.

The Transport Department has passed the idea to Home Affairs Department, and says local businesses have to get involved for the idea to proceed.

The group will visit Theatre Lane to share the idea, and talk with stakeholders. Apart from Ockenden, the group includes Paul Zimmerman, district councillor, vice-chair of the Southern District Council and long-time walkability campaigner; Martin Turner, chairman of the Hong Kong Cycling Alliance; and Wong Ho Fai, an adventurer who ran over 3,250 kilometres across Japan with a stroller.

Wong Ho Fai will lead pedestrians in a fun “Red Man Yoga”, while campaigners will collect signatures for a mailing list to build support for the idea.