Centre Street (Hong Kong)

Centre Street (Chinese: 正街; pinyin: Zhèng Jiē; Cantonese Yale: jing3 gaai1) is a street in the Sai Ying Pun area of Hong Kong. Centre Street is the central point of the most active traditional market in Western District of Hong Kong Island. The street is part of planned streets in the early development of the area.

This article is about the street. For the constituency, see Centre Street (constituency).

Centre Street, in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong, at its intersection with Queen's Road West.

View of Centre Street at its intersection with First Street, looking north, with Sai Ying Pun Market (left) and Centre Street Market (right).

Section of Centre Street Escalator Link, between Third Street and High Street, under construction in March 2013.

Centre Street Escalator Link, in the upper section of Centre Street, between High Street and Bonham Road, in May 2013.

Map of the area.

Location

Centre Street runs north to south from Connaught Road, crossing Des Voeux Road West and Queen's Road West then climbing steeply up the hill crossing First Street, Second Street, Third Street, High Street then via a long escalator to Bonham Road. Western Street and Eastern Street run parallel north to south steeply. The top part of the street has a slope of 1:4. It is used by approximately 10,000 pedestrians per day.[1]

Facilities

From north to south:

• Centre Street Market, between First Street and Second Street
• Sai Ying Pun Market, between Second Street and Third Street
• A small park with seats is located between Second Street and Third Street
• Centre Street Escalator Link, between Third Street and Bonham Road

Side lanes

Lanes off Centre Street include Ying Wah Terrace, Cheung On Lane, Yu Lok Lane, and David Lane (containing the Yu Kwan Yick chili sauce factory). These lanes are only accessible to pedestrians, and contain stairs.

Transport

Traffic conditions vary with the area between High Street and Second Street blocked to vehicles. The uppermost part is two-way traffic to the stairs, and the lowermost part is one-way to Connaught Road West where vehicles can turn left or right.

Green Mini Bus 12 has a terminus on the lower part of the street, and bus route 5S has a morning run starting from the lower part.

A series of escalators run uphill in the Centre Street Market and the Sai Ying Pun Market buildings, taking pedestrians from First to Third Street. The Centre Street Escalator Link then takes pedestrians all the way to the top of the street to Bonham Road.[2] Construction of the escalator cost $60,000,000 HKD.[3]

Sai Ying Pun Station opened in March 2015, with a station entrance just behind the Centre Street Market.

Constituency

An electoral constituency in the Central and Western District Council is named after Centre Street, Centre Street Constituency. The boundaries of this electorate follow Eastern Street, Queens Road West, Eastern Street, High Street, and Bonham Road. The polling station was located in the Kau Yan Church and school in High Street. On 11 June 2006 a by election elected Lee Chi Hang (李志恆), Sidney. The boundaries for the 2007 election will be extended to add on a block bounded by Des Voeux Road west, Centre Street, and Eastern Street. In 2006 the constituency had 6168 registered voters.[4]

See also

• Central–Mid-Levels escalators
• List of streets and roads in Hong Kong

References

1. Fung, Fanny W, Y. (13 August 2012). "Escalator plan in Western under attack". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
2. So, Peter (14 August 2012). "Consultation on Western escalator begins". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
3. Chiu, Joanna (15 August 2002). "Rising passions over escalator project". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
4. Electoral Affairs Commission (3 October 2008). "2006 Central and Western District Council Centre Street By-election". Retrieved 30 April 2013.

• Hong Kong City Guide 2003, ISBN 962-14-2537-9

External links

• Media related to Centre Street, Hong Kong at Wikimedia Commons