Police summons a pedestrian in Causeway Bay: community groups proposed improvements to the crossings at Percival Street in 2019 and 2020 but campaigns were dropped after the mass arrests of politicians and councillors in January 2021.

Police across the territory have stepped up operations to “combat pedestrian traffic violations” and targeting “bicycle-related activities”, with two major operations on Hong Kong Island netting 150 pedestrians summonses, an operation in Yuen Long catching 54 people on bicycles and a joint Kowloon City/West Kowloon operation prosecuting 30 pedestrians and bicycle riders.

On Hong Kong Island, officers said they targeted “pedestrians crossing the road indiscriminately” on 23 August and 7 September, with the pedestrian crossing at Percival Street coming under the crosshairs in both campaigns.

“The Police hereby remind all members of the public, especially the elderly, not to cross the road indiscriminately, to use legal crossing facilities to cross the road, to obey the pedestrian crossing lights at all times, and to pay close attention to the road conditions,” said a police statement.

The crossing targeted is often crowded with pedestrians waiting to cross either end of Percival Street, being the only legal crossing for that block. Community proposals for an additional crossing, put forward in mid-2019 and 2020, have stalled as groups such as Kickstart Wan Chai disbanded following the mass arrest of politicians and district councillors across the city in early 2021.

Meanwhile in Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Pat Heung, 54 summonses and 250 leaflets were distributed to people on bicycles for, police say, “serious offences” such as failure to comply with traffic lights, riding on the pavement and reckless cycling.

Police footage from the Yuen Long campaign showed traffic wardens dishing out tickets with illegally parked vehicles clearly visible on the footpath behind them.

Police did not comment on the disparity of enforcement and did not respond to questions on the dangers of parking on the pavement.

In the Kowloon City/West Kowloon campaign on 7 September, illegal parking was the main target – police dished out 1,973 parking tickets over the operation – but cops still found time to summons 30 pedestrians and people on bicycles to court.