Pedestrian zones will be set up in Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom where traffic restrictions will be in force.

Stricter measures have been in force during the Christmas holiday period since New Year's Day in 1993, when celebrations by 20,000 late night revelers in the narrow alleys of Lan Kwai Fong in Central turned into a stampede, crushing 21 people to death and injuring more than 100.

An inquiry found narrow streets, steep slopes, bad weather and poor planning by police had contributed to the tragedy.

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This year Lan Kwai Fong will be cordoned off from 7pm to 4am on the evening of December 23, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and from 5pm to 6am on Christmas Eve.

Those who wish to enter the popular haunt will have to queue , and those with restaurant bookings are advised to arrive early.

When D'Aguilar Street in Central begins to fill, crowds will be directed to queue along Wellington, Pottinger and Stanley streets to Queen's Road Central.

Wyndham Street in Central may also be closed on Christmas Eve to facilitate the dispersal of crowds.

Pedestrian zones will be set up during the festive period along Chater Road and around Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island, and around Times Square for the New Year's Eve countdown.

To facilitate the viewing of Christmas lights along Park Lane, Canton Road, Centenary Garden and the Kowloon Star Ferry terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, the surrounding roads including the Hung Hom Bypass will be closed to traffic on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

Deputy district commander So Kam-sing urged the public to follow police instructions when they are in crowded areas.

"The public are advised not to carry metallic balloons [which are hazardous around electrical equipment] in MTR stations or use the stations as meeting places so that smooth passenger flow will not be disrupted," he said.

Officers assigned at border control points will have less to celebrate this year after the Immigration Department suspended leave applications to cope with an expected surge of 7.67 million commuters in and out of Hong Kong during the holiday period. Among them, 5.64 million are expected to travel by land.

Traffic is expected to peak between December 22 and January 2, with an estimated 3.49 million passing through Lo Wu control point, an average of 291,000 passengers per day.

Lok Ma Chau is forecast to receive 1.81 million passengers, an average of 102,000 a day.

The department suggests passengers go through Lo Wu in view of the limited capacity at Lok Ma Chau.

An additional 120 officers will be deployed at airport, sea and land boundary checkpoints during the holiday period.

More security guards will also provide crowd management support at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau.

A joint command center will be set up at Lo Wu, comprising police, immigration, customs and transport officers, as well as officials from the Kowloon- Canton Railway Corp and Shenzhen.

Passengers hoping to pass through e-channels are advised to keep their fingers from being too dry, wet or unclean to facilitate fingerprint verification.

"To avoid delay, they should moisten, wipe or clean their fingers before entering the e-channels," So said.