Why Yeongdeungpo-gu Became the First in Seoul to Install Sliding Fences to Secure School Route Safety?

Installation of Sliding Safety Fences on Yeongjung Elementary to Wholesale Market School Route... First Introduction in Seoul... Location and Fence Type Decided Through Communication and Consultation with Market Merchants... Total 146m, 1m High Sliding Fence... Three Additional Mid-Fence Gates Installed... Nearby Merchants Manage Gate Opening and Closing According to Schedule

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Chae Hyun-il) has installed Seoul's first sliding fence on the sidewalk section from Yeongsin-ro 166, where Yeongjung Elementary School and the wholesale market in Yeongdeungpo-dong meet, to Yeongjung-ro 71.

The wholesale market area in front of Yeongjung Elementary School is designated as a children's protection zone, but due to various interests and conditions, it was a difficult place to install fences.

Accordingly, since the revision of the so-called 'Min-sik Act' in March last year, which strengthened penalties for traffic accidents in children's protection zones, the district has been continuously communicating and negotiating with representatives of merchants from April, holding a total of 10 meetings and discussions to gain consent for the installation of safety fences.

After the agreement was completed, the district conducted an on-site inspection and began the fence installation work. The installation section is a total of 146 meters, and the safety fence was installed as a 1-meter-high fence-type barrier.

In addition, to consider the minimum operational parking space for merchants, three sliding doors were additionally installed within the safety fence. Merchants near the doors are responsible for opening and closing the doors according to specific times, such as after 5 p.m. on weekdays and after 3 p.m. on weekends when business closes.

A district official explained that all detailed matters regarding the installation of the safety fence, including the location of the fence and the designation and management of door opening and closing responsibilities, were made through dialogue and agreement between the district office and the merchants.

Furthermore, the official added that the fence installed this time is Seoul's first sliding-type fence, and it has great significance in that it found a solution through continuous dialogue and consultation with market merchants, going beyond a simple safety improvement project for children's commuting routes.

Yeongdeungpo-gu has been one of the local governments with a high number of traffic accident fatalities nationwide over the past few years, but as a result of diligent and systematic improvement projects across the entire traffic administration field, the number of fatalities significantly decreased from 22 in 2018, 11 in 2019, to 8 in 2020.

This is the first time since Yeongdeungpo was designated as an administrative district that the fatality statistics have reached a single-digit number.

To achieve these results, the district expanded the traffic safety project budget from only 290 million won in 2018 to 830 million won in 2019, 2.13 billion won in 2020, and secured 2.91 billion won in 2021 to actively invest in various traffic safety improvement projects.

Chae Hyun-il, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, "The installation of the sliding safety fence at Yeongjung Elementary School is a valuable case achieved through continuous consultation and compromise not only with the district, school, and parents but also with local merchants," adding, "We will continue to focus on safety measures for school routes and pedestrian environment improvements to create a safe and pleasant traffic safety city, Yeongdeungpo."