Creating a '15-Minute Living Zone City' Where People Want to Walk and Live
Innovating Safe Tourism in the COVID Era with 'Travel Bubble'
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] “Making it a ‘bucket list’ for world travelers!” Galmaetgil, the core infrastructure of the 700-ri walking tour in Busan, is preparing for Season 2.
The goal is to complete 1,000 ri by newly connecting 300 ri of the downtown area to the existing Galmaetgil.
Providing quarantine exemption travel zones called ‘travel bubbles’ in the COVID-19 era is the key innovation in this second phase of Galmaetgil development.
Busan City (Mayor Park Hyung-jun) announced on the 19th that it will promote ‘Galmaetgil Season 2’ as an innovative project to accelerate the creation of a ‘15-minute living zone city,’ a core pledge of the 9th local government.
Galmaetgil Season 2 will focus on four major strategies and eight tasks.
▲ Creating innovative Galmaetgil infrastructure (Cheolli Galmaetgil, Galmaetgil Information Center) ▲ Developing Galmaetgil as a tourism resource (safe tourism commercialization, promotional campaigns) ▲ Expanding citizen participation in walking culture (walking campaigns and event operations, organizing and operating Galmaetgil supporters) ▲ Strategic promotion (media promotion of Galmaetgil and walking culture, operation of YouTube, SNS, etc.) to develop Galmaetgil into a global tourist attraction.
Busan City plans to upgrade the existing 700-ri Galmaetgil to a global standard and newly create a 300-ri route in the downtown area where people can walk comfortably, generating synergy effects.
The goal is to complete 15 routes totaling 300 ri of storytelling downtown Galmaetgil, which contains Busan’s history and culture, by 2026.
By connecting the existing 700-ri Galmaetgil located on the outskirts of the city such as coastal areas with the downtown area, visitors will be able to conveniently tour various attractions in Busan within 15 minutes.
The plan is to build infrastructure that absorbs the trend of preference for outdoor tourist spots and walking trips in the COVID-19 era.
Busan City believes that once herd immunity against COVID-19 is achieved, the demand for safe spaces for domestic and international activities will increase, leading to a surge in walking travelers.
Accordingly, it intends to create proactive and innovative Galmaetgil infrastructure to make Busan a leading city for ‘travel bubbles’ guaranteeing safe tourism in the COVID-19 era.
Busan City also emphasizes turning Galmaetgil into a tourism resource beyond just a good walking path.
To this end, it will pilot safe tourism commercialization based on travel bubble Galmaetgil courses and content in connection with the 2021 safe tourism site discovery project led by Busan Tourism Organization, and promote strategic publicity through cooperation and operation of related tourism industry organizations.
The city plans to introduce joint promotions for Galmaetgil tourist trains with Korail and nationwide promotion of Galmaetgil using the railway network, as well as safe tourism commercialization promotions.
Ongoing projects such as pedestrian environment improvement zones and pedestrian priority road projects will also be solidified in line with the city administration’s direction to create a ‘15-minute living zone city.’
The ‘15-minute living zone city’ prioritizes not only convenience but also safety, designating areas with high pedestrian traffic accident risks as ‘pedestrian environment improvement zones’ where vehicle speed reduction facilities, one-way traffic designations, and new sidewalks will be implemented.
This year, improvements will be made around Haeundae Oncheon-gil, Motgol Market area, and Deokcheon Market surroundings.
Considering Busan’s geographical characteristics with many highlands and that most residents are walking-vulnerable, the city will also carry out highland mobility convenience improvement projects (two vertical and inclined EVs) to enhance public transportation accessibility.
As a new pilot project this year, a full survey will be conducted in the first half, and two sites will be selected and promoted in the second half.
The walking environment for vulnerable pedestrians such as children and the disabled will also be improved. Unmanned enforcement cameras (426 locations) and signal devices (276 locations) will be installed step-by-step in all child protection zones by 2022, and mobility rights projects such as lowering curbs and maintaining braille blocks will be promoted for vulnerable pedestrians.
Various events such as the monthly Walking Day on the 11th, which has become a representative citizen participation walking campaign in Busan, Galmaetgil untact walking challenges, and walking certification events will also be held.
Busan City plans to make the landmark pedestrian-only bridge ‘Suyeonggang Human Bridge’ on the downtown walking path, the ‘Geumbit Noeul Bridge,’ which will be Busan’s longest pedestrian bridge, and the ‘Gamdong Naru-gil River Walk,’ which holds nostalgia and memories, into new landmarks surpassing Gwangandaegyo Bridge.
Mayor Park Hyung-jun of Busan said, “We will create many streets where people want to walk, making Busan a city people want to visit again and live in because they want to walk. We will make Busan a charming global tourist city where completing the Galmaetgil walk is included in the bucket list of travelers worldwide.”
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