Expansion of Public Parking Lots, Urban Renewal, and Securing Public Interest Project Sites
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Moon Jun-hee, the mayor of Hapcheon County, is accelerating efforts to realize an "advanced city without parking stress" by expanding large-scale public parking lots.
We take a mid-term look at Hapcheon County's key project, the "Parking Environment Improvement Project," which aims to improve the quality of life for residents and revitalize the local economy by securing parking spaces.
▲ Resolving parking difficulties in commercial areas and revitalizing the local economy
Hapcheon County's parking environment improvement project is showing visible results. On July 1, a 2,443㎡ public parking lot with 81 spaces was opened near Wanghu Market in Hapcheon-eup, where people and cars used to get stuck on market days.
Additionally, a 2,520㎡ public parking lot with 83 spaces was created near the Central Intersection, an area suffering from chronic parking shortages due to dense commercial establishments. The creation of these two large-scale public parking lots has not only alleviated parking difficulties but also contributed to revitalizing the local economy by providing convenience for market and nearby store users.
The economic revitalization effect of these public parking lots became evident in October. The pink muhly grass and yellow cosmos at Shinsayang Sports Park in Hapcheon-eup gained popularity through word of mouth and broadcasts, attracting 70,000 visitors over four weekends from the first to the fourth week of October. Consequently, restaurants and shops in Hapcheon-eup also experienced a boom.
Furthermore, Hapcheon County secured a 1,482㎡ parking space with 47 spots in front of the Hapcheon Intercity Bus Terminal, a chronic parking complaint area due to the concentration of the terminal and various hospitals. Through this project, chronic parking complaints are expected to decrease, and convenience for public transportation users will improve.
▲ Resolving parking difficulties in residential areas
Hapcheon County is focusing not only on commercial areas with high foot traffic but also on securing parking spaces in densely populated residential areas.
To fundamentally solve parking difficulties on main and side roads in residential areas, parking lots with 40, 31, and 38 spaces were secured at Jeongdae-dong Public Parking Lot, around the 2nd Government Office, and next to the Agricultural Technology Center, respectively.
▲ Mayor Moon Jun-hee: “Parking lot securing rate still low... We will eliminate parking stress”
As of the end of last year, the average parking lot securing rate in neighboring counties Geochang, Hamyang, and Sancheong was 50%, whereas Hapcheon County's rate was only 28%.
Accordingly, Hapcheon County is installing public parking lots not only in Hapcheon-eup but also in Gaya, Chogye, Samga, and Gahoe-myeon to promote resident convenience and local economic revitalization. Various methods to secure parking spaces, such as opening school, religious facility, and public institution parking lots to alleviate parking shortages, are also being considered.
Due to budget constraints, it is difficult to solve all parking problems solely by creating public parking lots, so plans include leasing private parking lots and idle land to create affordable parking spaces.
Hapcheon County is also purchasing areas requiring urban renewal due to aging to create parking lots, and the newly created parking lots will be utilized for public interest projects by the county in the future.
Mayor Moon Jun-hee said, “We will continue to strive to create a city where residents do not experience stress from parking,” adding, “We expect that improving convenience through this will also lead to revitalizing the local economy.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
