Yellow Traffic Lights, Yellow Footprints, Yellow Carpet... Yeongju City Invests 1.58 Billion Won for Comprehensive Improvement of Child Protection Zones

A yellow carpet was installed in the school zone of an elementary school in Yeongju-si, Gyeongbuk.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Yeongju City in Gyeongbuk is gaining attention as a child-friendly city by completely improving the child protection zones in the area.

Last year, the city spent 450 million KRW to install two unmanned enforcement cameras and six yellow traffic lights around elementary schools in the area, and completed road lane painting at 13 locations.

This year, the city invested 1.58 billion KRW, about four times more than last year, to install facilities and renovate old road pavement and road markings.

In consultation with related organizations such as the police station and the Office of Education, the city replaced unmanned traffic enforcement equipment, yellow traffic lights, and yellow footprints at Yeongju Elementary School and 14 other elementary schools, and additionally installed new traffic safety facilities such as traffic road markings, yellow carpets, and floor traffic lights.

On side roads where installing unmanned traffic enforcement equipment was difficult, speed bumps were installed near the main entrances of facilities for vulnerable road users to encourage passing vehicles to reduce speed.

At Seobu Elementary School, based on the Korea Road Traffic Authority’s review of the protection zone environment improvement, safety fences were installed and a new crosswalk was created to eliminate risk factors causing traffic accidents and improve the walking environment.

The city plans to continuously discover various projects to strengthen traffic safety facilities in child protection zones and spread a safety culture within these zones.

Jang Wookhyun, mayor of Yeongju City, said, “With the so-called Minsik Act revision, drivers’ responsibilities have become heavier, so an environment that protects both drivers and pedestrians is necessary,” and added, “Please drive slowly and refrain from illegal parking in child protection zones.”