Seongdong-gu Yongdap Station Railway Retaining Wall Design Wall Renovation... Nowon-gu School Route Safety Assessment and Pedestrian Environment Improvement

[Seoul Autonomous District News] Yongdap Station Facade and 300m North Retaining Wall Section Deliver Resident Harmony Message with Subtle LED Lighting for a Pleasant and Harmonious Transformation Revitalizing the Street... Nowon-gu Improves Walking Environment at 204 Sites through Korea's First School Route Safety Evaluation... Mapo-gu Establishes Dedicated 'Employment Safety Team' for Serious Accident Punishment Act Response... Yangcheon-gu Creates Youth Space 'Bara:Bom (Spring)'... Dongjak-gu Conducts Winter Inspections at 185 Daycare Centers... Jung-gu Develops Vacant House Living Garden in Dasan-dong

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (District Mayor Jung Won-oh) has revitalized the streets of Yongdap-dong by newly renovating the railway retaining wall at Yongdap Station on Line 2 with a design that resonates with and communicates with residents.

Among the total 1,060m near 69 Yongdap Jungang-gil, a 300m section of the retaining wall approximately 6m high was designed with a vintage exterior facade and a design symbolizing Yongdap-dong, including themes of coexistence.

At the introduction (Intro) where various shapes and sizes of geometric figures harmonize in a consistent pattern, the phrase "Embracing the heart, resembling the residents" conveys a message of empathy and communication to local residents. The motifs include manholes and railway tracks of the village, visualized into shapes with subtle LED lighting installed to brighten the dark scenery.

Work to install covers on stormwater pipes to reduce odor was also carried out, and the optimally designed wall creates a cohesive landscape with the roadway, retaining wall, and Yongdap Station entrance, embodying the unique sentiment of Yongdap-dong.

Last year, the district opened the third traditional market customer center, the "Yongdap Shopping Market Customer Center," to strengthen the self-sustainability of shopping districts suffering from prolonged COVID-19 economic downturn and decreased customers. In November, the district completed the "Alleyway Regeneration Project" around Yongdap 21-gil, distinctly enhancing the color and sentiment unique to Yongdap-dong.

The district plans to complete the retaining wall work on the north side of Yongdap Station, currently underway as part of a traditional market-linked urban regeneration project promoting coexistence between Yongdap Shopping Market and nearby residential areas, by February. The 300m section on the south side of Yongdap Station will also be produced and installed in the same direction.

Seongdong-gu Mayor Jung Won-oh said, "I am very proud that local residents feel revitalized by the newly renovated Yongdap Station and retaining wall street and have shown great response," adding, "We will promptly complete the remaining work to actively create a safe and pleasant environment in Yongdap-dong."

Color blocks in front of Cheongwon Elementary School

Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it has conducted the nation's first safety evaluation of school routes and carried out customized pedestrian environment improvement works at a total of 204 locations.

Last year, the district invested its own budget to conduct a research project for the "School Route Safety Evaluation." The school routes of all 42 elementary schools and 10 daycare centers and kindergartens in Nowon-gu were evaluated across 16 detailed categories including environment, facilities, regulations and enforcement, and operational management, conducting a comprehensive safety diagnosis.

Through statistical surveys, field inspections, and questionnaires, the average safety score of Nowon-gu's school routes was calculated as 70.6 points, which is 15.9 points higher than the nationwide average of 54.7 points for school routes in 10 cities surveyed by the research team from Gachon University.

Based on the research results, the district diagnosed the characteristics and problems of pedestrian environments for each school route and undertook customized improvements and installations of traffic facilities by area to resolve these issues.

By 2020, there were only 14 speed cameras, but 39 additional cameras were installed. Color block road paving was applied at four locations including Cheongwon Elementary School, and new concept traffic facilities such as yellow carpets were installed at 10 locations including Singye Elementary School to help drivers easily recognize child pedestrians.

Additionally, at 64 points across 28 major crosswalks including child protection zones, voice guidance auxiliary devices equipped with automatic sensors were installed, and LED floor traffic lights were installed at 87 points across 35 locations to help children with low sight easily recognize signals.

The district expects that these improvements at 204 locations will reduce the risk of traffic accidents for vulnerable children and strengthen the safety network around school routes.

Going forward, the district plans to inspect and supplement some speed bumps in front of schools that were pointed out as substandard in the research, and continue projects such as installing curb boundaries between sidewalks and roads and creating new crosswalks in sidewalk discontinuity sections.

According to the Traffic Accident Analysis System (TAAS) of the Road Traffic Authority, the total number of traffic accidents in Nowon-gu has steadily decreased over the past five years, and the number of child traffic accident injuries in 2020 decreased by 39.2% compared to 2016.

Nowon-gu Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, "We are working hard to create a safe pedestrian environment for children so that they can walk to school with peace of mind," adding, "We will continue to strive to make Nowon safe from traffic accident risks based on systematic surveys and research."

Mapo-gu (District Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) announced on the 13th that it has newly established the "Employment Safety Team," dedicated to handling major industrial accidents, in line with the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act scheduled for the 27th.

The "Serious Accidents Punishment Act" contains provisions for punishing business owners and management responsible for violating safety and health measures while operating workplaces, public facilities, public transportation, or handling harmful raw materials or manufactured goods.

Management responsibility includes not only private business operators but also heads of central administrative agencies, local governments, and public institutions.

Accordingly, the district stated that it established a dedicated team to build an effective safety and health management system and to prevent serious accidents by organizing a dedicated organization for compliance with related laws.

The "Employment Safety Team," consisting of five members including the team leader, will perform tasks such as ▲establishing safety and health management systems ▲developing recurrence prevention measures in case of serious accidents ▲reviewing and managing improvements, corrections, and actions according to related laws ▲reviewing and managing compliance with safety and health obligations under related laws.

Furthermore, the district plans to prepare and inspect safety plans once a year for 41 public facilities in the area to prepare for serious citizen accidents and carry out repairs and reinforcements as needed.

Mapo-gu Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun said, "We will prioritize the lives and safety of residents and do our best to create a safe workplace free of serious industrial accidents," adding, "We will also ensure thorough safety inspections so that residents do not suffer damage from serious accidents."

Yangcheon-gu (District Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that it has rearranged the book cafe at Sinjeong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center to create a space for youth called "Bara: Bom (Spring)."

The name "Bara: Bom (Spring)" carries the meaning of wishing that the daily lives of young people be filled with happiness and that the society they face be as warm as spring. Accordingly, the interior space was designed to be warm and open so that young people can comfortably use it anytime.

The youth space "Bara: Bom (Spring)" was created as part of the "Sinjeong Station Youth Space Creation Project," proposed through the 2021 Resident Participation Budget Project. The purpose was to create a space near Sinjeong Station, where the youth population is particularly high, to activate youth communities.

In this regard, Sinjeong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center is located within a 5-10 minute walk from Sinjeong Station and is also close to Mokdong Station, making it geographically advantageous and aligned with the purpose of creating "Bara: Bom (Spring)." Additionally, it can be linked with youth programs operated by the welfare center itself (such as social network formation and talent-sharing activities), expected to generate synergy in various areas.

Moreover, the district expects collaboration with "Zero Gravity Zone Yangcheon," which operated the "Youth Challenge Support Project" last year to discover youth who had given up job seeking and help their social entry, for discovering youth programs and supporting spaces.

If youth need spaces for meetings or networking activities, they can apply in advance by visiting or calling Sinjeong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center.

Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young said, "Yangcheon-gu has actively operated youth-centered spaces such as the Digital Imagination Campus and Zero Gravity Zone Yangcheon," adding, "I hope that 'Bara: Bom (Spring),' created at Sinjeong Comprehensive Social Welfare Center with high accessibility due to nearby stations, will establish itself as a communication hub for local youth."

Dongjak-gu (District Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 13th that it will conduct "Winter Safety Inspections for Daycare Centers" covering frozen pipes, heating, meal and hygiene management to ensure children stay warm and safe even in the cold winter.

At the end of last year, the district conducted self-inspections at 185 daycare centers in the area, and among them, 28 centers will undergo on-site inspections from the 18th to the 31st.

Main inspection items include ▲winter disaster response measures such as heavy snow, frozen pipes, and heating management ▲safety management measures to prevent fire accidents including fire, electricity, and gas ▲meal and hygiene management (including COVID-19 quarantine management) ▲indoor air quality management measures such as compliance with fine dust response manuals and air purifier management.

If abnormalities are found in facilities or buildings during inspections, immediate repairs and continuous monitoring will be guided, and violations due to lack of knowledge of regulations will be promptly corrected through sufficient explanation.

The district plans to continue conducting safety inspections twice a year, divided into winter and summer seasons.

Additionally, to manage COVID-19 quarantine in daycare centers, the district has distributed KF masks as needed and supported the purchase of infection prevention equipment such as thermal cameras and sterilizers.

Kim Ji-hyun, Head of Childcare Division, said, "We will do our best to ensure safety inspections so that infants and daycare staff vulnerable to cold and COVID-19 can stay safe."

Meanwhile, from this year, to alleviate residents' childcare burdens, the First Meeting Voucher and Infant Allowance have been newly introduced to expand support funds related to infants and young children.

Children born after 2022 will receive a 2 million KRW First Meeting Voucher. All children who have registered their birth and received a resident registration number are eligible, and the voucher will be provided via the National Happiness Card starting April 1.

Also, for children born this year who are raised at home without attending daycare centers, an Infant Allowance of 300,000 KRW per month will be provided. Payments will start on the 25th and will be deposited monthly on the 25th (or the previous weekday if the 25th is a holiday) into the account applied for.

Applications for the First Meeting Voucher and Infant Allowance can be made online through the Bokjiro or Government24 websites without visiting the community service center.

Jung-gu (District Mayor Seo Yang-ho) announced on the 13th that it has created a living garden in a vacant house that had been abandoned in the alleys of Dasan-dong.

At 432-276 Sindang-dong, an abandoned house that no one lived in had been left alone for a long time, damaging the alley's aesthetics and making it scary to pass by after dark. The district signed an agreement with the land and building owners, Seoul City and Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), demolished the vacant house, and created an 86㎡ living garden in that space in December.

A "living garden" is an open garden created and operated by the state, local governments, or public institutions under the Act on the Creation and Promotion of Arboretums and Gardens, designed for residents to use as a place for rest or cultivation.

The floor of the Dasan-dong living garden was paved with large gravel for good drainage and stepping stones were laid. Flower beds were installed, planting 12 species of trees including Cornus controversa and 12 species of herbaceous plants including ornamental grasses. A sitting wall was provided for residents to rest. The previously unsightly abandoned house site was transformed into a fresh green garden.

The district is aware of the problem of decreasing green spaces around living areas and is expanding greenery by utilizing leftover spaces throughout the city. Green belts are placed along streets, and pocket gardens are created on traffic islands, improving scenery and also helping reduce fine dust and mitigate urban heat island effects. The "Our Neighborhood Alley Pocket Garden Cultivation" project, which encourages residents to care for and manage their neighborhood alleys together, also helps restore broken neighborly relationships.

Jung-gu Mayor Seo Yang-ho said, "We plan to continue expanding green spaces in living areas so residents can experience greenery and rest briefly near their homes," adding, "We will increase greening programs that involve neighbors to foster residents' sense of belonging and affection for their neighborhood."