Wando-gun Child Protection Zone Safety Management 'Serious'... Under Administrative Scrutiny

Only One Crosswalk Traffic Light Installed Among 26 Kindergartens and Elementary Schools

Despite Requests for Facilities, Authorities Hesitate... Illegal Parking Still Prevalent

The pedestrian fence in the school zone's child protection area has been left corroded for a long time, causing residents to frown.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters reporters Lee Jun-gyeong and Choi Kyung-pil] It has been revealed that the improvement of traffic safety facilities and the management of child protection traffic safety within the school zones in Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, are being poorly operated.

There are concerns that urgent measures are needed as child protection zone traffic safety facilities have been left uninstalled for a long time.

According to Wando-gun on the 5th, among the 26 kindergartens and elementary schools in the area, only one school has a pedestrian crossing traffic light installed.

It was confirmed that no schools have speed warning systems or ground traffic lights installed.

The Road Traffic Act stipulates that child protection zones must have ▲speed limit (30 km/h) notification signs ▲speed bumps ▲road mirrors ▲speed limit (30 km/h) enforcement cameras ▲yellow carpets ▲runway-type pedestrian crossings ▲illegal parking enforcement cameras ▲protective fences ▲pedestrian crossing traffic lights ▲speed warning systems ▲pedestrian crossing lighting ▲voice guidance facilities installed.

Additionally, safety road conditions inspections, facility inspections, illegal parking enforcement, and deployment of traffic guides have also not been properly conducted.

In particular, at an educational institution A in Wando-eup, the protective fence along the child protection zone walkway has been left corroded for a long time.

The person in charge at the educational institution reportedly filed multiple complaints to the county officials requesting ‘installation of speed bumps and speed safety guardrails, and management of illegal parking,’ but proper measures were not taken.

Cars illegally parked in front of the pedestrian fence in the school zone are lined up on the road.

Staff member B said, “I have requested the installation of speed safety guardrails and speed bumps for years to ensure children’s safety,” adding, “Each time, they only responded that they would install them soon but did not, and only recently did they barely install one speed bump.”

Wando-gun’s administration also showed a lack of focus on safety management within the child protection zones. Protective fences for children were installed here and there in front of general stores outside the school zones.

A resident of Wando-eup pointed out, “Wando-gun has installed school zone fences indiscriminately on general roads 700 meters away from child protection institutions, causing confusion,” and added, “What’s more absurd is that illegal parked vehicles are openly present in front of those fences, but the county does nothing.”

He continued, “The fences block shops and obstruct visibility, causing much inconvenience to store owners,” and added, “Wando-gun needs to properly manage the facilities and inspect them to prevent waste of precious public funds.”

A Wando-gun official stated, “We will investigate why school zone fences were installed even on stores far from the school zones. Since the person in charge has changed several times, confirmation is necessary,” and added, “Regarding illegal parking issues, we will conduct on-site inspections and request budget allocation for installing enforcement cameras.”