[Seoul District News] Investigation and Maintenance Plan for Safety of 44 School Routes Around Elementary Schools in Nowon-gu & Focused Inspection of Traffic Safety Facilities on Side Streets Without Pedestrian-Car Separation ... Guro-gu Creates 3 Community Parks Around Onsu Neighborhood Park ... Yeongdeungpo-gu Breaks Ground on Customer Rest Area at Daerim Central Market ... Oh Eon-seok, Dobong-gu Mayor, Conducts Major Cleanup of Illegal Dumping Areas with Residents of Chang 4-dong & Lee Sang-young Promoted to Grade 4 in Public Relations and Information Department ... Gangbuk-gu, Meeting at 10 AM on the 20th in District Office Planning Situation Room...
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it has completed a full survey on the safety status of school routes for children’s safe commuting to and from school and will carry out improvement work.
Following a recent fatal traffic accident involving an elementary school student, the district plans to focus inspections on the school routes around 42 elementary schools and 2 special schools to identify deficiencies and make improvements.
The inspection was divided into two parts: side roadways without sidewalks and an investigation of traffic safety facilities.
First, the identification of side roads without sidewalks, which pose a high risk of accidents. The inspection revealed that roads around three schools are less than 4 meters wide, making sidewalk construction difficult. While continuing to seek immediate improvement methods, illegal parking enforcement has been strengthened and traffic safety instructors have been deployed.
The inspection of traffic safety facilities has also been completed. Currently, it is understood that speed cameras are installed at 100% of elementary schools in the area, LED floor traffic lights at 34 locations (77%), pedestrian signal voice guidance devices at 25 locations (57%), yellow carpets at 33 locations (75%), and speed warning signs at 38 locations (86%).
Since accidents frequently occur near crosswalks, the district plans to complete the installation of these traffic safety facilities by next year.
In 2021, the district conducted the nation’s first research project for ‘School Route Safety Evaluation.’ This was to identify problems and improvement measures through surveys of school routes at 52 locations including elementary schools, daycare centers, and kindergartens. Based on this, customized traffic facility improvements and installation works have been steadily carried out since the end of last year.
For example, the side road near Seongok Elementary School in Wolgye-dong was frequently used by children but lacked sidewalk separation and was not designated as a school zone. The district abolished resident-priority parking, expanded the school zone designation, and installed sidewalks this year to secure a safe school route for children commuting to and from school.
Also, the side road near Gongyeon Elementary School in Gongneung-dong has been transformed into a safe school route. This year, curb stones were installed to completely separate vehicle and pedestrian paths, and crosswalks were installed in sections where sidewalks were interrupted.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Our district has the largest number of elementary schools in Seoul,” and added, “We will do everything possible to prioritize the safety of children.”
Guro-gu (Mayor Moon Heon-il) announced that it has created three community-oriented parks around Onsu Neighborhood Park.
This project transformed long-delayed urban park compensation land into community-oriented parks. The district invested a total project cost of 850 million KRW entirely from city funds, starting construction on May 9 and completing all work by November 15.
The total area of these parks is 4,218㎡, located at ▲ Bandal District (Oryu-dong 18-141 area) ▲ Gung-dong District (Gung-dong San 10-62) ▲ Byeoksan District (Onsu-dong San 4-3 area).
Bandal District installed safety fences adjacent to Gocheok-ro and created play and rest areas, while the area adjacent to kindergartens and residences was maintained as a lawn garden. In the green spaces of the park, 1,238 trees of 14 species including Japanese plum yew and evergreen shrubs, and 860 herbaceous plants of 3 species such as Sedum were planted to improve the green environment.
Gung-dong District installed exercise equipment, a children’s playground, information boards, and rest facilities to provide convenience for residents. Additionally, 1,557 trees of 13 species including Korean boxwood and Euonymus, and 1,990 herbaceous plants of 4 species such as Ilex crenata were planted to create a beautiful park environment.
Byeoksan District planted 2,898 trees of 13 species including Cornus and Hydrangea, and 3,648 herbaceous plants of 4 species such as Liriope muscari to create green spaces. Rest facilities such as benches and pergolas were installed, and a new pedestrian path was created along the roadside to ensure safe walking for park users.
A Guro-gu official said, “Urban parks located in residential areas are meaningful because people of all ages can visit without burden,” and added, “We will continue to discover spaces where parks are needed so that residents can comfortably enjoy rest and leisure.”
Using Daerim Central Market is expected to become more convenient.
Yeongdeungpo-gu (Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it will create a customer rest area at 25 Digital-ro 53-gil for Daerim Central Market.
Daerim Central Market is a traditional alley market that opened in the late 1970s in the Daerim 2-dong area. It is widely known as a place where Chinese-Koreans settled, allowing visitors to experience China within Korea. About 250 merchants operate in 91 stores, and the market is famous for its unique sights and food, being listed as a recommended place to visit on the Korea Tourism Organization’s ‘Korea’s Hidden Gems.’
It is located in the middle of a residential area, with nearby elementary schools and cultural centers, making it a place with high foot traffic within the region.
Considering these geographical characteristics, the district decided to create a customer rest area equipped with convenience facilities and community spaces to revitalize the market and provide leisure space for local residents.
The construction of the rest area began in earnest after being selected in 2019 as part of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ facility modernization project. Recently, the land purchase was completed and construction started, with completion planned around June next year.
The facility will be a single-story building with a site area of 231㎡ and a total floor area of 99.75㎡. Folding doors will be installed at the front to enhance openness. It will be an open space usable by both visitors and merchants, including the merchants’ association office, education space, and multipurpose meeting room.
Meanwhile, the district plans to continue various projects such as joint marketing, merchant education, market manager programs, and broadcasting facility upgrades to revitalize the market’s management and facilities.
Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “The construction of the Daerim Central Market customer rest area is the result of continuous communication and efforts among local residents, merchants, and the local government to revitalize the traditional market,” and added, “We hope that this rest area will further activate Daerim Central Market and bring warmth to the local economy.”
Chang 4-dong in Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) held a ‘Chang 4-rang Clean Task Force Clean Day’ event on the 14th to clean unauthorized dumping vulnerable areas such as side roads and alleys in the region.
This large-scale cleaning was conducted together by Mayor Oh Eon-seok and residents for ‘Clean Dobong’ in the 8th local government term, starting around the Chang 4-dong community center and cleaning six vulnerable unauthorized dumping courses.
Notably, about 100 participants including local professional organizations, Korea Racing Authority Dobong branch, Chang-dong Station merchants’ association, and residents took part, making the event meaningful by promoting local coexistence and strengthening communication through cleaning.
Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, “I sincerely thank the organizations and residents who participated in today’s event. We will continue to focus on cleaning unauthorized dumping vulnerable areas regularly to make the neighborhood feel clean and safe for residents.”
◆Dobong-gu Personnel
Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) will hold a ‘Preliminary Resident Briefing Session for the Small-scale Reconstruction Project in the Suyu-dong 276-6 Area’ at 10 a.m. on the 20th in the district office’s planning situation room.
The district prepared this briefing session to help local residents understand the redevelopment and reconstruction project. In particular, by holding the session from the stage of distributing consent forms before the establishment of the association, it is expected to prevent resident confusion and conflicts in advance.
The participants are landowners in the small-scale reconstruction project area of Suyu-dong 276-6 (Jinseong Villa), where consent forms for association establishment were distributed at the end of last November. The session will be led by Professor Kim Byung-chun from Seokyeong University, an expert in maintenance projects, and will proceed with project explanation and Q&A.
The district plans to provide detailed guidance on the overview and characteristics of the small-scale reconstruction project, the promotion process, project content, project costs, contributions, and criteria for withdrawal of consent, which landowners should know when consenting to the association establishment.
A Gangbuk-gu Housing Maintenance Division official said, “Many conflicts arise because residents do not properly understand the project procedures, contribution calculation criteria, and consent withdrawal standards,” and added, “We plan to continue operating preliminary resident briefing sessions.”
Gangbuk-gu also held a preliminary resident briefing session on the 9th for landowners in the Suyu-dong 180-29 area for the street housing maintenance project. The survey results showed a briefing satisfaction rate of 86%, and understanding rates of 89%, 81%, and 92% for the street housing maintenance project, contributions, and consent withdrawal criteria, respectively.
Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “Confusion and conflicts arise because the project implementer collects consent forms without sufficient prior explanation,” and added, “We will continue to support residents so they can accurately understand redevelopment and reconstruction and proceed with the project.”
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