Busan Office of Education Ensures Safety on Unbong Elementary School Commute Route... Pedestrian Path Redesign and One-Way Traffic Designation

Before (top) and after the pedestrian and vehicle lane maintenance work around Unbong Elementary School.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] The Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, in cooperation with Haeundae-gu and others, completed the sidewalk and road maintenance around Unbong Elementary School at the end of December last year, securing safe school routes.

The sidewalk and road maintenance project in this area was originally planned by Haeundae-gu to install deck stairs above the retaining wall to secure a pedestrian path, but parents of Unbong Elementary School requested the Busan Office of Education to change the design so that the construction could be carried out on flat ground.

Accordingly, on July 27 last year, Superintendent Ha Yun-su conducted an on-site inspection of the Unbong Elementary School school route.

The site was the main school route and a school zone for Unbong Elementary students, but there was no clear separation between the sidewalk and the roadway, and the road was narrow, lacking absolute space to separate the sidewalk and road.

Even if deck stairs were installed above the retaining wall, it was obvious that students would not use the sloped deck stairs but continue to walk on the existing dangerous flat ground.

After confirming the site, Superintendent Ha immediately called Kim Seong-su, the mayor of Haeundae-gu, and requested a reconsideration of the construction to separate the sidewalk and road on flat ground to create a safe route to and from school.

He also instructed the head of the Safety Planning Division of the Metropolitan Office of Education to coordinate with related organizations and ensure the pedestrian environment is safely improved.

The Metropolitan Office of Education coordinated opinions with related organizations such as Haeundae-gu, Busan Regional Post Office, and Haeundae Police Station for the prompt separation of sidewalks and roads, and the school also submitted a one-way traffic designation resident consent form and petition with the consent of the parents.

After several consultations with these organizations and submission of the petition, it was decided to carry out the sidewalk and road separation construction on flat ground as requested by the parents.

The Busan Regional Post Office promised to sell the boundary land of the fence at Bansong 2-dong Post Office, and Busan City agreed to support Haeundae-gu with a special adjustment grant for the budget needed to purchase the land for sidewalk and road separation.

However, after Haeundae-gu conducted a precise survey and redesign of the construction site, it was possible to widen the sidewalk to the maximum extent without demolishing the fence of Bansong 2-dong Post Office.

Subsequently, construction proceeded, safety fences were installed throughout the area, and the sidewalk and road were completely separated, and Haeundae Police Station designated the area as one-way traffic.

Ha Yun-su, Superintendent of Busan Metropolitan Office of Education, said, “There is a saying that it takes a whole village to raise a child, and I think this measure is exactly that case,” adding, “If we all unite and sincerely take one step at a time to ensure our children can safely attend school, Busan will become the city with the safest school routes nationwide.”