Gwangju Seo-gu Council's Proposal to Revise Public Parking Fee Standards

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 7th that Councilor Jeon Seung-il has submitted a representative proposal titled 'Public Parking Fee Standard Reform Proposal' during the 309th extraordinary session.

All Seo-gu council members urged ▲ an apology to citizens for one-sided administration without public opinion and arbitrary decisions ▲ cessation of desk-based administration and revision of the grading standards in the parking lot ordinance ▲ free access to public parking lots for customers to revitalize traditional markets and alleyway commercial districts.

Councilor Jeon pointed out, “According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s Jipyounuri index, the number of registered vehicles in Gwangju Metropolitan City (hereafter the city) was 690,000 as of 2020, meaning there is one car for every 2.1 people. Most citizens use cars to visit alleyway commercial districts and traditional markets, but the city’s recent increase in public parking fees is rather hindering the revitalization of the local economy.”

He continued, “The market public parking lots near Yangdong Market’s Dakjeon-gil and industrial goods stores have many one-way roads at the entrances, making access inconvenient. In the case of the Neutinamu public parking lot in Chipyeong-dong, it is more than 1.6 km away from Sammo Station, making subway use inconvenient. Yet, the entire district was designated as Grade 1 simply because a subway line passes through the area, which is a desk-based administration without on-site verification.”

Councilor Jeon said, “I hope a policy will be promoted that allows customers to use public parking lots free of charge to revitalize alleyway commercial districts and traditional markets.”