Improvement of Non-Signalized Crosswalk Facilities
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Song Jong-gu] Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has been implementing the ‘Crosswalk Safety Light Installation Project’ since February to create a traffic environment where citizens can walk safely at night.
The Crosswalk Safety Light Project was piloted last year with the support of subsidies from the ‘Gyeongsangnam-do Autonomous Police Committee,’ installing two locations within the city. This year, Changwon City has secured its own budget to actively improve driver visibility at night and respond to traffic accidents within crosswalks, aiming to ‘protect pedestrians at non-signal crosswalks at night.’
According to statistics from the Police Agency’s Traffic Accident Analysis System ‘TASS,’ in 2021, out of a total of 52 traffic accident fatalities in Changwon City, 14 were pedestrians killed while crossing, accounting for approximately 26.9% of all fatalities. Notably, among those 14 pedestrian fatalities, 10 occurred at night (from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following day), indicating a high frequency of accidents during nighttime.
In response, the city secured 100 million KRW of municipal funds and selected a total of 26 locations through demand surveys by district offices and identification of frequent accident spots at non-signal crosswalks within Changwon. Construction is scheduled to be completed within the first half of the year.
Jung Soon-gil, Director of the Traffic Policy Division, stated, “Through the Crosswalk Safety Light Installation Project, we expect to improve the pedestrian environment at non-signal crosswalks at night by enhancing the visibility of crosswalks regardless of pedestrian presence, thereby reducing pedestrian accidents at crosswalks. We will continue to strive to create a safe traffic environment in Changwon, the central city of Northeast Asia.”
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