Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Establish Snow Removal Standards for Alleyways and Sidewalks

Expansion of Small Snow Removal Box Installations, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 21st that it will prepare the ‘Follow-up Snow Removal Operation Guidelines,’ which stipulate snow removal methods for alleys, placement of small snow removal boxes, and distribution of snow removal agents in small quantities, to efficiently carry out snow removal in areas closely related to citizens' daily lives such as alleys, side streets, and sidewalks during winter.

Currently, winter road snow removal is conducted mainly on major arterial roads according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s road snow removal operation guidelines, which set overall standards for snow removal such as snow removal agent application criteria and road snow removal methods. However, there are no separate regulations for snow removal on side streets and alleys closely related to citizens' daily lives, which can lead to frequent inconveniences such as vehicle collisions and slip accidents due to neglected snow removal. To address this, the ‘Follow-up Snow Removal Operation Guidelines’ have been prepared.

The ‘Follow-up Snow Removal Operation Guidelines’ aim to minimize accidents caused by insufficient snow removal in alleys, bus stops, pedestrian paths, parks, and other areas after snow removal on main roads, and to prevent inconveniences to citizens within pedestrian spaces by stipulating snow removal methods and the stocking of snow removal agents.

The main contents include ▲selection of vulnerable areas and designation of responsible personnel in pedestrian spaces, ▲snow removal methods, ▲use of snow removal agents, and ▲snow clearing in front of homes and stores.

The previously designated vulnerable sections focused on arterial roads have been expanded from road-centered snow removal to include pedestrian spaces such as sidewalks and side streets. The selected vulnerable sections are assigned responsible personnel and snow removal priorities according to each institution’s circumstances, and snow removal methods are guided based on facility types and snowfall amounts.

In particular, small snow removal boxes are to be placed in locations with high foot traffic such as bus stops and subway stations, and where placement is difficult, snow removal agents are to be distributed in small quantities to ensure easy access for anyone to use them. This related content has been added.

Furthermore, to activate private sector participation in snow removal of facilities such as sidewalks and side streets around buildings managed by building managers, active citizen participation measures such as production of promotional materials and contests are also guided.

The final version of the ‘Follow-up Snow Removal Operation Guidelines’ will be prepared by the 2022 winter countermeasure period (November 15 to March 15), and will be available for use by related agencies starting this coming winter.

Kim Seong-ho, Director of the Disaster Safety Management Headquarters at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, “We expect thorough snow removal management on side streets to be implemented through these operation guidelines, and we urge related agencies to refer to the guidelines and make every effort to ensure that citizens’ passage is not inconvenienced during heavy snowfall.”