Gangnam-gu Improves Congestion Around Suseo Station, Enhancing Pedestrian Safety

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Secures 300 Million Won Special Grant, Removes Pocket Lane Causing Accidents in Front of Exit 5 Bus Stop and Expands Sidewalk... Separates Express Bus Stop in Front of Exit 6 with Mixed City and Express Buses and Adds Boarding Area to Existing Bus Stop

Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) secured 300 million KRW in special grants from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and has been promoting the ‘Improvement Project for Pedestrian Traffic Accident Hotspots around Suseo Station’ since September to alleviate traffic congestion in front of exits 5 and 6 of Suseo Station by the end of the year.

First, the pocket road leading to the bus stop in front of exit 5 of Suseo Station (around 273-2 Gwangpyeong-ro) was converted into a sidewalk, and a bus boarding platform was installed. This section is a three-lane road on Gwangpyeong-ro heading toward Songpa, where buses had to enter the pocket road outside the main road to pick up passengers at the stop. Due to the road design requiring buses to immediately enter the overpass after traveling a short 30-meter section, buses frequently picked up passengers in the third lane without entering the pocket lane, causing safety accidents for pedestrians.

The district completed construction on October 31 to remove this pocket road and replace it with a sidewalk. The sidewalk area was expanded up to 300㎡, and a bus boarding platform, which could not be installed on the previously narrow sidewalk, was added. Bus users, who had experienced inconvenience while waiting during heavy rain or heat waves, can now use the bus more safely and conveniently.

The bus stop in front of exit 6 of Suseo Station is a congested area where 22 routes, including intercity, city, and village buses, pass through. During rush hours, crowds gather, and frequent vehicle tailbacks occur due to traffic congestion. Accordingly, there have been many demands to disperse pedestrian flow and reduce crowd density. To address these issues, the district plans to separately install an intercity bus stop 60 meters away from the existing stop by December. Additionally, one more bus boarding platform will be added to the existing stop, which currently has one platform, to make the stop more convenient to use.

Furthermore, by the end of the year, smart crosswalks will be installed at all four crosswalks of the Suseo Station intersection. These crosswalks are equipped with pedestrian detection sensors and voice guidance assistance devices, providing a safer traffic environment for pedestrians by linking with the existing ground-level pedestrian signals.

Jo Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, stated, “Through this improvement project around Suseo Station, we have resolved road congestion issues and created a traffic environment focused on pedestrian safety.” He added, “We will continue to accurately identify problems in pedestrian traffic accident hotspots and create a pedestrian-friendly environment that residents can feel.”