Launch of the Gumi-type Barrier-Free Urban Infrastructure Promotion Committee
On the 27th, the city of Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, held an inauguration ceremony for the 'Gumi-Type Barrier-Free Urban Infrastructure Promotion Committee' at the Urban Regeneration Support Center and convened a deliberation meeting to select the first round of projects for 2024.
This launch marks an important step in recognizing the need to improve urban design and services in response to an aging society and the increasing population of people with disabilities, aiming to create an environment where all citizens can live safely and conveniently.
In January 2023, the city enacted the 'Barrier-Free City Ordinance' to recognize and guarantee the right to mobility as a fundamental right for people with disabilities. Subsequently, the city established the 'Gumi-Type Barrier-Free Urban Infrastructure Development' plan to support the mobility rights of all citizens, including those with limited mobility, by expanding barrier-free environments and improving urban infrastructure.
In May, through a partial amendment of the ordinance, the city established the 'Gumi-Type Barrier-Free Urban Infrastructure Promotion Committee' to ensure that all citizens, especially people with disabilities and the elderly, can freely and conveniently use urban infrastructure and to enhance daily convenience.
The Promotion Committee consists of 11 members, including Vice Mayor Kim Hoseop as chairperson, and working-level officials from the fields of environmental transportation, urban construction, social welfare, culture, sports, and tourism, as well as professors and experts on mobility-impaired groups. The committee provides advice and deliberation on related planning, policy development, institutional improvement, and utilization of existing research data.
The city will invest 1 billion KRW (from the city budget) to implement improvement projects for pedestrian environments, transportation facilities, and leisure and cultural facilities.
Songjeong-dong and Hyeonggok-dong, areas with high pedestrian traffic, have been selected as priority project sites, and 13 projects will be carried out at 784 locations as the first round of initiatives. These projects will address issues such as eliminating height differences at boundary sections, installing curb ramps, improving materials and finishes, repairing sidewalk cracks, damage or protrusions/depressions, and installing tactile paving blocks for crosswalk guidance where missing.
The second phase of the project will be carried out in Indong-dong and Jinmi-dong, areas in the Gangdong region, to meet the needs of mobility-impaired citizens.
The city has secured a total of 27.7 billion KRW in national and provincial funding to promote various barrier-free urban infrastructure projects. Major projects include the Win-Win Factory Project in Wonpyeong-dong (9 billion KRW), the Youth and Small Business Win-Win Center (12.9 billion KRW), the barrier-free circular walking trail in Doryang-dong (1.1 billion KRW), and the Open Tourist Site Project in the areas of Geumosan and Ecoland (1 billion KRW).
The voucher taxi service (558 million KRW) has been in operation since February, and the maternity taxi service (475 million KRW) is being prepared for launch in the second half of the year. Through the construction of the Complex Cultural Center (2.4 billion KRW) and the Barrier-Free Tourism Environment Project at the Gumi Camping Site in Nakdonggang Sports Park (300 million KRW), the city has completed the installation of access bridges and barrier-free caravans.
Mayor Kim Jangho stated, "We will continue to focus our administrative efforts on creating an urban environment where all citizens, including those with limited mobility, can live safely and comfortably. I expect that the various projects launched alongside the inauguration of this promotion committee will play an important role in making Gumi an even better city to live in."
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