Gangnam Seocho Office of Education and Dogok Elementary School Agreement
Demolishing School Fences and Creating Safe Sidewalks
Gangnam-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) and an elementary school have decided to create a safe pedestrian path by utilizing school grounds.
According to Gangnam-gu on the 15th, the district, Gangnam Seocho Office of Education, and Seoul Dogok Elementary School signed an agreement on the 11th to create a pedestrian path using the Dogok Elementary School site. This project is the first case in Gangnam-gu to create a safe school route by utilizing school grounds, which started construction on the 2nd of last month and aims to be completed by June next year.
Since December 2022, the district has been promoting pedestrian environment improvement construction targeting 12 out of 32 elementary schools in the district that lack sidewalks around school passageways. As a result, by last year, pedestrian paths and sidewalks totaling 2,494 meters were created at 10 elementary schools.
To build new sidewalks on narrow roads in school zones, designation of one-way traffic is required. However, for the remaining two schools, concerns about traffic congestion arise if one-way traffic is designated, so various alternatives such as utilizing school grounds were considered.
In the case of Dogok Elementary School, which signed the agreement this time, three sides surrounding the school are already designated as one-way streets, so adding one-way traffic to the remaining side would make vehicle passage difficult. Accordingly, the district continuously consulted with the school and the Office of Education and held briefing sessions for parents and local residents to gather opinions on the school route construction.
After these efforts, the parties agreed on ▲ the creation of a new pedestrian path using school grounds within the Dogok Elementary School child protection zone where there is no separation between pedestrian and vehicle roads ▲ permission to use school grounds and approval for permanent facility construction ▲ construction, maintenance, and management of permanent facilities within Dogok Elementary School.
The section of construction utilizing the school grounds is a 147-meter section of Dogok-ro 69-gil located near the school’s back gate, where a new sidewalk will be created. Additionally, a 134-meter section of Seolleung-ro 68-gil, frequently used by students, currently only distinguishes pedestrian and vehicle roads by floor color, and this section will also have a newly constructed sidewalk.
District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong said, “There were many concerns and conflicts regarding the designation of one-way traffic, making it difficult to create pedestrian paths in school zones, but through persistent consultation with the Office of Education and the school, we found an alternative. Based on this first case in Gangnam-gu utilizing school grounds, we will continue to lead pedestrian environment improvements prioritizing children’s safety.”
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