Yongin City to Operate 'Snow Removal Measures Period' Until March 15 Next Year

Operation of 'Responsibility System' for Rapid Response in Vulnerable Sections
Deployment of Snow Removal Machines for Pedestrian Safety

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 26th that it will designate and operate a "Snow Removal Measures Period" until March 15 next year to protect citizens' safety from winter heavy snow and black ice.

A view of the snow removal forward base in Yongin City. The city has designated the period until March 15 next year as the "Snow Removal Measures Period" to proactively respond to heavy snowfall and other conditions. Provided by Yongin City

The city operates a "responsibility system" for rapid snow removal in vulnerable areas with a high risk of safety accidents caused by black ice, such as steep slopes, shaded areas around apartment complexes, intersections, and bridges. Each area manager patrols the vulnerable sections when the temperature drops below 3 degrees Celsius, humidity exceeds 80%, or wind speed is less than 3 meters per second, and applies snow removal agents in advance or activates heating wires and automatic brine spraying devices as needed.

For major roads such as National Road No. 42 and Local Road No. 321, snow removal agents will be spread and brine spraying devices operated, focusing on vulnerable sections such as mountain passes, connecting roads, and areas with frequent heavy snowfall.

Icicles or ice forming on road structures such as tunnels, underpasses, and pedestrian overpasses will be removed using aerial work vehicles or heating wire systems, and remaining snow on canopies will be cleared by manual labor.

To ensure pedestrian safety, 29 mechanical and 40 handcart-type snow removal machines will be deployed mainly on sidewalks and bicycle paths where pedestrian falls are expected, such as steep crosswalk sections, bus stops, stations, and sidewalk decks.

Earlier, the city conducted on-site inspections of equipment management at the snow removal forward base for five days from the 21st to the 25th of last month. On the 29th of the same month, a field training exercise for traffic control measures in response to heavy snow was also conducted with the Yongin Eastern Police Station.

A city official stated, "Black ice on roads can cause chain collision accidents, so we have established special snow removal measures for citizens' safety," and urged, "We ask citizens to familiarize themselves with winter traffic accident prevention rules and drive safely by reducing speed when driving on snowy roads."