Establishing a Pedestrian-Centered Green Network Connecting Pohang Cheolgilsup and Hyeongsangang Areas

Posco-daero Section... Creation of Pedestrian-Centered Street Forest Path

Establishing a Safe and Pleasant Urban Environment, Enhancing Citizens' Quality of Life

Pohang City is creating the ‘POSCO-daero Pedestrian-Centered Street,’ which connects the railway forest and surrounding urban forests, based on the Pohang Greenway this year, to transform into a green and ecological city where people, nature, and culture harmonize, and is actively establishing a green network.

The view of Posco-daero in the Hyeongsan Rotary section. Provided by Pohang City

The city plans to make the 2 km section of POSCO-daero, which extends from Pohang Railway Forest to the Hyeongsan River area, a pedestrian-centered street, taking a step closer to building a Green Network.

Since 2016, through the Pohang Greenway project, the city has created the 9.3 km Pohang Railway Forest, a central greenway running longitudinally through 13 legal neighborhoods from Uhyeon-dong to Yeonil-eup Yugang-ri, contributing to revitalizing the downtown area.

Additionally, the city is planning and expanding the Green Network in various ways to connect the natural ecosystems and citizens’ living environments where forests blend, including the Pohang Railway Forest, Hyeongsan River area, downtown hiking area, and Haksan Stream area.

The POSCO-daero section from Idong Overpass to Hyeongsan Rotary is a major arterial road connecting Nam-gu and Buk-gu, linking key commercial and residential areas, playing an important role in Pohang’s economy and urban development. Although many pedestrians use it, pedestrian safety has been threatened due to illegal parking on sidewalks.

Also, due to a lack of convenience facilities and cultural spaces, the city judged that establishing a pedestrian-centered Green Network to ensure pedestrian safety and convenience is urgent. Therefore, it is prioritizing the 250 m section from Hyeongsan Rotary toward Ogwangjang as a pilot pedestrian-centered street.

In this area, measures such as ▲prevention of illegal parking on sidewalks ▲repair of deteriorated pavement blocks ▲removal of obstacles to pedestrians ▲planting shade trees for summer shading ▲and planting deciduous trees for all seasons are being implemented to transform it into a distinctive POSCO-daero pedestrian-centered street.

Going forward, the city plans to sequentially renovate the entire 2 km section from Hyeongsan Rotary to Pohang Railway Forest to improve the pedestrian environment and incorporate excellent design pruning cases from places like the Champs-?lys?es in France and Banpo-daero in Seocho-gu, Seoul, improving urban aesthetics through systematic pruning and management of plane trees, thereby enhancing POSCO-daero as a unique pedestrian-centered street.

This project is expected to greatly contribute to improving the quality of life by transforming the car-centered urban space into a pedestrian-centered space, providing citizens with safer and more pleasant living conditions.

Moreover, the creation of street forests is anticipated to have positive effects on urban regeneration, such as revitalizing surrounding commercial districts by securing floating populations within the downtown area.

Lee Kyung-sik, Head of the Greenway Promotion Division, said, “We are focusing on connecting the city and nature and filling the city with forests and gardens to share a sustainable green culture with citizens. We will build a Green Network by interconnecting areas such as the Pohang Railway Forest and surrounding street forests, creating spaces where citizens can safely and comfortably stroll and enjoy the forest.”