Seogangseok, Songpa District Mayor, Directly Explains to Residents the Need for Creating a Walkable Street Garden on Songpa-daero

Targeting 500 Residents and Merchant Representatives... February 11 to April 28
Communicating Project Necessity and Progress: Reducing 10 Lanes to 8, Creating Gardens
Mayor Seo: "'Songpa's Cheonggyecheon Project' Will Enhance Quality of Life and City Value"

Seok-Suk Seo, Mayor of Songpa District, at the Residents' Briefing Held on the 11th

Songpa-gu (District Mayor Seo Gang-seok) will hold a "Visiting Resident Briefing Session" from the 11th to April 28th to raise awareness about the importance and effects of the "Songpa-daero Walkable Street Garden Creation Project."

This briefing session is a communication opportunity where Seo Gang-seok, the mayor of Songpa-gu, directly informs residents about the project plans and listens to their opinions. It targets about 500 people, including members of professional organizations in the project area, Garak Mall merchants, and apartment residents.

Songpa-daero is a 10-lane road crossing the center of Songpa-gu. It has been neglected in development for the past 35 years, making improvements urgent. Accordingly, the district is promoting the "Songpa-daero Premium Street Creation Project" as a key initiative of the 8th local government administration.

The representative sub-project is the "Songpa-daero Walkable Street Garden Creation." The plan is to widen the sidewalks along a 1.5 km section from Seokchon Lake Intersection to Garak Market Intersection to create a pleasant walking path. The goal is to improve residents' quality of life and revitalize the local economy.

The first briefing session was held on the 11th on the 13th floor of the Garak Mall office building. Eleven executives of the Garak Mall Distribution Association attended.

Merchant representatives at the briefing welcomed the project, saying, "We think this is a project that can revive the commercial district," and "We will actively cooperate." However, they expressed concerns about traffic congestion and asked about measures to attract younger generations with engaging content.

Mayor Seo focused on explaining the residents' top concern, the reduction of traffic lanes. He shared research results showing that reducing the existing 10 lanes to 8 lanes to expand sidewalks would not disrupt traffic flow, and informed that the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has unconditionally approved the lane reduction.

He also conveyed the changes and expected effects that Songpa-daero will experience through the project.

Mayor Seo pointed out the limitations, saying, "Currently, many first-floor stores along Songpa-daero are vacant," and "Although 5.5 million people visit Seokchon Lake every spring bloom season, most only stay around the Jamsil area before leaving."

He added, "Once the project is completed, visitors to Seokchon Lake will be able to easily walk along the street garden to Garak Market," and plans to create various attractions to draw foot traffic.

Last May 31, the district transformed the neglected Garak Market Water Purification Tower into a public art piece called "The Trophy" and created the surrounding Earthing Path and Trophy Park. In April, they plan to complete "The Sphere," a light sculpture in the west lake of Seokchon Lake.

The briefing sessions will be held 11 more times until April 28. They will continue targeting representatives of Garak 1-dong, Songpa 1-dong, Songpa 2-dong, Garak Bon-dong, Seokchon-dong residents, Helio City apartment residents, and senior citizens' club members.

Seo Gang-seok, the district mayor, stated, "This project can be called Songpa's Cheonggyecheon Project, enhancing the city's brand value and residents' quality of life," and added, "Since this project requires a large budget and consensus, we will continuously communicate with residents and related organizations to ensure smooth progress without setbacks."