The Nation's First Children's Traffic Park Transferred to Songpa-gu for Operation

Sincheon Children's Traffic Park Reopens to Residents After One Year of Closure
Plans to Revitalize the Park as a Neighborhood Park Reflecting Local Residents' Opinions

Shincheon Children's Traffic Park, closed in May last year

Since May last year, the ‘Sincheon Children's Traffic Park,’ which had ceased operations due to concerns over aging facilities and safety accidents, is returning to the residents after one year.

Songpa-gu (Mayor Seo Gang-seok) announced that it requested the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to transfer the operation of the closed Sincheon Children's Traffic Park and received full operational control of the park on March 20.

The district plans to open the entire park to local residents starting in June.

Located in Jamsil 6-dong, Songpa-gu, Sincheon Children's Traffic Park was designated as a neighborhood park in 1982 and opened in December 1983 as the first children's traffic park in Korea. For over 40 years, it has been operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (Songpa Police Station, Korea Road Traffic Authority) as an educational facility where children could learn traffic rules through experiences such as crossing crosswalks, overpasses, underpasses, and railroad crossings.

However, due to aging facilities causing structural hazards such as falling debris, operations were suspended from May 23, 2024. When the park, which included a children's playground, was closed, local residents continuously filed complaints with Songpa-gu requesting the park to be reopened.

Although the land ownership belongs to Songpa-gu, the management and operation had been split with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (Songpa Police Station) for 40 years, resulting in significant differences in views and difficulties.

Accordingly, starting from February this year, the district held several meetings and working-level consultations with local council members and related organizations, and on March 20, it received the authority to operate the park from the Songpa Police Station. Plans are underway to take follow-up measures to open the park.

The district will conduct a comprehensive facility inspection and urgently remove hazardous structures by the end of May, then temporarily open parts of the park such as the children's playground and walking trails to residents during daytime starting in June.

Subsequently, by securing external funding, the park will be renovated to restore its original function as a neighborhood park desired by local residents and fully reopened.

Seo Gang-seok, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “We will do our best to quickly renovate Sincheon Park, which has been closed for a year and inaccessible to residents for 40 years in the heart of the city, and return it fully to the residents.”