Wondang Station Area in Goyang Stuck in Limbo for Three Years
Need for Employment-Based Development Beyond Residential Focus
"Regional Center" Role Must Be Restored... City Council Cooperation Essential
Goyang Special City in Gyeonggi Province has launched efforts to establish a comprehensive development plan to make the area around Wondang Station a hub for balanced regional development. However, the plan has stalled for the third consecutive year due to the city council's repeated rejection of the budget. Concerns are mounting that the decline of the Wondang area is deepening, as not even a blueprint to guide the direction of the Wondang Station area development has been prepared.
According to Goyang Special City on May 20, the city allocated a related budget six times over the past three years to establish a comprehensive development plan for the Wondang Station area. However, all attempts failed due to repeated budget cuts by the city council. As a result, development discussions for the Wondang area have not even begun in earnest.
The problem is that, although Wondang is designated as a "regional center" in the city's master plan, it has lost its central function in reality due to factors such as an aging population and a stagnant commercial district. Once an administrative and commercial hub, Wondang has lost its vitality and its residential environment has deteriorated since the relocation of the city hall.
Goyang Special City believes that the Wondang Station area, as a key location integrating transportation, employment, and daily life functions, has ample potential to be revitalized in connection with nearby developments such as the Creative Innovation Campus and Hydrogen City. The city maintains that it is urgent to establish a comprehensive master plan to transform the area into an urban space that combines employment, leisure, and convenience functions, rather than focusing solely on residential development.
Currently, some small-scale studies are being conducted under the leadership of the Goyang Research Institute. However, the city believes that these individual studies alone are insufficient to effectively address the demands for urban regeneration and development.
An official from Goyang Special City stated, "This is the last golden time to respond to future changes in Wondang," emphasizing, "It is now necessary to approach the issue seriously from an urban planning perspective, and the cooperation of the city council is desperately needed."
Although the city council has expressed concerns about the decline of the Wondang area, it has opposed the budget for the comprehensive plan that could provide a solution, drawing criticism for its inconsistent stance. Among local residents, dissatisfaction is also growing, with some saying, "How can we discuss development when there is no plan?"
Goyang Special City plans to make another attempt to establish a comprehensive development plan for the Wondang Station area through a supplementary budget in the future. However, there are predictions that the effort is likely to fail again unless the city council changes its attitude.
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