The police have begun reinforcing traffic safety facilities at major intersections in Seoul that had not seen improvements for years. This initiative is the result of the citizen-centered traffic environment and culture improvement project, "Seoul Traffic Re-Design," which has been underway for about a month.
On December 2, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it had addressed 408 out of 1,258 reports of traffic-related risks and inconveniences submitted by citizens between November 10 and 30.
In particular, the agency expanded the number of entry lanes from one to two on the Dongbu Expressway's access to the Inner Ring Road in Seongdong District, where frequent lane-cutting and congestion had been reported, and installed color lanes to guide traffic flow. As a result, the average travel speed on this road increased to 44 km/h, which is approximately 29% faster.
On the east side of Gunja Station intersection in Gwangjin District, where a crosswalk could not be installed due to vehicle congestion despite heavy pedestrian traffic, a new crosswalk will be installed by June next year.
At the Jeungsan Bridge intersection in Seodaemun District, where the risk of traffic accidents is high-such as the recent fatality of a motorcycle rider due to speeding and signal violations by Gyeonggi-do metropolitan buses-additional unmanned enforcement equipment will be installed by December 20 to monitor both directions of the bus-only lanes.
On Bukaksan-ro in Jongno District, where late-night speeding and loud noise have posed significant risks of accidents and inconvenienced residents, speed enforcement cameras will be installed by December 31. These cameras will monitor a 2.7 km section from Changuimun Samgeori to Bugak Palgakjeong.
In addition to reinforcing traffic safety facilities, the police have also cracked down on traffic law violations and promoted traffic culture campaigns. Over the past four weeks, they detected 6,713 violations, including discourteous driving during morning commutes and illegal riding of motorcycles and personal mobility devices on sidewalks. Police stations also conducted around 80 campaigns to foster a safer traffic culture.
This project will continue until the end of June next year, with the goal of making Seoul a model for traffic environment and culture in South Korea.
Park Jeongbo, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "All proposals will be analyzed and used as policy data to set the direction for Seoul's traffic environment, culture, and public relations in the future."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
