– Follow-up safety measures completed, including additional installation of safety fences and safety signs at the scene of the Siheung Station accident in July
– ‘Vehicle safety fences’ installed on 98 pedestrian-vulnerable roads with steep slopes, sharp curves, and densely packed crowds… Pedestrian protection
– LED signs replaced on one-way side roads with the possibility of confusion over driving direction, to be expanded to 80 locations this year
– Open public spaces such as plazas, low crosswalks… Add large flower pots and bollards to prevent vehicle entry
- Narrow sidewalks are newly constructed and expanded, diagonal crosswalks are installed, etc., ensuring the highest level of pedestrian safety in the country.
□ The Seoul Metropolitan Government will install safety fences for vehicles on 98 roads in Seoul with a high risk of accidents, such as steep slopes and sharp curves. One-way roads with a high possibility of confusing driving directions will be replaced with LED signs that are easy for drivers to identify, and large stone flower pots and bollards will be additionally installed in areas where people are usually concentrated or in open spaces to prevent vehicle entry, thereby safely protecting pedestrians.
□ Seoul City announced measures on Tuesday the 7th, including reinforcing and replacing traffic safety facilities and improving the pedestrian environment, amid growing concerns about the importance of ensuring pedestrian safety following the traffic accident near City Hall Station in July.
□ The purpose is to drastically improve the road and sidewalk environment to minimize blind spots in safety and establish a preemptive response system to prevent traffic accidents. In addition, the city of Seoul plans to present a new turning point in the domestic traffic environment, where detailed management plans for traffic accidents on sidewalks are insufficient.
□ The city has completed systematic follow-up measures, including installing reinforced vehicle safety fences at the site immediately following the accident at City Hall Station and installing additional traffic safety signs and road markings to prevent reverse driving.
○ In addition, next year, we plan to significantly improve the pedestrian environment, including expanding sidewalks and reinforcing safety facilities, to significantly increase the level of safety.
< Photo of reinforcement of the guardrail and safety facilities to prevent reverse driving in the one-way section of Sejong-daero 18-gil >
□ In addition, in order to identify pedestrian hazards across Seoul, the city conducted a survey in collaboration with relevant departments, the Seoul National Police Agency, autonomous districts, and the Road Traffic Authority, and also conducted an analysis of key areas requiring improvement, such as one-way sections, pedestrian-dense areas, and high-risk accident locations.
○ The survey was conducted to confirm the necessity and urgency of safety facility maintenance at ▴ 12 dangerous road sections, ▴ 4,156 traffic accident management points, ▴ 60 areas with a high pedestrian density, ▴ 1,980 sections in protected areas without safety fences, and ▴ 16 safety facility suggestion points from police stations and autonomous districts, including all one-way sections (575 city/province sections and 190 district sections).
□ Based on the results of the investigation, the city plans to invest a total of KRW 400 billion in approximately 308* points and sections of road that require priority improvement among the dangerous points on the road, and promote improvement by 2025. Target points will be continuously discovered.
○ In addition, we plan to specify the Seoul-type installation standards for guardrails and bollards and reflect them in the future when improving road safety facilities at pedestrian risk points.
* The one-way side road guidance system will be implemented separately.
□ The “Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Measures” announced this time include immediate improvement and local investigation of the accident site in July, as well as measures such as ▴reinforcing and installing safety fences for vehicles in dangerous areas, ▴installing bollards in open spaces, and ▴improving the pedestrian environment.
<scarp‧Sharp curve, Pedestrian-vulnerable roads with dense crowds 98In the place 'Vehicle safety fence' install... Pedestrian Protection>
□ First, vehicle safety fences will be installed in 98 pedestrian-vulnerable sections where traffic accidents are likely to occur due to road characteristics or where many casualties are expected in the event of an accident. Most of the fences currently installed on sidewalks are used to prevent pedestrians from jaywalking, and the city plans to further secure pedestrian safety by installing these vehicle safety fences.
□ The vehicle safety fence is installed with 'SB1' grade, which has passed the crash test of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, using vehicle steel material. This is the strength that can protect pedestrians even if an 8-ton vehicle crashes at 55 km/h at a 15-degree angle. It has also been installed at the accident site of City Hall Station.
□ Installation areas include ▴ road danger sections (end points of one-way traffic on main roads, steep slopes and sharp curves, accident sites on sidewalks where serious or more serious injuries occur, densely populated areas, etc.) ▴ steep slopes and sharp curves among the protection zones for the vulnerable. Representative installation areas include Namsan Sopa-gil, Toegye-ro 4-ga intersection, in front of Dongdaemun Fashion Mall, Itaewon-ro, etc.
○ In addition to vehicle safety fences, we plan to reinforce and install “No Entry (One-Way Traffic)” signs at the end points of one-way traffic on main roads where there is a high risk of reverse driving accidents, and also plan to fill in sidewalks at corners of roads.
< Plan for installing a safety fence for vehicles at the end of a one-way street (Toegyero 4-ga Intersection) >
< Plan for installing a safety fence for vehicles on steep slopes (Donmgangsan Road) >
<On one-way back roads where there is a possibility of confusion in driving direction LED Replace the sign, this year 80place‧Continued expansion>
□ Second, easy-to-recognize 'No Turn' LED signs will be installed on one-way side roads where drivers are likely to get confused about the driving direction. Most one-way roads are 1-2 lanes in residential areas, and since accidents can cause significant damage, we plan to start replacing 80 sections this year and continue to do so until next year.
< Example of strengthening the guidance system for the entrance/exit of the back road (Teheran-ro 115-gil) >
<Open public spaces such as plazas, low curb crosswalk... Add large flower pots and bollards to prevent vehicle entry>
□ Third, in open public spaces such as plazas or places where there are usually a lot of people, additional large flower pots and bollards will be installed to prevent vehicle entry. Bollards will also be installed in front of crosswalks with low curbs to protect pedestrians more closely.
○ Open spaces are likely to be crowded with people due to various events, and there is a risk that a major accident may occur in the event of a vehicle crash. Large stone flower pots not only have a landscaping effect, but are also effective in preventing traffic accidents.
○ When installing facilities such as bollards, consider the movement path to prevent vehicle entry while maintaining the convenience of pedestrians with reduced mobility.
< Open space large flower pot installation plan (Gwanghwamun Square) >
<Plan to install bollards in lowered crosswalk curbs (Dongdaemun Fashion Mall)>
<Narrow sidewalks are being built and expanded, Ensuring the highest level of pedestrian safety in the country, including installation of diagonal crosswalks>
□ Lastly, we will protect the safety of citizens’ daily lives through projects to improve the pedestrian environment to the highest level in the country, such as the construction of traffic islands and the installation of diagonal crosswalks.
□ For 44 roads, including Madeul-ro, where pedestrian space is insufficient or safety facilities are inadequate, improvement projects such as securing more space by constructing and expanding sidewalks and installing additional safety facilities will also be carried out by next year. The waiting area at the central bus stop, where there is no height difference between the road and sidewalk, will be replaced with crosswalk markings so that citizens can safely wait inside the platform.
< Example of implementation plan for improving pedestrian environment (Maduro) >
< Central Bus Stop Waiting Space Improvement Plan (Jongno) >
□ In addition, we plan to continue discussions with the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on institutional and technological improvements to increase traffic accident prevention effects, such as improving the driver’s license system for elderly drivers, which has recently become an issue, to a customized driver’s license system based on each individual’s actual driving ability, and developing and distributing automobile safety devices.
□ Yoon Jong-jang, the head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Transportation Bureau, said, “As the importance of the pedestrian environment has increased due to the recent occurrence of several traffic accidents, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will mobilize all available measures to implement preemptive and systematic measures,” adding, “We will strive to create a city where all citizens can walk with peace of mind by conducting comprehensive inspections and large-scale facility improvements with pedestrian safety as the top priority.”