Why Did Songpa-gu Launch an Inspection of School Routes?

Environmental Inspections at All 89 Local Schools by February 7... Improvement Plans for Speed Cameras Ahead of 'Minsik Law' Implementation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced on the 28th that it has begun inspecting the environment around school routes to ensure students' safe commute to and from school ahead of the new semester.

Additionally, prior to the implementation of the Min-sik Act (partial amendment to the Road Traffic Act and partial amendment to the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes) in March, road improvement plans will also be prepared.

Until February 7, four employees of Songpa-gu will thoroughly inspect risk factors in roadways and sidewalks to prevent safety blind spots for students.

The inspection targets a total of 89 locations, including 40 elementary schools, 28 middle schools, 19 high schools, and 2 special schools. In particular, the children's protection zones (School Zones) around the 40 elementary schools will be intensively inspected.

Specifically, the inspection will cover children's protection zone signboards, yellow carpets and safety fences, speed bumps management, harmful advertisements around schools, pedestrian obstruction caused by roadside storage and street vendors, damage to road (sidewalk) facilities, illegal dumping of trash, and illegal parking.

In addition, the inspection will investigate school routes where the distinction between roadways and pedestrian paths is unclear, and identify cases where traffic safety facilities such as speed cameras, speed bumps, traffic lights, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) installations are needed, preparing improvement plans accordingly.

This is also a measure to prepare for the enforcement of the Min-sik Act in March. The Min-sik Act mandates the installation of speed cameras, speed bumps, and traffic lights within children's protection zones to strengthen child traffic safety.

Songpa-gu added that urgent issues will be reported to the relevant departments for immediate resolution, and other pointed matters will be addressed before the new semester begins.

Last year, Songpa-gu also conducted a preliminary inspection of the environment around schools in the district for 11 days starting February 13 to create safe school routes, repairing a total of 41 cases including cracks in school fences, damage to yellow carpets, safety fences, and sidewalk blocks.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “Safety can never be overemphasized,” and added, “We will do our best to create a safe walking and educational environment so that students can commute with peace of mind.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.