Gwangju City and Local Police Agency Lower Speed Limits on 83 Urban Road Sections

General Roads at 50 km/h · Residential Roads at 30 km/h

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 19th that, in preparation for the full implementation of the ‘Safe Speed 5030’ policy, it will lower the speed limits on 83 urban road sections (total length 140.4 km) from 60 km/h to 50 km/h in cooperation with the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency.

‘Safe Speed 5030’ is a nationwide safety policy that adjusts speed limits on urban roads according to their use and circumstances to ensure pedestrian safety and reduce fatalities in traffic accidents. The speed limits are set at 50 km/h (60 km/h if necessary) on general roads and 30 km/h or less on residential and other side streets.

To promote this policy, the Road Traffic Act Enforcement Rules were promulgated on April 17 last year, and considering the time required for local governments to install road markings and signs, the policy will be implemented from April next year, two years after the promulgation.

To this end, the city and the police agency began design services for the ‘Safe Speed 5030’ traffic safety policy project in April, completed the traffic safety facility review, and are scheduled to start construction on the 20th.

Initially, from the 20th, the speed limits will be lowered on 40 sections totaling 75.5 km, including City Hall Road with five or more lanes in both directions, and construction on 43 sections totaling 64.9 km, such as World Cup East and West Roads with four lanes in both directions, is planned to start in October.

However, to minimize inconvenience to citizens while aligning with the traffic accident prevention policy and considering traffic conditions, three sections totaling 140.6 km, including Sangmu-daero, which are necessary for traffic flow, will maintain the 60 km/h speed limit.

Additionally, speed violation enforcement in the sections with changed speed limits will begin after a three-month grace period following the replacement of signs and road markings. Drivers can check the speed limits through the speed limit signs and road markings on the roads.

Gwangju City and the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency stated, “The implementation of Safe Speed 5030 will mark a shift from vehicle-centered traffic policies to people-centered policies. This project is being promoted for the safety of both pedestrians and drivers, and we ask for the active cooperation of citizens.”

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