Seoul Jung-gu Creates Safe School Routes to Protect Children

Creation of Safe School Routes with Red Pavement on Mixed Traffic Roads near Heungin Elementary... Visibility Enhanced with Yellow Sign Blocks and Embedded LED Markers at 14 Crosswalks... Hiring of School Route Safety Guardians and Traffic Safety Instructors for Children's Commute Safety

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seoyangho) has improved the school routes on the roads around Heungin Elementary School to create a safe walking environment for children.

Cheongguro 6-gil and Dasan-ro 32-gil near Heungin Elementary were mainly used as school routes by children, but these areas lacked separation between pedestrian and vehicle lanes, raising safety concerns such as traffic accidents during school commute times.

However, due to road conditions, it was difficult to install sidewalks with raised curbs.

Accordingly, the district paved sections of approximately 95m and 65m in length with red asphalt about 1.5 to 2 meters wide to create safe school routes clearly separating pedestrian and vehicle lanes. Thanks to this, children are guided to walk on safe paths, reducing their exposure to traffic accidents.

Embedded LED marker posts were also installed on the completed school routes. These are intended to guide drivers’ attention to the pedestrian paths during nighttime or rainy conditions, thereby preventing pedestrian traffic accidents.

Additionally, about 900 bright yellow footprints were added so that anyone can easily recognize these as paths used by children. Unlike the previously used yellow footprint stickers, which were prone to damage, special paint was applied this time to ensure durability.

At 14 crosswalk waiting lines near the school, yellow sign blocks inscribed with "Look left and right" were installed to enhance the symbolic and visual recognition of the child protection zone.

Furthermore, the district is concurrently running a walking safety guidance project to doubly ensure children’s safe walking environments from home to school.

Among these, the School Route Safety Guardians program is a social job project where about 60 safety guardians currently oversee the safety of elementary school routes in Jung-gu by providing safety guidance around schools, removing hazards on school routes, and inspecting walking environments.

Another traffic safety instructor program gathers children heading in the same direction at designated locations near their homes and escorts them safely to school together. This program has high satisfaction among parents living somewhat far from the schools. Currently, 25 instructors are active at three schools?Gwanghui, Cheonggu, and Jangchung?and the program is planned to expand after the end of COVID-19.

In addition, the district plans to install unmanned traffic enforcement cameras at nine school routes, including Heungin Elementary, by the end of this year to prevent frequent traffic accidents caused by negligence within child protection zones. Cameras will be installed mainly in areas with heavy traffic to create safe school routes where children can walk with peace of mind.

Seoyangho, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "We will continuously expand traffic safety facilities to protect children’s right to safe walking," adding, "By reinforcing safety measures doubly and triply, we will make Jung-gu a safe district for children and a great place to raise kids."

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