Improvement of Internal and External Convenience Facilities at Senior Centers, Elderly Care Centers, and Senior Welfare Centers in Jung-gu, Seoul

Improvement of Pedestrian Environment Including Remodeling of Elderly Welfare Facilities and Installation of Bollards for Sidewalk and Road Separation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Jung-gu, Seoul (Mayor Seoyangho) is attracting attention with a large-scale facility improvement to prevent safety accidents among local senior citizens.

The target facilities include a total of 29 locations such as senior centers, elderly care centers, welfare centers, and the surrounding pedestrian paths and alleys that are safety blind spots.

The improvements were carried out sequentially starting from July after on-site investigations from the beginning of the year.

To help seniors walk safely, handrails and safety handles were installed at 25 public elderly welfare facilities, and anti-slip treatments were completed on stairs. To prevent falls among seniors, bathroom floors were equipped and safety railings were also installed. A total of 121 convenience facilities were created in this way.

Among these many facility improvement projects, the creation of a safe walking environment for seniors is especially popular.

The bollards separating pedestrian and vehicle roads installed in front of Sindang Daycare Center (Dasan-ro 25-gil 6) have received great responses from center users as they secured a safe walking path for seniors. This also alleviated concerns from local residents who were worried about the heavy traffic endangering seniors’ walking. Safety handles were also installed next to the slope near Mukjeong Senior Center (Chungmuro 5-ga 21) to create a walking environment where seniors can walk with peace of mind.

The district paid special attention to the Sindang Daycare Center, a home-based elderly welfare facility undergoing a full remodeling of the 4th floor with the installation of a dementia-specialized room.

Since it is a space where patients move, anti-slip tiles and auxiliary handles in the bathroom, as well as handrails along the movement paths, were carefully arranged throughout the space to ensure both convenience and safety for seniors.

A Jung-gu official said, "As life expectancy increases, the elderly population is rapidly growing. To prepare for related safety accidents, we plan to secure the relevant budget next year to improve facilities and also to improve safety blind spots in alleys so that seniors can walk with peace of mind."

They have already identified 12 locations such as steep slopes, stairs without railings, and areas prone to fall accidents where seniors could be easily exposed to safety accidents.

Seoyangho, Mayor of Jung-gu, said, "We will provide generous support for projects directly related to the safety of vulnerable groups including the elderly, children, disabled, and women, to create a Jung-gu where residents can live safely with peace of mind."

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