Seoul City Conducts Comprehensive Inspection of Sidewalk Subsidence and Damage in Preparation for Thaw Season

Special Inspection of 269 Sidewalks in Metropolitan Cities for Subsidence and Damage Until the 18th of Next Month... "Creating a Pleasant Walking Environment"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is launching a comprehensive inspection to ensure safe sidewalk management in preparation for the thawing season. As the ground frozen during winter melts, various safety accidents may occur, so the city aims to prevent these incidents and promptly complete repairs and address citizen inconveniences in advance to create a safe environment for pedestrians.

On the 18th, Seoul announced that it will conduct a comprehensive inspection of all 269 sidewalk routes in the special city, including sections of the road space reorganization projects such as Sejong-daero and Toegye-ro, until July 18th to promote pedestrian safety and a pleasant walking environment.

This inspection is in response to the risks of sidewalk heaving, subsidence, and frost boils caused by the thawing of ground frozen during winter, which can lead to ankle injuries and falls. The Seoul city government, autonomous districts, and facility management corporations have formed their own inspection teams to carry out the checks.

Additionally, this year, 10 participants from the 2021 first half Seoul Citizen Safety Job Project will join the Seoul sidewalk management team in the inspection. The key inspection items include ▲ occurrence of sidewalk subsidence, detachment, and frost boils ▲ subsidence or heaving in sidewalk (excavation) construction sections during winter ▲ subsidence around structures on sidewalks such as subway ventilation shafts and Korea Electric Power Corporation poles ▲ subsidence in excavation sections caused by construction of buildings or subways, and other sidewalk sections deemed to have a high risk of safety accidents during the thawing season.

Furthermore, throughout the thawing period, efforts are being made to improve the pleasant walking environment through the operation of the citizen volunteer group ‘Street Monitoring Team,’ which reports sidewalk damage and subsidence via the Smart Complaint Reporting app.

Even if not part of the ‘Street Monitoring Team,’ any Seoul citizen can report sidewalk subsidence or damage encountered while walking through the ‘Smart Complaint Reporting’ app or the ‘120 Dasan Call Center.’ Based on inspection results, requests for action will be made to the relevant departments, minor issues will be promptly repaired through emergency maintenance, and other identified problems will have maintenance plans established and be completed within the first half of the year.

Lee Sang-guk, Director of the Seoul Walking Policy Division, said, “Safety accident prevention cannot be emphasized enough,” adding, “Through this comprehensive inspection, we will actively repair sidewalk subsidence and damage caused by ground freezing and thawing due to heavy snow and rain, creating a safe and pleasant walking environment.”

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