Gwangju City Urban Road Speed Limit Reduced to 50 km/h

On the 17th, Nationwide Implementation of 'Safe Speed 5030'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The speed limits on roads in Gwangju Metropolitan City have been lowered.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency (Chief Kim Gyotae) announced on the 1st that ahead of the full implementation of the 'Safe Speed 5030' policy, the speed limits on urban roads within Gwangju city (general roads in residential, commercial, and industrial areas) totaling 1,466 km in length have been lowered to 50 km/h or less.

The reduction of road speed limits was carried out in consultation with Gwangju Metropolitan City.

'Safe Speed 5030' is a nationwide safety policy that adjusts the speed limits of urban roads according to traffic conditions to ensure pedestrian safety on roads and reduce fatalities in traffic accidents. It sets the speed limit at 50 km/h (60 km/h if necessary) on general roads and 30 km/h or less on side roads such as residential areas.

To promote this policy, the Road Traffic Act Enforcement Rules were promulgated on April 17, 2019, and for stable project implementation by local governments, the nationwide enforcement is scheduled to begin on the 17th, two years after the promulgation.

The Gwangju Police and Gwangju City have completed the speed limit reduction work after reviewing traffic safety facilities and conducting design services following the legal amendment to ensure the smooth implementation of the 'Safe Speed 5030' traffic safety policy.

On arterial roads (4 lanes or more), 103 sections totaling 187 km had their speed limits lowered from 60 km/h to 50 km/h, and on side roads (4 lanes or fewer), 323 sections totaling 245 km had their speed limits reduced from 50 or 40 km/h to 30 km/h.

Additionally, speed limits of 30 km/h were designated for residential alleyways without speed limit regulations until now (single-lane roads without center lines), clarifying the standards for speed limits.

Furthermore, simultaneously with the promotion of the 'Safe Speed 5030' speed limit reduction, the speed limits in all protection zones (children, elderly, disabled) within Gwangju city have been lowered to 30 km/h, further strengthening the protection of vulnerable road users.

However, while aligning with policies to prevent traffic accidents, considering traffic conditions, 29 sections totaling 141 km on necessary traffic roads such as Sangmu-daero have been set at 60 km/h to minimize inconvenience to citizens.

A representative of the Gwangju Police Agency stated, "We will continuously improve the traffic environment to establish a pedestrian-first traffic culture."

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