Songpa-gu 'Jungdaero 8-gil Road Diet' Safe Road Contest Grand Prize Winner

Reducing Lanes and Expanding Walkways Reflecting Residents' Voices... Proven Safe Road

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) has won the Grand Prize in the Best Practice category at the 2nd Safe Road Contest for the ‘Jungdae-ro 8-gil Road Diet Project.’

The Safe Road Contest, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Road Association from April to June, aimed to raise awareness of ‘Safe Roads’ that effectively reduce pedestrian traffic accidents.

A ‘Safe Road’ refers to a road applying ‘Traffic Calming’ techniques designed to enhance pedestrian safety by reducing vehicle traffic volume and speed.

Jungdae-ro 8-gil is a connecting road between Olympic Family Town Phase 1 and Phase 2 in Munjeong-dong. It had long operated as a two-way road with four lanes, but the road diet project by Songpa-gu in 2020 reduced lanes and expanded sidewalks, significantly improving pedestrian conditions.

Due to the development of the Munjeong district and other surrounding changes, vehicle traffic on Jungdae-ro 8-gil increased sharply.

With the upcoming opening of the southern intersection connecting to Dongnam-ro, the Olympic Family Town Residents’ Representative Committee continuously voiced residents’ requests for improvements, including a prohibition on straight-through traffic from the Munjeong district into the apartment complex.

In response, Songpa-gu conducted a feasibility study and established a basic plan in 2018, gathered opinions through a residents’ briefing session in 2019, and after review by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Traffic Safety Facility Committee, carried out the road diet construction from April to July 2020.

Through this, traffic calming techniques such as lane reduction, sidewalk expansion, and partial one-way traffic were applied to Jungdae-ro 8-gil. The section was divided into two parts: from Garak Market South Gate 1 to the Olympic Family Town Building 218 entrance intersection, one lane was removed from the four-lane two-way road to create a two-lane two-way road with a rotary, securing sidewalks equivalent to the reduced lane width.

From the Olympic Family Town Building 218 entrance intersection to Hosuni Shopping Area, two lanes were removed from the four lanes and operated as one-way traffic southbound only, prohibiting vehicle entry from Munjeong district and Dongnam-ro into the apartment complex.

As a result, vehicle traffic and illegal parking within the complex noticeably decreased, and the widened sidewalks created a safe walking environment, receiving positive reviews.

At the same time, it is significant that the long-standing wishes of local residents were reflected and resolved.

In this contest, the Jungdae-ro 8-gil Road Diet Project was highly evaluated for effectively enhancing pedestrian safety by applying traffic calming techniques such as lane reduction, demonstrating the successful establishment of a Safe Road.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, “It is especially meaningful that the road diet project reflecting the voices of local residents was recognized as an excellent case. We will continue to lead the creation of a walkable city where everyone can walk safely and comfortably.”

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