Seongdong-gu Road Maintenance Around Geumho Station and Singeumho Station... Dongdaemun-gu Establishes Video Conference System to Upgrade Disaster Safety Situation Room

[Seoul District News] Seongdong-gu Expands Market Road 110m from Kumho Station to Geumnam Market to 15m Wide 3 Lanes with 2m Safe Sidewalks Both Ways; Shingeumho Station Area Bottleneck Section Expanded 120m with 2 New Subway Entrances and Escalators for Improved Traffic Convenience... Geumcheon-gu Expands Cherry Blossom Road to Improve Traffic Flow... Dongjak-gu Improves Shared Electric Scooter Management Measures... Jongno-gu Designates Gwanghwamun Area and Other Crowded Zones as 'Heavy Rain Priority Management Areas' with Sewer and Drainage Dredging... Dongdaemun-gu,

Renovated Road Near Singeumho Station

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongdong-gu (Mayor Jung Won-oh) has completed the road expansion construction this month on Jangteo-gil between Geumho Station and Geumnam Market, as well as the area around Singeumho Station.

The 110m section of Jangteo-gil, an important route functioning as a secondary arterial road to alleviate traffic congestion in the Geumho-dong area, has been expanded from the existing 8m wide 2-lane road to a 15m wide 3-lane road. Sidewalks, which did not previously exist, have been newly installed on both sides of the road to provide a safe 2m wide pedestrian path.

The 120m section near Singeumho Station, where new conditions such as population inflow are occurring due to multiple redevelopment projects including Geumho 13 and 15 districts, has been expanded from the existing 15m wide 2-3 lane road to a 20m wide 4-lane road. Two subway entrances (Exits 2 and 4) at Singeumho Station were newly constructed, one entrance (Exit 1) was relocated, and escalators were installed in some areas, greatly improving convenience for residents' transportation.

Seongdong-gu has made various efforts to improve the road environment in these areas, which were habitual traffic bottlenecks due to narrow roads and other reasons.

First, the Jangteo-gil section, where residents had consistently requested road expansion for 30 years due to disconnected sidewalks and increasing traffic volume, had faced many difficulties in promoting road expansion, including construction costs amounting to hundreds of billions of won, as projects initiated since 2002 were repeatedly canceled.

In December 2002, a feasibility study for road expansion was conducted and urban planning facility decision procedures were underway, but the project was canceled in April 2005 during investment review due to reconsideration opinions. In 2007, road expansion was planned alongside the designation of the Geumho 23rd district housing redevelopment maintenance zone, but the maintenance zone was lifted in 2013, causing another cancellation.

Nevertheless, Seongdong-gu actively requested Seoul City to resolve traffic congestion in 2016, securing 300 million won for related service fees in December of the same year. In early 2018, during the Seoul Mayor's site visit to Jangteo-gil, urgent road expansion was strongly requested, and in November of that year, the Jangteo-gil expansion project passed investment review.

Following a residents' briefing session and urban planning facility decision in 2019, continuous persuasion and consultation with local building owners were conducted to secure land, and practical administrative procedures such as compensation were sequentially carried out.

The 110m section was divided into two parts of 40m and 70m and progressed in stages. The first section received implementation plan approval and compensation and construction began in 2020. After the second section received implementation plan approval in December of the same year, compensation was carried out, accelerating the project. Building demolition in the road expansion section was conducted in December last year, and the road expansion construction was completed this month.

Additionally, the Geumho-ro near Singeumho Station, a narrow 2-3 lane road causing traffic bottlenecks, was a major wish of residents and nearby merchants for road expansion.

This section was excluded from the 4-lane expansion project conducted alongside redevelopment near Singeumho Station. To expand the road, the district had the Geumho-ro section, previously a 'district road,' recognized as a 'city road' in September 2015 to proceed with the project. After passing Seoul City's investment review, basic and detailed design services were commissioned in April the following year. Following urban planning facility (road) changes in 2017 and implementation plan approval, compensation began, completed by 2020, and the remaining section expansion was finished in March this year.

The district will officially announce the news of Seongdong-gu's 'Tantan-daero (Great Road)' through an opening ceremony on the 30th of this month. A district official explained that with the completion of this project, pedestrian safety and convenience in using Geumho Station and Geumnam Market will be enhanced.

A resident of Geumho-dong, Mr. A, who frequently travels between Geumnam Market and Geumho Station, responded, "It's really surprising that this road, which seemed impossible to pass with a stroller, has changed like this." He added, "Seeing the road open so smoothly after watching the demolition, I reaffirm the reputation of Seongdong-gu as a place with good transportation and applaud the district's efforts."

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, "The 30-year-long road expansion project in the Geumho-dong area has finally been completed today," and expressed gratitude to residents who endured inconveniences and waited for the project's completion. He also stated, "We will continue to make efforts to improve transportation in Seongdong-gu, the center of Seoul's traffic, and enhance convenience for residents."

Perspective view of the mobility convenience facilities to be installed in the expanded section of Beotkkot-ro where Geumcheon Overpass is located

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that it will install mobility convenience facilities (vertical elevators and pedestrian decks) connecting Beotkkot-ro and Geumcheon Overpass by the end of December.

The Beotkkot-ro section where Geumcheon Overpass is located (San 167-9, Doksan-dong) is a two-lane road. Additionally, the village bus stop in this section causes bottlenecks when buses stop, leading to continuous complaints about traffic inconvenience.

Accordingly, Geumcheon-gu plans to widen the road to alleviate traffic congestion. The stairs and bus stop around Geumcheon Overpass will be relocated backward to secure lanes, and the stairs connecting Beotkkot-ro and Geumcheon Overpass will be replaced with vertical elevators and pedestrian decks.

Geumcheon-gu expects this construction to partially ease traffic congestion on Beotkkot-ro and improve accessibility to Anyangcheon for pedestrians, securing a safe school route.

Meanwhile, since May last year, Geumcheon-gu has been conducting the 'Basic and Detailed Design for Beotkkot-ro Expansion.' Once the design is completed, overall Beotkkot-ro expansion construction will be implemented.

Yoo Sung-hoon, Mayor of Geumcheon-gu, said, "Starting with the relocation of the bus stop and installation of mobility convenience facilities, we will actively promote road expansion to resolve traffic congestion on Beotkkot-ro."

Jongno-gu will begin full-scale dredging work on sewage systems and rainwater inlets within the district this month to prevent flood damage and preemptively eliminate sources of odor, providing residents with a safe and pleasant urban environment.

Currently, the district has over 16,000 rainwater inlets and approximately 343 km of sewage pipes that send various wastewater and rainwater to treatment plants.

However, when debris such as soil, cigarette butts, and trash accumulate in rainwater inlets, or when grease discharged from homes or restaurants obstructs drainage, problems such as flooding and odor can occur.

Therefore, Jongno-gu has designated areas with dense floating populations, including Gwanghwamun, as priority management zones during heavy rainfall, and plans to dredge 74 km of sewage pipes and 39,622 rainwater inlets to prevent flooding.

Additionally, in areas prone to odor problems such as restaurant clusters, traditional markets, and residential areas, high-pressure water cleaning of sewage pipes will be conducted at least once a month to minimize odor generation.

Furthermore, in areas with frequent complaints related to flooding or odor, pipeline inspections will be conducted to identify causes such as poor slope or grease deposits, and appropriate solutions such as pipeline improvements will be implemented.

Jongno-gu is also promoting the 2022 thaw season river inspection to remove odor sources and provide residents with a pleasant natural environment. As the frozen ground thaws in winter, weakening the ground, inspections are conducted to prevent various safety accidents in rivers, and any trash found or emergency repairs needed are immediately addressed on-site.

A district official said, "Just as abnormal blood flow poses a serious health threat, accumulated sediment in rainwater inlets or unclean sewage systems cause urban environmental problems," adding, "We will continuously prepare various measures to contribute to flood prevention, public health, and enhance residents' quality of life."

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) is introducing a video conferencing system to establish a smart disaster safety situation room system that enables proactive response to rapidly changing climate and disaster environments.

The district plans to strengthen disaster response capabilities by introducing a multi-party information communication system connecting the disaster safety situation room, community service centers, and rainwater pumping stations.

To upgrade the disaster safety situation room, a budget of 160 million won will be invested to install video conferencing systems in the disaster safety situation room, planning situation room, 14 community service centers, and 9 rainwater pumping stations.

This video conferencing system will be actively used for sharing results of countermeasure meetings and disaster response promotions, enabling the establishment of a swift and accurate cooperative response system and improving productivity and efficiency of work.

Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, said, "We aim to build a smarter disaster safety situation room to protect residents' safety through proactive disaster response," and added, "We will strive to establish a systematic and prompt disaster preparedness system to protect residents' property and lives from disasters."

Dongjak-gu (Mayor Lee Chang-woo) announced on the 30th that it will improve shared electric scooter management measures starting this month to ensure pedestrian safety and enhance traffic convenience.

This management improvement follows Seoul City's 'Comprehensive Improvement Measures for Electric Scooter Towing System,' aiming to establish proper usage order and improve the pedestrian environment through clearer immediate towing zone criteria and effective self-regulation plans by electric scooter companies.

First, immediate towing zones will be more clearly defined. Previously, the criteria were ambiguous, including areas obstructing direct left-right movement on roads or subway station entrances/exits, and areas blocking crosswalk entry.

The zones are now specified as: roadways and bicycle lanes on roads with separated sidewalks and roadways; 5m in front of subway station entrances/exits; 5m in front of bus stops; within 3m before and after crosswalks; and on tactile paving and traffic islands.

Additionally, based on GPS technology, in some immediate towing zones such as in front of subway entrances, bus stops, and crosswalks, the system will automatically recognize when users park scooters. Habitual violators will be managed with warnings on the first violation, usage suspension on the 2nd and 3rd violations, and account cancellation on the 4th violation.

Furthermore, companies that implement order maintenance measures such as managing habitual violators will be granted a 60-minute towing grace period within immediate towing zones to collect scooters themselves, strengthening voluntary collection and social responsibility.

Since introducing the towing system for illegally parked shared electric scooters on roads and subway station entrances/exits in July last year, the district has towed over 2,700 scooters.

Residents inconvenienced by illegally parked electric scooters can report by accessing the mobile or website, clicking 'Report,' and scanning the QR code attached to the scooter.

The towing fee is 40,000 won per scooter, and storage fees at the towing facility are 700 won per 30 minutes. Towing hours are from 9 AM to 6 PM on weekdays, and reports outside these hours are processed the next business day.

Kim Byung-seop, Parking Management Division Chief, said, "We will do our best to manage shared electric scooters so that both pedestrians and users can move safely."

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