8.9 out of 10 Daejeon Citizens Support 'Undergrounding Urban Sections' of Gyeongbu and Honam Lines

Daejeon City asked citizens for their opinions on the 'Urban Section Undergrounding' project of the Gyeongbu and Honam Lines. As a result, the majority of citizens showed a positive stance toward the project and expressed a hope that green spaces such as parks would be created in the upper space that will be developed through the project. Provided by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] When asked about the pros and cons of undergrounding the Gyeongbu and Honam Lines passing through the city center, the majority of Daejeon citizens expressed support.

Daejeon City announced on the 3rd that, as a result of a recent survey on the undergrounding project of the Gyeongbu and Honam Lines in the urban section, 89.9% of the participating citizens supported the project, while 10.1% opposed it.

The survey was conducted from the 11th to the 25th of last month through the city and district websites. A total of 2,224 people participated during this period.

Among them, by age group, 63.6% were in their 30s to 40s, and 64.3% had lived in Daejeon for more than 20 years, showing that the younger generation who have long been based in Daejeon have a high interest in the underground railway urban section project.

The survey focused on citizens' opinions regarding the undergrounding of the above-ground railways, such as the Gyeongbu Line (13 km) and Honam Line (11 km), which have divided downtown Daejeon for over 100 years, and on how to utilize the land if undergrounded.

In the survey (multiple selections allowed), citizens showed a positive stance toward promoting the underground railway urban section project, citing reasons such as improvement of residential conditions including noise and vibration reduction (55.7%), overcoming east-west division (51%), and improvement of living environment (45.6%).

Those opposing the project cited financial burden (79.5%) as the biggest reason and also expressed concerns about the rise in land and real estate prices near the development area (31.3%).

Regarding the facilities to be introduced in the upper space after undergrounding, preferences were for ▲parks and green spaces (72.6%), ▲cultural and artistic spaces (28.5%), and sports facilities (26.8%). Other opinions included “a comprehensive plan should be prepared from a long-term perspective” and “promote balanced development of underdeveloped areas (such as development around Jochajang Station).”

Based on this, the city plans to conduct a research project on development plans including undergrounding the Gyeongbu and Honam Lines in the downtown area of Daejeon, actively reflecting citizens' opinions on undergrounding the above-ground railway and setting up upper space facilities, and report to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport by the first half of next year.

Cho Cheol-hwi, head of the Daejeon Tram Metropolitan Headquarters, said, “Citizens' opinions will serve as a foundation for setting policy directions for the undergrounding project of the Gyeongbu and Honam Lines in the urban section, which is a presidential national agenda,” and added, “We ask for the continuous interest and support of Daejeon citizens for the realization of this project.”

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