'Yongsan Family Park' Reborn as a Safe and 'Barrier-Free Friendly Park' for Everyone

Universal Design Applied to Complete Barrier-Free Friendly Park
Removed Curb Stones, Installed Braille Blocks at Main Entrance and Restrooms, Improved Park Signage

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 19th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that Yongsan Family Park has been newly developed as a barrier-free friendly park to be more comfortably accessible not only to the general public but also to people with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, children, and stroller users.

Universal design was applied to major areas frequently used by citizens, such as playgrounds and parking facilities, to improve convenience for wheelchair users and those accompanied by infants, and comprehensive information boards were upgraded to enhance accessibility to barrier-free facilities.

The ‘Barrier-Free Friendly Park Development Project’ has been selecting 1 to 2 target sites annually since 2012, and as of this year, 12 sites have been completed. Considering overall factors such as accessibility, usability, facility aging, and project effectiveness for each park, the following 12 parks were prioritized and developed: Yeouido Park, Boramae Park, World Cup Park, Cheonho Park, Buk Seoul Dream Forest, Seonyudo Park, Seoul Forest, Namsan Park, Gildong Ecological Park, Jungnang Camping Forest, West Seoul Lake Park, and Yongsan Family Park.

Previously, mainly entrances, walkways, guidance and information facilities, and sanitary facilities such as restrooms were maintained, but now additional improvements have been made to enable integrated use of various facilities suitable to the conditions of each park. During the design process, on-site consultations with experts identified inconveniences and issues in park facilities, which were reflected in construction. In particular, regarding space and circulation systems, new ramps were installed, level differences were eased, paving was improved, and necessary new circulation routes were established to create a universally accessible loop path.

Seoul plans to develop Gande-me Park and Eungbong Park as barrier-free friendly parks as well, aiming to remodel a total of 14 parks into barrier-free friendly parks convenient for everyone by next year.

Yu Young-bong, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Green City and Leisure Bureau, said, “We are doing our best to make Seoul’s parks a resting place where not only the general public but also children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and pregnant women can gather and enjoy together,” adding, “Even after renovating the parks into barrier-free friendly parks, we will continue to improve them through communication with park users whenever issues are discovered.”

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