Nowon-gu Elementary School Commute Routes Fully Surveyed to Prevent Accidents

Customized Solutions for 42 Locations through a Complete Survey of Elementary School Commute Routes

Nowon District Takes Proactive Measures to Prevent Accidents in Elementary School Child Protection Zones

Tailored Maintenance of Traffic Safety Facilities from the Students' Perspective

Active Accident Prevention through the Introduction of a Smart Traffic Accident Prevention System

Establishment of a Commute Route Safety Monitoring Team to Identify Additional Risk Factors and Build a Rapid Response System

Seongok Elementary School Rear Gate Smart AI System Scheduled for Implementation

Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it has taken steps to prevent child traffic accidents by improving customized commute routes for each elementary school.

In response to the recent continuous occurrence of child fatalities in child protection zones, the district conducted a full survey of the safety conditions of commute routes around elementary schools and established customized improvement plans for 42 elementary school locations.

For each school, the district plans to ▲ tailor maintenance of traffic safety facilities ▲ introduce a smart traffic accident prevention system ▲ form a commute route safety monitoring team to fundamentally block child traffic accidents.

First, the district will maintain traffic safety facilities from the students’ perspective. Students themselves identified hazardous elements around their schools and marked them on maps to discover vulnerable points on commute routes. This approach thoroughly investigated not only the environmental and facility characteristics of the commute routes for 42 elementary schools in the area but also the risk factors seen from the students’ viewpoint to efficiently install traffic safety facilities.

Traffic facilities reflecting school demand surveys, such as 26 safety fences, 23 speed bumps, 15 anti-slip pavements, 13 floor traffic lights, 12 LED road markers, and 10 yellow carpets, are scheduled to be installed by the second half of this year.

Additionally, the district plans to proactively install child protection zone start and end point markings and yellow crosswalks, which are scheduled to be implemented from October this year. For commute routes without sidewalks due to narrow roads, ‘safety covers for backpacks’ marked with the child protection zone speed limit ‘30’ will be distributed.

Next, the district will introduce a smart traffic accident prevention system. Priority will be given to Seongok Elementary School in Wolgye-dong, where narrow roads prevent sidewalk installation and there is no separation between pedestrian and vehicle paths. A smart AI system (SMART AI SYSTEM) will be installed near the back gate commute route to secure drivers’ blind spots and display alerts on electronic boards when vehicles approach. The system’s effectiveness will be monitored and expanded later.

Moreover, the district has formed a ‘Commute Route Safety Monitoring Team.’ Comprising 75 members including traffic safety instructors recommended by elementary schools, members of the Green Mothers’ Association, and parents, the team will monitor commute route risk factors in real time and establish a rapid maintenance system.

As an example of customized improvement, the side road near Taerang Elementary School in Gongneung-dong lacked separation between pedestrian and vehicle paths and had a sloped section posing risks from speeding vehicles. To address this, the district plans to install a sidewalk (1.5m wide, 140m long) to separate pedestrian and vehicle paths, install anti-slip facilities, and introduce a speed reduction system to encourage vehicles to slow down.

Also, Gyesang Elementary School in Sanggye-dong faced risks due to frequent vehicle traffic on the adjacent four-lane road and narrow commute routes. However, the sidewalk expansion project scheduled for the second half of this year will widen the sidewalk along the four-lane Hangulbiseok-ro from 2.0m to 3.5m, and the sidewalk in front of the back gate from 1.5m to 2m. Additional traffic safety facilities such as raised crosswalks, yellow carpets, and speed reduction signs will also be installed to ensure further safety.

Meanwhile, in 2021, the district conducted the nation’s first research project to evaluate the safety of commute routes. It assessed the commute routes of all 42 elementary schools, daycare centers, and kindergartens in Nowon-gu by environment, facilities, systems, enforcement, and management, and carried out customized construction for each commute route based on the survey results.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, “Recent repeated safety accidents in child protection zones are unacceptable. We will strive to protect a safe city for children in Nowon by identifying risk factors from the children’s perspective and implementing customized improvements for each commute route.”

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