Seoul City to End Passenger Car Traffic on Yeonse-ro by the End of This Month

From October 1st, Yeonse-ro in Seoul will be changed back to a public transportation-only zone, prohibiting private cars from passing through.

On the 15th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that starting in October, Yeonse-ro will be designated as a public transportation-only zone again. They will monitor the impacts on traffic, environment, and commercial districts until March next year, then gather expert and citizen opinions to decide on the continuation or abolition of the zone by June next year.

Accordingly, from next month, only buses, passenger vans with 16 seats or more, emergency vehicles, and bicycles will be allowed to travel on Yeonse-ro. Taxis will be permitted to operate only from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. the following day.

Yeonse-ro is a 550-meter-long street extending from Sinchon Rotary to Yeonse University Intersection, designated as a pedestrian and public transportation-only space in January 2014.

Before the designation as a public transportation-only zone, Yeonse-ro suffered from chronic traffic congestion, and illegal street vendors lined the narrow sidewalks, exposing pedestrians to constant risk of traffic accidents, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s assessment.

After the designation, Seoul widened the sidewalks on Yeonse-ro to a maximum of 8 meters. However, local merchants, who were hit hard by intensified competition with nearby commercial districts and the spread of COVID-19, requested the abolition of the public transportation-only zone. The city accepted this and allowed all vehicles to operate on a trial basis from January 20th this year until October 30th.

Meanwhile, Seodaemun-gu is urging the complete abolition of the public transportation-only zone, stating that the effects of vehicle traffic in the area are clear.

On the 13th, Lee Seong-heon, head of Seodaemun-gu Office, held a public hearing and said, "Data already shows that the monthly sales of the Sinchon commercial district dropped from 48.5 billion won before COVID-19 to 38.5 billion won during the pandemic, but have now increased to 51 billion won. If Seoul decides to reinstate the public transportation-only zone, we will reject it as an unreasonable policy as the managing authority of Yeonse-ro."

According to statistics from the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation, sales at stores near Sinchon Station in the first quarter of 2023, when private cars were allowed on Yeonse-ro, increased by 33% compared to the same period last year. However, the city explained that since sales in other university commercial districts also increased significantly, it is not clear whether the sales rise was due to the abolition of the public transportation-only zone.

Yoon Jong-jang, Director of Urban Transportation at Seoul City, said, "The Sinchon Yeonse-ro public transportation-only zone was a starting point marking the full launch of a 'pedestrian-friendly city' and is a policy with great symbolism for improving air quality and responding to the climate crisis. Therefore, a careful decision was necessary," adding, "We will listen to a wide range of citizen opinions in the future and reflect them in policy direction decisions."

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