Gumi-si, Innovative Parking System ... Enhancing Urban Accessibility

726myeon Citizen Happiness Parking Lot Provides Pleasant Environment for Citizens

82 Billion Won Invested to Create Six Large-Scale Public Parking Lots

These days, just as you reach for your car keys to grab a cup of coffee, worries about parking suddenly arise. Amid the ever-increasing number of vehicles, Gumi City, now under its 8th elected administration, has actively stepped up to solve parking issues.

Gumi City Actively Secures Parking Spaces in the Urban Area.

▲ Expansion of manpower through the establishment of the ‘Parking Facilities Team’

The responsibility for parking lot-related tasks in Gumi City has expanded from one person to a total of four members in the newly reorganized ‘Parking Facilities Team’ as of January 2023. This reflects Mayor Kim Jang-ho’s determination to recognize the importance of parking problems and actively resolve them.

▲ Improvement of local parking environment through large-scale public parking lot development

As a result of actively supporting public contest projects this year, a project to build a three-story parking tower with 130 spaces near Daegu Bank in Bonggok-dong was selected, with a budget of 6 billion KRW.

In early December, a multi-purpose complex center project equipped with parking facilities and conference rooms was confirmed for the Gumi National Industrial Complex 3rd District (Jinpyeong-dong), with a budget of 6 billion KRW and a three-story structure with 150 parking spaces. This is expected to greatly contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the industrial complex and improving the working environment for employees.

Near Gupyeong Plaza (Gupyeong-dong), Gumi City’s first underground public parking lot is being vigorously constructed with a budget of 7.9 billion KRW and two basement levels accommodating 173 parking spaces, aiming for completion in April next year. Additionally, an underground parking lot with one basement level and 233 spaces, utilizing the Uhahng Park parking lot (Sindang-ri, Sandong-eup), is scheduled to begin construction in January next year with a budget of 10 billion KRW.

In September, projects worth 30 billion KRW and 22.2 billion KRW were selected for Gumi Elementary School and Dosong Middle School respectively, under the school complex facility contest. Gumi Elementary School will have a complex cultural facility including care services and an underground parking lot with 280 spaces on one basement level, while Dosong Middle School will build school facilities such as a cafeteria and auditorium along with an underground parking lot with 150 spaces on two basement levels.

▲ Securing temporary public parking lots through the Citizen Happiness Parking Lot Project in the city center

The ‘Citizen Happiness Parking Lot Project’ leases small-scale unused land owned by citizens to create temporary public parking lots for public use. Leasing and operating parking lots has the advantage of securing parking spaces in a short period and at low repair costs, compared to the long construction times required for large-scale parking lots.

While about three sites were implemented annually, since July last year, thanks to Gumi City’s active interest and bold budget investment, 10 sites with a total of 726 parking spaces have been secured throughout the city center and provided to citizens.

The underground parking lot with 266 spaces behind Gumi Station Plaza is a valuable achievement obtained after persistent appeals to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, returning to the citizens after 10 years. This was the result of unified voices from Gumi City, which has continuously focused on revitalizing the city’s representative hotspot Geumridan-gil and the Geumo Mountain refresh project, along with residents of Gaksan Village.

The 117-space public parking lot in Sinpyeong-dong has brought great hope to Sinpyeong Market, which had been struggling after the relocation of Kumoh National Institute of Technology. Sinpyeong is an old downtown area with no parking lots and is home to various administrative offices such as the police station and research institutes, suffering from chronic parking shortages. Local merchants are optimistic about the recovery of the alleyway commercial district thanks to the secured parking spaces.

▲ Active utilization of citizen-participatory projects such as the Green Parking Project

The ‘Green Parking Project’ involves converting gates or walls to secure parking spaces within private homes. Recently, participation has been low due to subsidies that do not match current prices. Going forward, the city plans to prepare for cooperation with citizens by significantly increasing subsidies through ordinance revisions.

Additionally, a new ordinance will be established to improve the efficiency of parking spaces in the city center by opening school, large building, and religious facility parking lots, as well as private off-street parking lots in residential and commercial areas, to local residents during off-peak hours through the ‘Parking Lot Opening and Sharing Project.’

▲ Improving convenience of public parking lot use through integrated parking information system

The city plans to enhance user convenience by providing real-time parking lot status through the construction of a parking portal system and enabling non-face-to-face parking fee discount applications via the internet.

By pre-registering cards, similar to the Hi-Pass system on highways, non-stop exit from parking lots will prevent congestion and greatly help improve the efficiency of existing parking spaces.

▲ Operating public parking lots that are accessible to citizens

The city is working to offer parking lots with low usage rates during certain hours to citizens by analyzing public parking lot usage. Free opening was implemented to prevent the paradoxical situation where the burden of parking fees leads to illegal parking nearby, despite empty parking lots being available.

Since July, Geumo Mountain Grand Parking Lot has been open free of charge on weekdays and weekends except during late night hours (midnight to 4 a.m.), and since October, Geumocheon Public Parking Lot has been free on weekends.

The city has prioritized pedestrian safety and improved surrounding traffic flow by guiding vehicles to parking lots. Through this, it strives to invigorate the area by making visits to Geumo Mountain, Geumridan-gil, and Gumi’s original downtown more convenient and lively.

Mayor Kim Jang-ho said, “We hope to continuously create a pleasant parking environment to relieve citizens’ stress about parking, and we will strive to make Gumi’s charm so that tourists want to visit again.”

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