Gwangju Seo-gu to Implement Paid Operation of ‘Dongcheon-dong Public Parking Lot’ Starting Next Month

Published 19 Jan.2024 16:52(KST)

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) held a completion ceremony on the 19th after constructing a three-story public parking lot to resolve parking complaints in the densely packed commercial area of Dongcheon-dong.

Seogu held a completion ceremony for the Dongcheon-dong public parking lot on the 19th. <br>[Photo by Seogu]

Seogu held a completion ceremony for the Dongcheon-dong public parking lot on the 19th.
[Photo by Seogu]

According to Seo-gu on the day, the public parking lot was built across from Hoban Regencyville in Dongcheon-dong. This area had been plagued with various complaints such as illegal parking, traffic congestion, and pedestrian safety threats due to a lack of parking spaces.

In response, Seo-gu secured 5.4 billion KRW in national and city funds through the 2020 Parking Environment Improvement Support Project and began constructing the public parking lot.

The parking lot, completed after three years, has a total of three floors plus a rooftop level, allowing simultaneous parking for 44 vehicles, and will be open 24 hours with paid parking starting next month.

Seo-gu also plans to set parking fees at an appropriate level after gathering residents' opinions to prevent privatization of the public parking lot, such as long-term parking.

Local merchants near the parking lot said, “Nowadays, if parking is inconvenient, people tend to avoid even approaching the area,” and added, “If a pleasant parking environment is created, more people will conveniently use the shops, which is expected to help revitalize the commercial district.”

At the completion ceremony, Seo-gu Mayor Kim Ikang stated, “To resolve parking issues directly related to residents' quality of life, rather than investing significant time and cost in building parking lots, we will actively promote sharing existing parking lots at schools, apartments, religious facilities, and expand one-sided (variable) parking systems.”