Gwangju City Council Member No Youngjun Urges Introduction of Flexible School Zone Speed Limits

No Youngjun, a member of the Gwangju City Council in Gyeonggi Province (People Power Party, representing Gyeongan-dong, Ssangnyeong-dong, and Gwangnam 1 and 2-dong), strongly urged the introduction of a flexible school zone speed limit system during a free speech session at the 1st plenary meeting of the 319th extraordinary session held on September 9. He stated, "While it is essential to protect children's safety, it is also necessary to minimize citizen inconvenience by operating school zone speed limits more flexibly."

No Youngjun, Gwangju City Council, Gyeonggi Province Photo by Gwangju City Council

No Youngjun pointed out, "The 30 km/h school zone speed limit is an important measure for children's traffic safety, but it is currently applied uniformly even during late-night hours or school vacations when there is little to no pedestrian traffic by children." He added, "This results in unnecessary traffic congestion, increased inconvenience for citizens, and growing dissatisfaction among drivers."

He continued, "Major advanced countries such as Australia, the United States, Canada, Japan, and Singapore already operate flexible speed limits tailored to school commuting hours. In Korea as well, several regions including Seongbuk-gu in Seoul, Daegu, Jeju, Jeonju, and Hanam have piloted or adopted such systems and received positive evaluations."

In particular, the pilot program in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, saw compliance with late-night speed limits rise from 43.5% to 92.8%, while average travel speeds increased by 7.8%. In Daegu, more than 82% of citizens supported the nighttime relaxation policy, and areas such as Hanam have already implemented a 30 km/h limit during the day and a 50 km/h limit at night. No Youngjun emphasized these cases as evidence that "it is possible to ensure both safety and efficiency."

He also noted, "In July, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council passed an ordinance supporting time-based speed limits in school zones and other protected areas." He proposed, "Gwangju City should strictly enforce the 30 km/h limit during school commuting hours, relax it to 50 km/h during late-night or low-traffic periods, and effectively operate this system by installing variable electronic signboards and smart traffic systems."

No Youngjun reiterated, "While children's safety is the highest priority, we must also consider the convenience of citizens' daily mobility." He once again urged, "Since a flexible school zone speed limit is a practical solution that can achieve both values, Gwangju City should actively move forward with introducing this system."

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