Seoul's Nowon-gu is expanding pedestrian safety improvements at major intersections to make travel safer and more convenient for residents, district mayor Seo Jun-o said.
The district has been identifying problem areas reported by residents, conducting joint on-site inspections with relevant agencies, and pushing for tailored traffic improvements — including diagonal crosswalks, new standard crosswalks, and signal system upgrades.
Nowon-gu currently operates 16 diagonal crosswalks. Since the first was installed at the rear gate of Sangwon Elementary School in 2008, the district has consistently expanded the network, focusing on high-pedestrian-traffic areas near schools and apartment complexes. Another diagonal crosswalk is planned for the Sinan Dongjin Apartment intersection on Junggye-ro in the second half of this year.
While diagonal and standard crosswalks improve pedestrian convenience, their installation requires review and approval from police and other agencies because of the potential impact on traffic flow, including vehicle delays.
To resolve resident complaints quickly, the district has been conducting joint on-site inspections from the outset of each project alongside the local police precinct, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Northern Road Business Office, while proactively pursuing coordination. The responsible department conducts its own field surveys and traffic condition analyses, and prepares traffic management plans in-house to submit as supporting documentation for police traffic review, helping accelerate the approval process.
Using this approach, improvements are under way at several major intersections this year. The area near Cheonggu General Shopping Center on the western side of Eunhaeng Intersection has long been flagged as a pedestrian safety concern — it sits in a busy hagwon district with heavy foot traffic, yet operates under an unprotected left-turn signal system. The district has requested a signal overhaul to introduce simultaneous pedestrian signals, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government is currently working on the design.
At Nowon Station, one of the busiest subway stops in the area, a new crosswalk was installed July 28 to eliminate a detour that had forced pedestrians to walk around toward Lotte Department Store. A separate crosswalk project at the Sanggye 6·7-dong community center intersection — where a pedestrian path had been cut off — has secured Seoul Metropolitan Government funding and is awaiting construction.
Vehicle traffic improvements are also in the pipeline. A total of 12 traffic facility upgrades have cleared police traffic review and will be built in phases. They include converting the northeastern side of Eunhaeng Intersection (Junggye-ro 18-gil) to one-way traffic, adding a U-turn lane in front of the Wolgye 1-dong community center, and creating a left-turn waiting space near Wolgye Misung Apartment.
District Mayor Seo previously championed pedestrian safety during his tenure as a Seoul Metropolitan Council member, leading interagency coordination to install a diagonal crosswalk and relocate a power distribution transformer at the Jungpyeong Elementary School intersection in Hagye-dong.
"Even installing a single crosswalk requires review and coordination with multiple agencies," Seo said. "That is why the district takes the initiative — inspecting sites firsthand and preparing the necessary data and traffic management plans to speed up project delivery. We will continue to actively identify pedestrian danger spots and work closely with relevant agencies to build intersection environments where residents can move around with confidence."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
