District aims to prevent jaywalking and create safer school commute routes

Nowon-gu District Mayor Seo Jun-o. [Nowon-gu]
Nowon-gu District Mayor Seo Jun-o. [Nowon-gu]

Nowon-gu announced Wednesday that it has been pursuing tailored improvements to school commute routes following a comprehensive safety survey conducted in 2023, citing the district's high concentration of elementary schools. This year's pedestrian environment upgrades focus on two areas: expanding LED road markers at crosswalks and overhauling safety barriers and traffic facilities.

The district plans to install LED road markers at runway-style crosswalks across 26 school zones, covering 134 crosswalks. Embedding the markers into the pavement allows drivers and pedestrians to spot crosswalks more easily in poor visibility conditions such as rain. The district secured 200 million won ($146,000) from the Seoul Metropolitan Government budget this year and plans to pursue additional city funding next year to achieve 100 percent installation coverage.

Aging safety barriers will also be actively replaced. This year's replacement work spans a total of 2 kilometers, including about 300 meters along Hwarang-ro near Samyuk Elementary School and 80 meters near Kkumteo Kindergarten.

The district is also working to upgrade traffic safety facilities to match conditions at each school zone. Across 112 school zones in the district, it is pursuing anti-slip pavement, repainting of road markings, and maintenance of traffic signs and speed-warning signs.

Meanwhile, Nowon-gu last year installed state-of-the-art integrated safety "smart poles" at four school zones. District Mayor Seo Jun-o, then a Seoul Metropolitan Council member, secured 200 million won in funding through consultations with the Seoul Digital City Bureau to carry out the project.

"We must not overlook even the smallest hazard on the school routes children travel every day," Seo said. "We will inspect facilities that need improvement directly on-site and address them swiftly, so that all pedestrians can walk the streets with peace of mind."


ikson@heraldcorp.com