Wait times cut to 5 minutes; user satisfaction at 92%

Foot traffic up 56%, monthly sales up 8 billion won

A newly built public parking garage on Design Street in Samsan-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan, is helping revitalize the surrounding commercial district. Shown are the entrance and full exterior of the Design Street public parking garage. [Ulsan City]
A newly built public parking garage on Design Street in Samsan-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan, is helping revitalize the surrounding commercial district. Shown are the entrance and full exterior of the Design Street public parking garage. [Ulsan City]

A public parking garage on Design Street in the commercial district of Samsan-dong, Nam-gu — the heart of Ulsan — has eased chronic parking shortages and helped revitalize the local business district in the four months since it opened.

To address the area's severe parking crunch, Ulsan City spent 26.2 billion won ($19.3 million) to replace an existing 240-space lot at 1572 Samsan-dong, Nam-gu, with a new five-story, 471-space public garage covering 13,370 square meters. The facility began operating in July, following a ground-breaking in September 2024.

The ground floor houses a local startup zone and Sodam Square, a support facility for small-business entrepreneurs. Floors two through five serve as parking levels, while the outdoor area has been landscaped as a garden plaza. The result is a mixed-use space that combines parking with startup support, cultural programming, recreation and urban greenery.

Ulsan City said Tuesday the expansion's impact is showing up in the numbers. Parking capacity nearly doubled from 240 to 471 spaces, cutting average wait times from 12 minutes to under five. The city also cited a user satisfaction survey showing a 92 percent approval rating and data pointing to a commercial revival, both attributed in part to a new contactless payment system that has improved convenience and vehicle turnover.

Mobile big data analysis showed that compared with before the project broke ground, foot traffic in the area rose 56 percent and monthly card sales across Samsan-dong climbed 8 billion won, a 14 percent increase.

Critics have noted, however, that wait times still lengthen during peak hours and that drivers continue to park in narrow alleyways despite the garage's availability — prompting calls to convert the garage's garden plaza into additional parking spaces. Ulsan City pushed back, saying the garage was sized through a traffic impact assessment and that adding more spaces would funnel more vehicles into the narrow entry and exit lanes, worsening congestion rather than relieving it.

"Once we complete the 137-space underground public parking facility beneath Daldong Dongpyeong Park nearby in April next year, and continue expanding access to privately owned open lots, the parking shortage should ease considerably," a city official said.


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