Suwon's Maesil-ro in Homaesilji District Transforms into 'Pedestrian-Centered Road'

[Suwon Ilbo=Seo Dong-young Reporter] Maesil-ro in Suwon's Homaesilji District is transforming into a 'pedestrian-centered road.'

Suwon City announced on the 20th that it will launch a 'Pedestrian Traffic Improvement Project' from the end of this month on a 1.8㎞ two-way section of Maesil-ro (from the front of Ssangyong Apartments to the road in front of Homaesilji GS Apartments).

The Pedestrian Traffic Improvement Project includes ▲reducing traffic lanes to expand pedestrian spaces ▲upgrading deteriorated street facilities such as safety fences ▲replacing and installing street lights ▲replacing traffic signals in children's protection zones ▲replacing deteriorated bus shelters ▲installing speeding and traffic violation enforcement cameras, among others.

To improve Maesil-ro as a pedestrian-centered road, the city participated in the Gyeonggi Province-led 'Pedestrian-Friendly City Development Project' public contest and secured 450 million won in provincial funds. Adding 1.05 billion won in city funds, a total of 1.5 billion won will be invested. Completion is targeted for June of next year.

The improvement project section is located near elementary schools with high pedestrian traffic from children, but the sidewalk is narrow and has deteriorated pavement blocks and road facilities, resulting in poor pedestrian environment.

A city official stated, "Once the Maesil-ro improvement project is completed, pedestrian safety will be secured and traffic accidents will decrease," and added, "We will continuously gather and review citizen opinions and push forward with pedestrian environment improvement projects centered on people."