No Transit Parking at Suwon Station, Southern Gyeonggi's Transportation Hub with 100,000+ Daily Visitors

Suwon Station, a major transportation hub in southern Gyeonggi Province that attracts 100,000 daily commuters, lacks any transit parking facilities.

In particular, amid high oil prices, ordinary citizens trying to save every penny on fuel are unable to use public transportation such as subways, trains, and intercity buses at Suwon Station because there are no public parking lots for transit users.

When passengers are forced to drive their own vehicles to transfer between trains or subways at Suwon Station, they have no choice but to pay expensive parking fees at the Aegyeong Department Store parking lot.

Citizens point out, "While the government and local authorities encourage the use of public transportation during this era of high oil prices, they don't even provide basic backing like transit parking facilities at Suwon Station."

Sung Mo, 45, said, "I parked my car at the Aegyeong Department Store parking lot and took a train to visit the provinces. The parking fee for 16 hours came to 40,000 won. How can it be that a representative transportation facility in Suwon, a city of over one million people, doesn't even have a public parking lot...?"

The current Suwon Station building, which opened together with the Aegyeong Department Store in 2003, is a seven-story structure (one basement level, six above-ground levels) with a total site area of 67,603 square meters and a total floor area of 128,193 square meters. It houses the department store, the CGV multiplex cinema, and a private-sector operated station terminal.

The station operates 308 subway trains and 180 passenger train runs daily. Only the buses passing in front of Suwon Station operate 80 or more routes with approximately 5,000 runs per day. The daily floating population reaches 500,000 to 600,000 people.

In comparison, the only parking facility is the Aegyeong Department Store's externally operated parking lot with a capacity of 1,440 vehicles across two above-ground levels and four basement levels. Many citizens using Suwon Station unknowingly assume the department store parking lot is the station's parking lot and are shocked by the expensive parking fees. After one hour of free parking, charges of 1,000 won per 10 minutes apply.

Bok Mo, 38, also said, "They tell us to use public transportation, but here the parking fee is more expensive than the transportation fee. How exactly are we supposed to use public transportation?"

An official from the City's Road and Transportation Department said, "A transit parking lot should have been considered when the station building was constructed. Since the station construction was a matter between the Railway Administration and Aegyeong Department Store, the decision-making authority regarding transit parking at the department store should rest with the Railway Administration. For the city to build a transit parking lot, we would need to purchase land around the station, but land prices are so high that we cannot afford it. We ask citizens to use the transit parking lots at Hwaseo Station, Sungkyunkwan University Station, and Seryou Station."

Suwon City plans to establish a public parking lot by receiving a donated contribution of 0.6% of the total department store building area to be built on KCC property in Seodun-dong near Suwon Station. However, with only around 30 spaces, it is insufficient to serve as a transit parking lot for Suwon Station users. The issue of building a parking tower is also reportedly difficult due to budget constraints.

Among the four subway stations currently in Suwon, transit parking lots exist at Seryou Station with 130 spaces, Sungkyunkwan University Station with 130 spaces, and Hwaseo Station with 260 spaces, totaling approximately 520 spaces. This is less than Anyang City's two stations with five public parking lots accommodating approximately 670 vehicles.

Cheon-an City has transit parking lots near Cheon-an Station that are operated by the city and Railway Administration: the Western lot (277 spaces) and Eastern lot (40 spaces). These facilities help citizens' transportation convenience with fixed monthly parking rates of 70,000-80,000 won for commuting office workers, fees 50% cheaper than private parking lots, and a maximum daily rate of 10,000 won.

A Railway Administration official who oversaw the construction of Suwon Station said, "In 1996, when we were pursuing the design of the Aegyeong Department Store and the private-sector operated station terminal, society had not yet recognized the necessity of transit parking lots. As times have changed, the need for transit parking lots has emerged, and we are looking for ways to solve the public parking lot problem."

The official added, "While it is not yet at a stage to be disclosed, we have plans around this fall for an expansion of the Suwon Aegyeong private-sector operated station. At that time, we plan to consult with the department store to secure transit parking for station operations."