Traffic Environment Improved Through Citizen Proposals... Fewer Fatal Accidents Downtown

2,315 Citizen Proposals Received, 1,820 Improvements Made
Downtown Travel Speeds Increase, Fatalities Decrease
Traffic Facility Upgrades to Be Completed Within the Year

Traffic flow in downtown Seoul has improved as a result of traffic environment enhancements implemented based on citizen proposals.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on July 8 that the 'Seoul Traffic Re-Design Project,' which aims to address traffic inconveniences suggested by citizens, has led to improved downtown travel speeds and a decrease in traffic accident fatalities. The project, launched in November of last year, allows citizens to directly propose solutions to traffic environment issues, which are then addressed through joint efforts by the police and local governments. A total of 2,315 proposals were received, with police-level measures completed for 1,820 cases. Of the 1,356 cases requiring the installation of traffic facilities, improvements have been completed for 822 cases, and the remaining cases are scheduled for completion within the year.

As a result of adjustments to the signal system and the expansion of lanes in areas with chronic congestion, the average travel speed in Seoul from February to May this year increased by 0.6% compared to the same period last year. This marks the first rebound in travel speed after five consecutive years of decline. In particular, the downtown area saw travel speeds improve by 2.2%. Indicators of traffic safety also improved. The number of traffic accident fatalities from February to May this year was 52, representing an 18.8% decrease from 64 fatalities during the same period last year.

While the number of drunk driving crackdowns more than doubled compared to last year, the number of drunk driving accidents decreased by 21.8%, from 527 to 412 cases. The number of fatalities fell from 2 to 1. Motorcycle fatalities dropped by 61.5%, from 13 to 5. Accidents involving personal mobility devices (PMs) also declined by 8.6%, from 93 to 85 cases.

Commissioner Park Jeongbo stated, "Citizen proposals have translated into actual policy, yielding tangible results such as improved travel speeds and reduced traffic accident fatalities," and added, "We will continue to strengthen a citizen-participatory traffic policing system in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.