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| ▲ Seoul Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup said: “The new Gwanghwamun Square project is based on the basic plan of the historic center and special comprehensive measures for the green transportation promotion zones” and “Restore the historicity of the area of Gwanghwamun “and” It has been promoted as an extension of the municipal administration of “Expansion of pedestrian space within Hanyang city,” he said. | |
| Ⓒ Seoul |
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The Seoul Metropolitan Government (Mayor Seo Jeonghyup) announced on the 16th that construction will begin to create ‘Gwanghwamun Square, where people can rest and walk’. Consequently, it is expected to proceed with the expansion and maintenance of the east road of the square. However, some civic groups, such as the Citizens Alliance for Economic Justice, argued that “the city of Seoul’s plan to restructure Gwanghwamun Square is in a hurry,” and controversy persists.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said: “As civil complaints about the current Gwanghwamun Square are constantly raised, the Gwanghwamun Forum in 2016 and the Gwanghwamun Citizens Committee in 2018 have communicated with citizens more than 300 times in the last 4 years to solve this with the collective intelligence of citizens. It was prepared for that reason, “he explained.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the west road towards the Sejong Center in the current square will be incorporated into the square and widened to a pedestrian street, and the east side of the square in front of the United States Embassy in Korea will expand the highway with 7 to 9 lanes that allow two-way traffic. The expanded plaza will be created as a ‘park-like plaza enjoyed in everyday life’ and more than 100 types of large and small flowering trees are planned to be planted.
The construction of the ‘New Gwanghwamun Plaza’ is divided into two stages, which include the expansion and maintenance of the east highway from November to February next year, and the creation of a park-like plaza from May to October next year to minimize the nuisance of vehicle and pedestrian traffic. do.
The first step is the construction of the road adjacent to the plaza. The expansion and maintenance of the east highway will be completed by the end of February next year, so that vehicles traveling in the west lane can travel east. This year’s budget is 10.1 billion won. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to determine the timing of vehicle control in the west lane in consideration of stabilizing the flow of vehicles going up and down the east highway.
Part of the sidewalk on the west side of the square in front of the Seoul Government Complex-Sejong Center is zoned so that there is no inconvenience for citizens to pass, and an excavation of buried cultural properties will be carried out until January. of the next year. By car, the excavation will be carried out in March-April next year.
Creation of a space in front of the Sejong Arts Center, ‘Piazza Embracing the Park’
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| ▲ A conceptual diagram of the creation of “Gwanghwamun Square, where people can rest and walk,” promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. | |
| Ⓒ Seoul |
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The second step is to create a space on the west side of the Sejong Center in front of the Sejong Center, where the lane will disappear and become a pedestrian path, like a ‘plaza containing a park’. This reflects the opinions suggested by the majority of citizens in the communication process with the new square.
In several places, flowers, trees and lawns are planted that can feel the change of the four seasons, and a bike path with a width of 1.5 m and a length of 550 m is also built to the east of the square. During the construction period of the plaza, Haechi Madang and Sejongno Park will also be upgraded to focus on strengthening the connection between the plaza and the surrounding areas.
The construction of Gwanghwamun Plaza will be carried out for each section from the front of Hyundai Marine, where there is a lot of civil traffic, to the Seoul Government Complex, and will be made available to citizens for each section where construction is completed. . Beginning with the hatch patio redevelopment, slabs are paved on the plaza floor, and waterscape facilities and variable facilities are installed along with upgrading the ramp stairs.
On the west road in front of the Sejong Arts Center, 37 tall trees and 317 tall trees and 30 short 6700 trees are planted so that you can feel the nature of Korea and feel the four seasons. The plan is to plant 33 kinds of 33,3431 flowers and 2 kinds of grass in an area of 2,698㎡ to make Gwanghwamun Square filled with beautiful scenery with forests, shade, flowers and fragrances.
In the case of expansion and maintenance works on the east side of the square, the city plans to complete the main processes as far as possible during this year, taking into account the minimization of civil unrest and the impact of commercial districts. nearby, and taking into account the connection of the lane with the creation of the ‘Sejong-daero People’s Forest Route’. Construction of the adjacent intersection of Seoul-Sejong-daero Station ‘Sejong-daero People’s Forest Road’ (1.5 km) is scheduled to be completed in December, so construction will be linked to avoid vehicle jams between the Sejong-daero and Gwanghwamun intersection.
Operation of the ‘Gwanghwamun Square Traffic Management Working Group (TF)’
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| ▲ A conceptual diagram of the creation of “Gwanghwamun Square, where people can rest and walk,” promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. | |
| Ⓒ Seoul |
See related photos |
The city of Seoul has established ‘Comprehensive Transportation Measures’ containing 17 plans to minimize the inconvenience of citizens using nearby moving vehicles and public transportation, occupying a minimum of one lane to maintain the current level of travel speed during the building. “We are going to promote it,” he said, “The ‘Gwanghwamun Plaza Traffic Management (TF) Task Force’ will also be activated immediately in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency so that it can be promoted smoothly.” The main contents are as follows.
○ Dispersion and diversion of concentrated traffic: For long-distance vehicles, traffic is distributed and avoided outside of the city center by designating traffic congestion relief sections outside of green traffic areas such as Hanyang City and adjusting signals at 22 intersections. . Traffic congestion is minimized by optimizing signals taking into account real-time traffic flows at the 60 intersections for nearby vehicles.
○ Traffic improvement project for nearby roads: Implementing traffic improvement projects around Sejong-daero, such as Saemunan-ro 3-gil, to secure a ring road. A left turn will be established at the main intersections that meet Sejong-daero, such as Sajik and Yulgok-ro, to distribute the traffic volume from Sejong-daero as evenly as possible to the surrounding roads.
○ Detour adjustment and flexible dispatch of city buses near Sejong-daero: Taking into account changes in construction and road conditions, the Seoul city bus route around the Gwanghwamun intersection of Sejong-daero is diverted to the surrounding area to minimize the inconvenience to citizens using the transport. public. Additional measures will be implemented such as additional route adjustment and flexible dispatch based on travel speed, etc.
○ Organize and operate ‘Gwanghwamun Square Traffic Management TF’: It operates a ‘traffic situation analysis group’ that establishes a traffic improvement plan through constant analysis of the traffic situation and monitoring of unexpected situations, and a ‘local rapid response team’ that dispatches and takes immediate action when a problem occurs.
Seoul City plans to install more than 300 information banners and banners on major arterial roads and intersections with many vehicles, while providing real-time traffic information through navigation, radio, and the Seoul Traffic Information System. (TOPIS).
The ‘Project for the restoration of cultural properties and maintenance of peripherals such as Gyeongbokgung Gwanghwamun Woldae Palace’, jointly promoted by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is promoted in connection with the change of the square. Gwanghwamun Woldae plans to carry out the necessary administrative procedures in advance, such as consultations with related agencies in the first half of next year, within the scope that does not interfere with the flow of traffic, such as maintaining the function of the resignation route, and plans restore cultural property like Woldae by 2023 through detailed excavations and research in the second half of the year. be be.
Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup said, “The Gwanghwamun Square project is based on the basic plan of the historic city center and special comprehensive measures for the green transportation promotion area promoted by the city of Seoul. He said:” We will transform Gwanghwamun Square, the heart of downtown Seoul, into a grassroots space of green ecological civilization so that citizens’ time, efforts and expectations of participation and communication are not wasted. “
