2024-07-05 15:19:14
The ‘Wide Area Transportation Improvement Plan’ for the Uijeongbu Law Town public housing district, which was drawing attention as a clue to improving future transportation conditions in the eastern region of Uijeongbu City (Mayor Kim Dong-geun), has been finalized.
□ Law Town Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Plan 42.1 billion won… Highest level among similar-sized residential areas
Uijeongbu City announced on the 5th that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approved and announced the district plan for the Beopjo Town public housing district.
The Beopjo Town public housing district will be built in Gosan-dong with an area of 514,760㎡ and a capacity of 9,568 people, and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) will implement the project with the goal of completion in December 2029.
In accordance with the establishment of the law town, the ‘metropolitan traffic improvement plan’ that must be established when implementing large-scale development projects such as land development in accordance with the ‘Special Act on Metropolitan Area Traffic Management’ was also finalized after deliberation by the Metropolitan Area Traffic Committee.
The metropolitan transportation improvement plan contains the contents of the expansion and improvement of transportation and transfer facilities, public transportation operation plan, and traffic safety facilities necessary to alleviate traffic problems resulting from large-scale development projects and smoothly handle metropolitan transportation demand. Accordingly, a thorough review is required from the early stages of the project to resolve traffic inconveniences for future residents.
This metropolitan transportation improvement plan includes a total of five items: ▲Establishment of a new Uijeongbu Light Rail Beopjo Town (vehicle base) stop ▲Establishment of a connecting road between Minrak and Gosan districts ▲Expansion of the Sinpyeonghwa-ro road ▲Establishment of a new bridge crossing Buyongcheon on Gosan-ro ▲Support for public transportation operation in the early stages of moving in (proposal for establishment of new metropolitan bus routes and increase in number of buses).
LH will implement a metropolitan transportation improvement plan with a total improvement cost of 42.1 billion won by 2030.
□ Minrak 2‧Gosan District Inadequate Measures Cause Traffic Inconvenience… Active Response from the Beginning
Even when the Minrak 2 and Gosan public housing districts were developed, a wide-area transportation improvement plan was established and implemented, but the improvement plan cost was significantly lower than the development project cost, so the transportation plan was inadequate. Furthermore, even that was not implemented in a timely manner, and the population continued to flow in, causing serious transportation inconveniences in the eastern part of Uijeongbu to this day.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced the ‘New Town and Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Promotion Plan’ in October 2022, and designated Gosan District as a ‘Concentrated Management District’ and Minrak 2 District as a ‘General Management District’. In order to improve metropolitan transportation, comprehensive short-term supplementary measures centered on public transportation such as metropolitan and village buses, public buses, and DRT (demand-responsive public transportation) have been prepared and are currently being continuously implemented.
In this atmosphere, the importance of establishing a new metropolitan transportation improvement plan for the newly launched Law Town has been highlighted from the early stages.
At the time of application for approval of the Law Town district plan in June last year, the initial budget for the metropolitan transportation improvement plan was approximately 26.5 billion won, and major measures presented included improvement of temporary platforms at light rail vehicle bases and improvement of intersection geometry.
However, the city has been conducting continuous reviews and discussions to improve the plan, pointing out that the plan is difficult to implement in practice due to cost issues, requires technical review, and has a lower project cost compared to other regions.
The city has presented and requested reflection of several alternatives after a technical review by a specialized agency, especially regarding the extension of the Uijeongbu Light Rail Line and the improvement of the station within the depot.
□ Meeting with the Minister and Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the President of LH… Request for Increase in Improvement Measures Fund
Mayor Kim Dong-geun requested the government’s active support for promoting pressing transportation issues, such as a re-examination of the Law Town transportation improvement plan, through a meeting with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Second Vice Minister in November last year ahead of the deliberation on the metropolitan transportation improvement plan.
In addition, he visited the LH Seoul headquarters and met with the president, emphasizing that it is very important to establish a metropolitan transportation improvement plan of an appropriate scale in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes as in the past Minrak 2 and Gosan districts. He also emphasized the need to increase the budget for the improvement plan for the legal town and change the improvement plan to suit the conditions of Uijeongbu, and requested cooperation.
In order to rationally adjust the metropolitan transportation improvement plan (draft), close working-level consultations were held several times between LH Mission Planning Office and city officials. In December of the same year, the Korea Transport Institute (Metropolitan Transportation Evaluation Research Center), an organization that evaluates the rationality of metropolitan transportation improvement plans, was visited to directly explain the improvement plan (draft) needed for the city and provide prior consultation.
After a year of such efforts, the metropolitan transportation improvement plan was finalized and notified after passing the deliberation of the Metropolitan Transportation Committee with a total of 15.6 billion won, a 59% increase from the original plan, totaling 42.1 billion won.
This is the highest level of improvement measures for mid-sized residential development projects similar to Law Town.
Mayor Kim Dong-geun said, “I hope that the Legal Town will be the catalyst for effective transportation improvement measures that citizens can feel in the eastern part of Uijeongbu, where transportation infrastructure is lacking,” and added, “We will actively cooperate with LH to successfully promote the Legal Town and implement transportation measures in a timely manner.”
Meanwhile, the city has secured a related budget to actively support LH’s implementation of improvement measures in the future, and plans to promote a technical review related to the installation of a temporary platform station at the Uijeongbu Light Rail Depot.
Economy Queen Reporter Kim Hong-mi / Photo Uijeongbu City
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2024-07-05 15:19:14