According to an expansion of industrialization in Korea after 1960s, the Korean economy entered into a stage of rapid development, calling “the Miracle on the Han River”, and also a rapid increase of number of automobiles caused to start an appear...
According to an expansion of industrialization in Korea after 1960s, the Korean economy entered into a stage of rapid development, calling “the Miracle on the Han River”, and also a rapid increase of number of automobiles caused to start an appearance of traffic situation with priority of cars on city street, which led to appear various problems on modern cities as well, such as traffic jam, air pollution, noise pollution, and mass consumption of natural resources. However, after then, a rapid increase of the economic level and the consciousness level has brought to urge the people to put importance on living environments gradually, to reflect themselves a change of paradigm of the city environment being changed from centering on cars into centering on pedestrians, to improve a quality of walk environments which become walk friendly streets for weak pedestrians especially including women, children, elderly persons, and handicapped persons in order to induce a community unification by guaranteeing them with an general movement right.
This study was set up for its object as the street spaces around the Commercial and Residential Area No.1 located in the Administrative-Centered City, Sejong Special Autonomic City to analyze and define a status of the walkways and the street spaces in order to suggest a walking enhancement plan.
The study was conducted pursuant to the following methods : The basic data of the areas under survey were arranged by utilizing an internet satellite map and a numerical map, a practical actual survey for the sites were done for the street status and the walking status on the areas, and then a questionnaire survey(50 copies of primary questionnaire survey and 280 copies of main questionnaire survey) was conducted for users of street spaces on the areas. The collected data were analyzed with statistical methods including reliability analysis, frequency analysis, factor analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis by utilizing SPSS 22.0 for Windows, a statistical analysis program.
Results of the study are summarized as follows :
First, the survey results of walking service levels show : all of the 4 areas under survey are Grade 1, the highest level, the arrangement of green belts are relatively sufficient. Major problems of the walking streets on the street spaces include: 1) deficient arrangement of CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television), 2) insufficient arrangement of speed reducing facilities, 3) deficient number of roadside trees and shadow area on some of the streets, 4) deficient number of illuminations on some of the streets, 5) too lack of rest areas, 6) incompletely constructed facilities relating to the bus stops on some of the streets, and the status of the plants on the streets is not good and some of the bushes and forest trees have not been managed sufficiently.
Second, the results show : the general satisfaction for the walking streets on the survey areas is 3.20 scores, Satisfactions for the walking streets on the 4 areas are good in all. The average satisfaction of “Gradient of the walking streets is most high among the 28 items relating to the satisfactions for walking streets. The following 7 items including “Arrangement of CCTV”, “Information system for major facilities”, “Construction of shadow areas”, “Arrangement of rest areas”, “Information system for public transportation”, “Use of convenient facilities”, and “Use of bus stops” are low in satisfaction.
Third, the results of correlation analysis show a positive correlation in all of the factors and the entire satisfaction. The factors obtained from the factor analysis have exercised impact upon the satisfactions for the walking streets in the commercial area are arranged in the order of higher degrees in the following : Design > Convenience > Roadside trees and rest areas > Safety > Safety protective facilities > Transportation and information facilities > Continuity > Basic state of road surfaces > Comfortability. The factors have exercised impact upon the satisfactions for the walking streets in the residential area are arranged in the order of higher degrees in the following : Transportation and information facilities > Basic state of road surfaces > Comfortability > Convenience > Continuity > Design > Illuminations and crime preventive facilities > Safety > Roadside trees and rest areas.
Fourth, the results show : major plans for walking enhancement cover the following, when make a new design of the walking streets on the street space, it will be necessary for combining new design factors and district features in order to have a vitality and an attractive force on the street spaces, for reinforcing a management of street spaces and green belts, and for making the arrangement of landscape facilities to be perfect in order to enhance a quality of street landscape. And also it will be required to complete commercial facilities, convenient facilities, rest areas, and safety facilities and to enhance a convenience, a comfortability, and a safety of the street spaces, to lengthen a time that residents remain on the roadside trees, to reinforce a convenience of public transportation system, and to reduce uses of owner-driven automobiles.
Fifth, the results of the study suggest the following polices relating to walkway : when establish an important policy, it will be needed to take into account of opinions from actual users and experts, and practical situations of the city, to make the central government and the district autonomic body to increase a financing for walking enhancement project. And also it will be required for reinforcing a promotion and distribution of walking, for making the residents to participate together in management of the street spaces, and for establishing a voluntary service association that will be organized of the residents.
It has been judged by us, when study objects will be expanded further widely and a number of areas under survey will be increased in future studies to obtain more detailed data, the results will be more close to actual situations and accuracies of satisfactions will be improved further more. When parks, residential areas, riverside green belts and the like will be included in a future study on walking streets, not restraining the limit of street spaces, the applications for the study results will be increased a step further.