New Crosswalk Eases Crowding at Seoul’s Sadang Station Bus Stop

Only Two Crosswalks Before, Congested at Rush Hour Dispersed Foot Traffic Improves Safety and Convenience Seoul: “Congested Stops to Be Improved in Sequence”

Congestion at Seoul’s Sadang Station central bus stop, where there was no room to step during every rush hour, has eased. A new crosswalk built to disperse pedestrian flow has shortened waiting lines and improved the dangerous situation in which people moved down into the roadway, with assessments that both commuters’ perceived safety and convenience have improved at the same time.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday, the city installed an additional crosswalk at the heavily congested Sadang Station central bus stop and began operating it on Sunday. The new crosswalk is on the side toward Sadang Station Exit 3. Previously, crosswalks existed only at both ends of the bus stop, creating a structure that concentrated users toward the front near the exit.

As a result, during rush hour, pedestrian waiting lines extended far beyond the sidewalk, and some users moved along the roadway from where they got off the bus to the crosswalk, raising persistent safety concerns. In fact, a waiting line of about 20 meters or more sometimes formed in front of the bus stop.

This project focused not merely on expanding facilities but on reducing safety risks caused by congestion and building a user-centered pedestrian environment. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, it is significant in that the city analyzed the inconveniences citizens experienced on-site, redesigned pedestrian flow, and naturally dispersed movement demand to produce noticeable improvement effects.

After the new crosswalk was installed, pedestrian flow was dispersed and congestion eased noticeably. Although it was installed in only one direction due to physical conditions such as the road structure and retaining walls, analysis showed that the main pedestrian demand was concentrated in that direction, producing a real congestion-easing effect.

The project is part of the “Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Outstanding Cases of Creative Administration,” which resolves citizen inconveniences with on-site ideas. The city has continued improving congested bus stops, following the Gangnam Station central bus stop in 2023 and the bus stop in front of the Cheongnyangni fruit and vegetable market in 2024, now reaching Sadang Station.

The city plans to continue identifying central bus stops with high congestion or inefficient pedestrian flow, and to pursue customized improvements suited to conditions at each location in sequence.

Yeo Jang-kwon, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Transportation Office, said, “This new crosswalk will serve as an opportunity to lower the density of the bus stop and enhance users’ mobility convenience,” adding, “We will continue to expand improvements to the public transportation environment that citizens can feel in their daily lives.”…Read more by Park Chang-Gyu