Osong Station in Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do is a large station where KTX lines from across the country converge.
Illegal parking has always been a serious problem due to insufficient메이저놀이터 parking lots for the number of passengers, and now the safety of residents is being threatened.
Reporter Lee Izahyun, Field K.
[Report]
From the beginning of the road, there is an endless line of cars looking for a place to park.
They park right in front of the parking lot, across the street, and even behind the ‘No Parking’ sign.
Cars also parked in the crosswalk and on the sidewalk leading up to it.
[Park Dong-soon / Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk: “There’s nowhere for people to go but through that gap.”]
The parking line, which was briefly interrupted in the driveway, resumes at the entrance to the village.
With illegally parked cars on both sides and no sidewalks, residents are forced to navigate dangerously through the driveway.
As the village entrance is like this, the dangerous situation is repeated every day.
[Ahn Kwang-ho / Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk: “(Children) ride bicycles a lot, and there’s really nowhere to take refuge, so it’s a bit difficult for their safety.”]
On average, a hundred illegally parked cars a day, but things aren’t getting any better.
[Jeon Jin-hong, Traffic Guidance Team Leader, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk: “Basically, there is a big shortage of parking lots, and illegal parking is not being solved fundamentally…”]
Illegal parking is so prevalent because there are not enough parking lots.
Osong Station has an average of 20,000 passengers per day, but only 2,000 parking spaces.
Even if only 1 out of 10 passengers use their own cars, the parking lot is full.
Due to the lack of parking spaces, parking lot contractors colluded to raise prices by 50% and were caught by the Fair Trade Commission.
[KTX Osong Station user: “(The parking lot) costs 7,000 won or 8,000 won per day. I think it would be better if it was cheaper.”]
Moreover, by 2028, additional high-speed rail will be laid underground between Osong and Pyeongtaek, and passenger demand is expected to more than double.
The parking lot needs to be increased accordingly, but the National Railroad Administration has no plans because there is no land.
While Cheongju City is also backpedaling, saying it’s not my land, the area around Cheongju Osong Station, the center of KTX, is becoming a traffic lawless zone.