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Mayor Park Heong-joon Joins Citizens in All-Out Effort to Create Safer School Routes: “15-Minute City Safe School Route Guardians” Launch Ceremony to Be Held.

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□ Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will hold the “15-Minute City Safe School Route Guardians” Launch Ceremony today (12) at 3:00 p.m. at Domoheon and will begin full-scale efforts to create safer school commuting environments around schools together with students, parents, and citizens.

□ The ceremony was arranged to advance the core value of “15-Minute City Busan”—enhancing access within daily living areas—by expanding public consensus on creating a safer walking environment through voluntary citizen participation, including measures such as eliminating illegal parking and stopping, implementing road diets, and designating one-way streets.

○ About 100 people will attend, including Mayor Park Heong-joon, delegations representing students and parents, the Busan Green Mothers’ Association, YMCA citizen representatives, and a student reporter group.

○ The event will feature an “open talk” with the mayor, student representatives, parents, and citizen representatives to discuss the need for safe school routes and ways to encourage citizen participation, followed by a street campaign (rally) that accompanies students on the way to school.

□ Busan Metropolitan City is promoting structural improvements—such as separating student and vehicle traffic flows—by introducing three types of CPTED-based (CPTED: Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) safe school route models for 660 schools across Busan: car-free streets, pedestrian-only sidewalks, and pedestrian safety zones.

• ●CPTED: A crime prevention approach that reduces crime and fear and improves quality of life through appropriate design and effective use of urban and architectural environments.

○ This year, the city identified a total of 64 candidate sites based on applications from the Busan Office of Education and district and county offices, and plans to select five pilot sites to establish a systematic foundation for developing safe school routes.

○ However, securing school routes remains challenging due to issues such as illegal parking and stopping in residential areas near schools and the occupation of roads by commercial establishments, making cooperation from nearby residents essential for reorganizing traffic systems.

○ In response, Busan Metropolitan City plans to promote resident-led campaigns and everyday practice initiatives through the operation of the “15-Minute City Safe School Route Guardians,” in which students, parents, and citizens participate directly.

□ In addition, the city formed the public-private “15-Minute City Safe Routes to School Council” last December and held its first meeting after appointing 11 members, including representatives from the city, the police agency, the education office, parents, experts, and private organizations.

○ The council will jointly manage the entire process—from selecting project sites to design, construction, and evaluation—further strengthening an integrated implementation framework.

□ Mayor Park Heong-joon is expected to say, “A safe route to school where children can walk with peace of mind begins with small acts of consideration from adults. The participation and cooperation of each and every citizen is the power that protects the safety of future generations,” adding, “Busan Metropolitan City will continue to expand and 추진 school route improvement projects together with citizens, schools, and the police to realize a safe 15-minute city.”