Traffic guidelines that prioritize pedestrian safety are to be passed at a weekly Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said yesterday.
The guidelines detail the government’s plan to clear the nation’s reputation of being a “hell for pedestrians” through road construction, technology and education, he said.
“We need to enhance the safety of pedestrians, as more than 300 pedestrians die in traffic accidents each year, and the issue needs to be tackled through better road design, safety at intersections and education,” he said.
Photo: CNA
The Construction and Planning Agency has proposed allocating about NT$40 billion (US$1.3 billion) over the next seven years to expand or add sidewalks within 500m of school districts, hospitals and key public facilities nationwide, an Executive Yuan official said.
The plan is expected to be approved by the Cabinet, they said.
The agency would also propose supporting measures to prevent motorcycles and bicycles from illegally occupying sidewalks, they said, adding that local governments would be evaluated on their parking management policies.
Forty-six percent of roads that are 12m or longer do not have sidewalks, agency data showed.
The agency estimates that thoroughly addressing the problem would take 100 years, the official said.
Technology would in the short term be used to assist law enforcement in improving the environment for pedestrians, while in the long term, road construction would be used to improve safety, they said.
The Executive Yuan last year approved the appropriation of NT$5 billion to enhance road safety around 446 primary school campuses, which would be enforced this year.
The Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications have jointly budgeted NT$9.836 billion this year to mainly subsidize improving accessibility for pedestrians, which would be funded by the budget allocated for the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program.
An additional NT$10.1 billion would be spent in the next two years to enhance road quality.
This year, agencies are to focus on four key enforcement priorities: improving the pedestrian environment on 100km of roads, enhancing safety at 1,218 intersections, eliminating obstacles for pedestrians at 161 locations and establishing 25 pilot areas for road safety.
Additional reporting by Cheng Shu-ting
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