Four of Taipei’s pedestrian overpasses are slated to be demolished by the end of the year because they have little foot traffic, according to the city’s New Construction Office.
The Taipei MRT Kunyang Station overpass is set for demolition, as well as the bridges at the intersections of Zhongxiao E Road and Dadao Road, Zhongxiao E Road and Songshan Road, and Xinhai Road and Xinglong Road, the office said.
In the past, road design in Taipei centered on convenience for the city’s drivers, with footbridges set up over major intersections to keep pedestrians from interfering with traffic.
However, many of the overpasses have little foot traffic, leading to calls for their demolition as city planning has moved toward making roads more pedestrian-friendly, officials said.
Statistics from the office showed that there are 88 pedestrian overpasses in Taipei. The city has demolished six and is considering removing another 20. However, progress has been slow, attracting criticism from city councilors.
New Construction Office maintenance division head Chen Ping-lin (陳炳麟) said that evaluating whether a pedestrian overpass should be removed is a long information-gathering process requiring surveys, meetings and temporally sealing off the bridge. He said neighborhoods have difficulty coming to a consensus about overpass removal, greatly slowing the evaluation.
For example, even though many people had reported low use of the pedestrian overpass at the intersection of Zhongxiao E Road and Songshan Road, local opinion was polarized when the removal evaluation process began in 2012, he said.
Four surveys involving the local bureau head, schools and other organizations were required before the overpass was officially designated for demolition this year, he said. Similarly, because of opposition from schools, the decision to demolish the MRT Kunyang Station pedestrian overpass required three surveys, he added.
Chen said that plans for the demolition of the overpasses have already been submitted for approval, adding that if the plans are approved, the Zhongxiao/Songshan and Xinhai/Xinglong overpasses could be taken down as soon as next month or November.
The remaining overpasses are to be removed by the end of the year, he said.
Office director Huang Chih-feng (黃治峰) said the speed of demolitions is set to increase, with an initial wave focusing on overpasses which have been in use for over 30 years a total of 37.
He said that during the evaluation process, his agency would invite agencies to help draft plans addressing the concerns of parents and advocacy groups, such as those for the blind.
The office aims to take down 10 overpasses within the next two years, he added.
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