The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a pedestrian safety program for legislative review to improve road safety across the nation.
The “Pedestrian First, Traffic Safety Action Program,” together with the seven-year Sustainable Improvement of Traffic Safety Project and the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, is to see NT$66.48 billion (US$2.16 billion) set aside for improvements to road safety.
It would improve pedestrian safety facilities at 4,601 crossings and across 80km of sidewalks, Ministry of the Interior Construction and Planning Agency Deputy Director-General Yu Wang-sheng (於望聖) said.
Photo: CNA
The program seeks to remove obstacles at 161 locations, mark designated pedestrian lanes on more than 30.35km of road, ameliorate road safety around 615 schools and 514 crossings that are prone to accidents, establish 25 elderly-friendly areas where traffic speed would be limited to 30kph, reduce roadside obstacles in 522 locations, and improve safety at 524 crossings without signals, Yu said.
Pedestrian safety could only be improved by continued policy implementation and funding, he added.
In addition to the already implemented Amelioration of Traffic and Road Safety Around Schools Project, which has a budget of NT$5 billion, Yu said that the agency was also planning the Sustainable Improvement of Traffic Safety Project, which has budget of NT$40 billion.
Local governments must step up efforts to investigate what roads are in immediate need of improvement, Yu said, adding that the central government would provide assistance based on the reports to improve the transportation environment across the nation.
The Executive Yuan said it would rank local governments based on the improvements they have made every month and make the information public.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that it has established standards to determine the progress of amelioration projects, including a weekly inspection of such efforts conducted by local governments from this month to July.
Pedestrian safety would be taken into account during the annual evaluation of local governments’ traffic safety performance, the transportation ministry said.
Amendments to the Road and Traffic Safety Lecture Regulations (道路交通安全講習辦法), expected to be passed next month, would make it compulsory for all new drivers to attend traffic safety lectures.
Cabinet spokesman Alan Lin (林子倫) said the government is fully committed to making Taiwan’s roads safe for pedestrians.
Directorate-General of Highways Director Chen Wen-juei (陳文瑞) said the agency would crack down on repeat traffic offenders, for example by requiring frequent renewals of their driver’s licenses.
Additional reporting by CNA
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to