Seoul wants to become a cycling city. Just recently, the city introduced bicycle crossings that allow cyclists to ride across a street. However, these bicycle crossings have large design flaws and it creates inconveniences for cyclists.

Discovery of the Bicycle Crossings

At the beginning of June I passed by City Hall Station (Line 1 and 2) in Seoul when I saw new paintings on a main intersection: A bicycle path was painted next to the pedestrian crossing in a bright orange color. I directly took out my phone and made this picture:

The bicycle crossing didn’t exist a week before. The painting is only at the crossing. Over the next days I discovered the same facility at other places. According to Yonhap News, the bicycle crossings were installed at nine intersections around Anguk Station, Namdaemun, Sejongro and City Hall Plaza. The total costs are 83 million KRW (70,000 USD).

The Issue

You’ve probably recognized the problem: The bicycle crossing ends at a high curb. A ramp is missing. The painted path leads from a high curb to another high curb, which makes it completely useless for cyclists.

I posted pictures about the wrong-designed bicycle crossings on Kojects’ Facebook page. A lot of readers shared my frustration and the pictures attracted the attention of The Korea Times. They called me to talk about my experience with these bicycle crossings and how well developed the bicycle infrastructure in Seoul is in comparison to German cities. The article was published a week later with my interview and other information. Later, Chance Dorland from Korea FM put together an episode about this issue.

My Complaint

The reporter from The Korea Times also asked me if I complained to the Seoul Metropolitan Government about the bicycle crossing design failure, but at that time I didn’t even thought about it. Actually, it was a good idea. A few days after the interview I took again some pictures of the high curbs and used the smartphone app by the Korean government that allows you to report any inconveniences directly to the officials. The app has a category for issues related bicycles.

The following graphic is a compilation of screenshots. On the left you can see the pictures that I attached. Then I wrote a title, detailed explanation in broken Korean with the demand for ramps and the location of the inconvenience. On the right you can see the status of my complaint.

The Answer

My complaint was transferred from Jung-gu to Seoul Metropolitan Government on the same day. Then a week later I received a reply by a Seoul civil servant who works the bicycle planning division. The civil servant wrote that the bicycle crossings have been installed on bicycle priority roads. On such roads the cyclists have to use the far right side of the street. This means that the cyclists aren’t supposed to use the sidewalk at all and that’s the reason for the missing ramps. Further the person mentioned that according to Korean traffic law, cyclists have to dismount and push their bicycles at pedestrian crossings. But the bicycle crossings allow people to stay on their bicycles and ride from one side to the other. The purpose of the bicycle crossings isn’t to provide cyclists a safe crossing from sidewalk to sidewalk, it assists cyclists in crossing from one side of the road to the other.

If you are interested in the full explanation in Korean by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, please click on the title below.

Full Answer of Seoul (Korean) 안녕하십니까. 우리시 자전거 정책에 많은 관심을 가져 주시고 의견을 보내주셔서 감사드립니다. 시청역 교차로 횡단보도에 설치한 ‘자전거횡단도’를 보시고 보도턱이 높아 연결성이 떨어진다는 메일을 보내 주셨습니다. 우리시는 사람중심의 교통환경 조성을 위한 방안의 하나로 친환경 근거리 교통수단인 자전거 이용활성화를 위하여 자전거도로 보수, 각종 편의시설 확충, 자전거교육, 정책홍보 등을 추진하고 있고, `15.10월부터 공공자전거(따릉이) 2,000대를 도심권을 비롯하여 여의도, 상암, 성수, 신촌지역에서 운영하고 있으며, ‘16년 하반기에는 5,000대로 늘려 용산, 동대문, 영등포, 양천구 일부까지 확대 운영할 계획으로 있어 자전거 이용활성화와 이용자의 편의를 위하여 자전거우선도로를 도심, 신촌, 마포 등에 설치 하였고 영등포, 양천, 용산, 동대문구 까지 확대 운영할 예정으로 있습니다

※ 자전거우선도로 : 도로의 일부구간 및 차도를 정하여 자전거와 다른차가 상호 안전하게 통행할 수 있도록 도로에 안전표시로 설치한 자전거도로 도로교통법 제13조2(자전거의 통행방법의 특례)를 보면,「자전거 운전자는 자전거도로가 따로 있는 곳에서는 그 자전거도로로 통행하여야 한다」라고 규정되어 있는바, 자전거우선도로가 설치되어 있는 구간에서 자전거는 우측가장자리 차로를 이용하여야 하며 보도로 통행하여서는 아니됩니다. 또한, 도로교통법에 ‘자전거횡단도’가 없는 횡단보도를 건널 때에는 보행자와 같이 자전거를 끌고 가야 하는데, 서울지방경찰청의 교통안전시설 심의를 거쳐 자전거우선도로가 설치된 도심 일부구간에 시범적으로 ‘자전거횡단도’를 설치하고 도로이용자의 시인성 향상을 위하여 유색포장을 하여 보행자와 상충 없이 안전하게 자전거를 이동할 수 있도록 하였습니다 자전거이용 활성화를 위한 우리시 자전거정책이 아직까지는 다소 미흡하고 더디지만 장기적으로 꾸준히 시설개선을 위하여 노력하겠으니 다소 만족스럽지 못하더라고 너그러이 이해하여 주시기 바랍니다 끝으로 가정에 항상 행운이 가득하시길 기원드리며 더운 날씨에 건강에 유의하시기 바랍니다. 감사합니다. 끝

Wrong Step, We Need Bicycle Lanes Instead

Why did Seoul do this? It seems to be the simplest and cheapest measure but it isn’t the step that we need now. The bicycle crossings is more than an example of bad design. It’s a proof of bureaucracy and a lack of real understanding what cyclists need. Crossing the street is less important than safe cycling on the road. As Streetblog says, bicycle sharrows don’t make streets safer. Traffic calming and dedicated bicycle infrastructure is what Seoul has to implement. Now.