Future of the Gardiner Expressway - Nanos Research

A esplanade offers public access to the daylightedcreek.Urban DesignThe Cheonggyecheon Restoration Projectsignaled a shift in municipal officials’priorities towards quality of life issues.Moreover, the new Mayor committed toremaking Seoul as a sustainable city. Not onlydid the Cheonggye area suffer from congestion,but also population and property valuedecline. The new open space would benefitthe 200,000 area merchants as well as Seoulresidents as a whole.Pedestrian access to the below-grade publicspace is provided at 5-minute-walk intervalsby terraced steps. New pedestrian bridgesconnect either side of Cheonggyecheon. Avariety of landscape types and water featurescharacterize different park segments. In theyear following its opening, the park attracted90,000 visitors daily. Thirty percent of visitorscame from outside Seoul’s metropolitan area.The elevated structure removal occurred atthe same time as significant upgrades toSeoul’s public transportation system. A busrapid transit route was introduced to absorbriders from at least 120,000 cars formerlyon the expressway. Bus rapid transit was alsoincreased on feeder routes. In the previousdecade, the City created incentive programs toencourage commuters to use transit and raiseduser fees for parking downtown.Combined, these transportation strategiesresulted in a nine percent decrease in trafficinto the central business district.Cheonggyecheon Highway Section – Before (1950s to 2000s)36Future of the Gardiner Expressway