TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taipei City's Department of Transportation (交通局) announced on Wednesday (Dec. 25) that Jiaxing Neigborhood (嘉興里) in Xinyi District (信義區) has become the nation's first pedestrian-priority zone. Vehicles must yield to pedestrians, adhere to a speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour, and refrain from honking.
The department stated that drivers bear full responsibility in the pedestrian-priority zone on Lane 9, Alley 175, Jiaxing Street (嘉興街175巷9弄) in the event of collisions with pedestrians. Lin Yu-sheng (林育生), head of the Traffic Regulation Dept. (交通治理科), noted that signage, colorful stamped pavement, and asphalt speed bumps mark the zone's entrance to alert drivers.
Neighborhood representative Cheng Chih-yao (鄭智耀) explained that despite narrow lanes and residents' parking needs, the pedestrian-priority zone's implementation over the past week has already slowed vehicle speeds. In Daan District's (大安區) Longquan Village (龍泉里), the department is promoting a second pedestrian-friendly area with line modifications and modular speed bumps, effectively reducing vehicle speeds.
Tests on Longquan Street (龍泉街) revealed a 25% reduction in car speeds to 19.17 km/h and a 32% reduction in motorcycle speeds to 21.22 km/h, demonstrating the efficacy of the measures. Lin stated that the traffic-friendly zone concept has been presented in 12 district meetings, with 19 neighborhoods interested in pilot programs.
The department also expanded school commuting lanes into school commuting zones, reducing speed limits around Taipei Municipal Minquan Elementary School (民權國小) to 30 km/h, and adding pedestrian refuges.