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
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS