By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The government plans to adopt the globally-accepted three-color traffic light system for vehicles, removing the green signal for left turns from all roads by 2011 to reduce accidents and traffic jams.
The Presidential Committee on National Competitiveness, headed by former Strategy and Finance Minister Kang Man-soo, recommended the plan to President Lee Myung-bak at a meeting in Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday.
The green-amber-red system used by most advanced countries will help save up to five trillion won in taxpayers' money annually in dealing with accidents, air pollution and carbon emissions, the committee said.
The measure reflects complaints from foreigners here that Korea's different traffic signal system for automobiles confuses visitors.
The committee forecast that, if the system is introduced, cars will run faster on downtown streets in cities, and the risk of accidents will be reduced for both cars and pedestrians.
Other plans recommended include dropping the speed limit for certain city streets to 50 kilometers per hour and increasing the number of crossroads where ``unprotected'' left turns are allowed.
``The current traffic system on most streets ensures left turns for cars, causing jams and air pollution,'' a committee spokesman said. ``We can improve the situation by removing the arrow-marked left turn signals from traffic lights. That would meet global standards.''
The measures will help reduce the average amount of time needed to cross intersections from 180 seconds to about 130 seconds, according to the National Police Agency.
Reduced traffic congestion will also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles, which currently account for nearly 80 percent of emissions from all means of transportation, the presidential committee said.
The government also plans to introduce traffic lights for cyclists under a project to build more bike-only lanes in large cities.
Earlier, the government announced a plan to build bicycle-only roads spanning 3,114 kilometers nationwide over the next 10 years and promote bikes as a key means of transportation in an era of ``green growth.''
Committee officials said President Lee expressed keen interest in replacing the traffic signal system.
While serving as major of Seoul, Lee introduced a reform in mass transit in the capital. He introduced bus-only lanes on mayor roads to help reduce traffic jams and changed ways of using subways and buses by adopting card payment systems for fares.
jj@koreatimes.co.kr
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