Fewer Lanes, More People
At the center of the conference room, a blueprint of Yeojin City's old downtown road network lay spread out across the table.
Seo Jang-min, Head of the Walkable City Division, continued his briefing with a somewhat tense expression.
"Mayor, this section was designed in 1996. It was laid out entirely around vehicle lanes, in anticipation of growing traffic volume."
I shifted my gaze over the blueprint.
Cramped sidewalks. Five lanes. As a child, and even as a university student, this road had always been uncomfortable to walk on.
"Director Seo," I called quietly.
"Yes, Mayor."
"What's your division called these days?"
Seo Jang-min flinched slightly before answering in a small voice.
"The Walkable City Division."
"Right. So don't you find it strange that we're still looking at our roads purely through a car-centered lens?"
The conference room went quiet.
Cho Yeon-woo, Head of the Citizen Space Design Division, lowered his head slightly and began tidying his documents.
Sensing the atmosphere tightening, I continued in a softer tone.
"It's time to shift from car-centered to people-centered. For a city to keep surviving, it has to make people stay. A city that's only fast to move through will end up empty."
Seo Jang-min hesitated, then asked carefully.
"In that case, are you proposing a complete redesign of the existing road structure?"
"Not a complete redesign. Not yet."
I shook my head.
"The grand plan is a long-term project. What we need right now is to show. Not with words—with results."
Seo Jang-min and Cho Yeon-woo both began taking notes at the same time.
I skimmed through the other documents on the desk, then spoke.
"First, we select a few pilot sections and build quick wins. Fast."
"Where should the pilot sections be?" Cho Yeon-woo asked.
"The road north of Central Market, and part of Culture Street. Those are places with heavy pedestrian traffic, where the shops need revitalizing."
Seo Jang-min nodded slightly.
"The sidewalk width there averages 1.2 meters. By current standards, it's quite difficult for wheelchairs or strollers to pass through."
"If we cut one lane, could we secure at least 2 meters of sidewalk?"
"Yes, that's feasible. Though there may be some congestion during rush hour."
I fell into brief thought.
"Rush-hour congestion can be managed. If people can't walk, they'll eventually drive. If we want a walkable city, reducing cars now is exactly the right move."
Seo Jang-min spoke cautiously.
"Mayor, may we review the specific width adjustments once more?"
"Of course. But the principle holds: a minimum of 2 meters of sidewalk. Wide enough for a stroller and a wheelchair to pass each other."
I made it unmistakably clear.
"Below that standard, we won't do it—even as a pilot project."
"Understood."
The meeting moved on to more concrete specifics.
"What about crosswalks?" Cho Yeon-woo asked.
"We need to add them. In particular, those fences that were installed without a second thought should be torn out without hesitation, and we should expand the stretches where people can cross naturally."
I rested a finger on the blueprint.
"Here, here, and over here. Wherever pedestrian demand is high, put in a new crosswalk right away."
Seo Jang-min hesitated.
"Mayor, removing the fences could complicate vehicle control."
"That's precisely why we're cutting lanes."
I said it firmly.
"Fewer cars means speeds naturally drop, which creates a structure where drivers can't help but notice pedestrians. A driving culture that trusts only traffic lights invites accidents."
The civil servants in the room drew a soft collective breath.
I tapped the desk lightly.
"We'll move fast on the pilot sections. This time, we skip the public opinion survey."
Seo Jang-min and Cho Yeon-woo both looked up at once.
"Don't worry," I added. "This is about setting a direction, not something that requires residents' approval. The goal is strengthening the public good. There may be pushback at first, but they'll understand once they walk it."
Seo Jang-min nodded calmly.
"Yes, Mayor. We'll prepare to move immediately."
Cho Yeon-woo followed suit.
"We'll redo the field measurements and prepare a detailed design plan."
I rose from my seat.
"Good. Let's prove it with results."
After the meeting, the Walkable City Division and the Citizen Space Design Division immediately convened a working session. Before that, I had issued a separate directive: this project would be carried out by internal staff, with no outside consultancy.
"Mayor, we're designing it ourselves, without contracting a design firm?" Cho Yeon-woo asked, as if confirming.
"That's right. This time, speed matters."
I said it plainly.
"If we hand it to an external consultant, it takes forever, and we'll get bizarre design plans from people who don't know the reality on the ground. We stand at the site ourselves, we draw the blueprints ourselves, and we make the adjustments ourselves."
The moment my words landed, the air in the room shifted almost imperceptibly. The officials' eyes wavered for a moment.
Most of them were used to outsourcing design work, and few had ever actually handled CAD or drawn plans themselves. The phrase out of their depth would have fit perfectly.
I pretended not to notice. This kind of bewilderment could only be overcome by colliding head-on with the work itself.
If you're going to work with me, you do it yourself.
I thought to myself.
As expected, the staff would no doubt carefully bring in a few skilled hands from outside firms—soliciting "cooperation" without any formal contract. Then they'd urgently summon the capable employees still in-house and pull an all-nighter or two.
That, too, was a form of growth.
I didn't bother pointing any of it out.
Seo Jang-min asked again.
"The pilot sections—specifically, 400 meters of the road north of Central Market and 300 meters on the east side of Culture Street. Is that correct?"
"Yes. 700 meters total. A reasonable place to start."
I added, "We cut one lane and secure at least 2 meters of sidewalk. If any section is physically impossible, consider making it one-way."
Cho Yeon-woo nodded and took notes.
"Mayor, for any one-way conversions, we'll run traffic volume surveys in parallel."
"Good. But never sacrifice pedestrian space for the sake of traffic volume."
The meeting quickly turned to concrete figures and direction.
"The road north of Central Market currently has four lanes in both directions. Reducing one of them would let us widen the sidewalks from 1.2 meters to as much as 2.4 meters."
"That's sufficient," I said, nodding. "And the east side of Culture Street?"
"That one's complicated," Seo Jang-min replied. "It has three existing lanes, but structurally it can't be reduced to two. However, if we apply one-way traffic, we can run it on a single lane and use the rest for sidewalks."
"Then do that," I answered without hesitation.
"What about resident objections?"
"Some inconvenience is expected, but with public transit nearby, we don't anticipate anything serious in that section."
"Better to deliver the inconvenience early. Later on, the construction would be far bigger."
While the Walkable City Division and the Citizen Space Design Division stayed up through the night revising blueprints and preparing the section-by-section pilot projects, another challenge came into view.
Illegal parking. What good was cutting lanes and widening sidewalks if vehicles brazenly parked on them? All that effort would turn to dust.
Worse, most of the shops in the old downtown already had no parking of their own, and residents had been casually treating the sidewalks as parking lots for years.
When the Walkable City Division staff gathered in the conference room, worry was written across every face.
"Mayor, we've been enforcing against illegal parking all along, but... our manpower is woefully inadequate."
Seo Jang-min raised the issue cautiously.
I nodded.
"I know. That's why I've prepared a countermeasure."
Every gaze in the room turned to me.
"Let's use the senior employment program."
Cho Yeon-woo tilted his head slightly.
"How exactly would we... utilize the seniors?"
"You know the Safety Report smartphone app, right?"
"Yes, we know it."
"We teach them how to use that app, then station seniors along the school zones and the old downtown's main streets. Their job: consistently report illegally parked vehicles."
The room went quiet. It was a method none of them had heard before, and everyone seemed to take a moment to organize their thoughts.
Seo Jang-min asked, "Mayor, can we really teach the seniors to use smartphones?"
"We can," I said firmly. "I've already arranged it with the Yeojin Lifelong Learning Center. They run basic smartphone training programs, so all we need to do is add a supplemental course."
Cho Yeon-woo nodded.
"If we pay a modest incentive to those with strong reporting records, that should help with motivation as well."
"Good. Prepare it that way."
I continued, "The school zones get top priority, above all."
"Yes, understood."
Seo Jang-min began taking notes once more.
A few days later, a small ceremony was held in a modest meeting room in the old downtown to launch the Senior Safety Keepers. Far more seniors showed up than expected.
They were long-time residents of the old downtown, and it seemed they felt a genuine pride in protecting their neighborhood.
"So now we report illegal parking with our smartphones?" one senior asked with a smile.
"That's right. It's very simple."
The official in charge held up a smartphone and demonstrated directly.
"Open this app, take a photo, and just enter the license plate number and location. That's all there is to it."
The seniors were a little awkward at first, but they followed along diligently.
"I think I might get better at this than my grandkids."
"Haha, after a try or two, it'll feel like second nature."
The training wrapped up quickly. The seniors were divided into teams and deployed across the old downtown's main streets, the school zones, and other key sections.
The change began immediately.
Illegally parked vehicles started to disappear. School zones in particular saw dozens of reports coming in every day.
In cooperation with the police station, fines were processed swiftly as well.
"Mayor, illegal parking in the school zones has dropped noticeably," Seo Jang-min reported.
"Excellent."
I smiled.
"Now the children can walk to school in safety."
Residents' reactions gradually shifted too. There had been complaints at first.
"Come on, I was only parked for a minute and I get fined?"
But as time passed, residents began watching their own parking habits more carefully.
"Better be careful around here now."
"The seniors are watching with eagle eyes."
Amid the banter, a shared understanding was quietly taking root: this alley has to stay safe.
The seniors began to feel their pride grow as well.
"Mayor, we file dozens of reports a day," one senior told me directly. "Thanks to that, the school zone is so much safer now."
"Thank you. It's a real comfort to have you."
I bowed my head respectfully.
The senior chuckled, a little sheepish.
"Now our grandkids can go to school without us worrying."