Taipei pauses Gongguan roundabout removal

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) A plan announced in March by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) to remove a roundabout at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Keelung Road and an underpass for buses in the city's Gongguan area has been paused after city councilors urged better communication with the public on Monday.

Taipei City Department of Transportation Commissioner Hsieh Ming-hong (謝銘鴻) agreed to halt the road work originally set to begin on June 28 during Monday's session of Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee, after the committee passed a proposal to hold a public hearing on June 30.

The roundabout is located at the intersection that has the most traffic accidents as well as the highest number of people injured in Taipei for seven years -- three accidents every four days on average -- Hsieh told the committee.

Chiang announced the road work in a social media post on March 25, noting that the roundabout's design has created a heightened risk of traffic accidents, while also being dangerous to cross for pedestrians.

However, Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) of the Social Democratic Party proposed keeping the underpass and criticized the city government for only announcing the road work's start date during the first public project presentation on May 29, even though no one in attendance approved closing the underpass.

Miao cited the conclusion of an evaluation made in October 2024 for potential impact from closing the underpass, which expected traffic to worsen by 40-45 percent, while 163-180 seconds could be added to the travel time for more than 300 bus services using the underpass per hour during rush hours.

City Councilors Keng Wei (耿葳) of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also criticized the city government for only holding one presentation on May 29, citing the negative feedback from local residents, scooter riders and bus commuters.

KMT City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧), meanwhile, questioned whether the roundabout was the cause of the accidents and suggested that the city government first identify the reasons behind the frequent occurrence of accidents and explain how effective measures to improve safety have been.

City Councilor Chang Szu-kang (張斯綱) of the KMT said he backs the road work because of his own experiences of traveling in and out of New Taipei's Yonghe and Zhonghe Districts via Fuhe Bridge on Keelung Road, but there is no need to rush the road work at this major "traffic artery."

Hsieh told the committee his department will be prepared to address concerns raised during the upcoming public hearing.

Miao, meanwhile, said in a Facebook post that the proposal requiring the city government to conduct a full evaluation and to obtain local consensus before closing the underpass will next be voted on by the city council on June 25.