Gongguan roundabout removal to start Sept. 13

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Taipei City Government announced on Wednesday it will begin work to remove the Gongguan roundabout and an underpass for buses at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Keelung Road on Sept. 13.

The city said at a press conference that it will first fill in the bus underpass before removing the roundabout, with the project expected to be completed by late November.

The decision to begin work without prior notice following an earlier pause in the project has drawn criticism from city council members and the Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance road safety group, which said the government is "disrespecting public opinion" and "acting hastily."

Taipei City Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) first approved the plan to replace the roundabout with a four-way intersection with traffic lights on March 25, with plans to start by June 28.

However, amid widespread criticism, the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee postponed the project on June 16.

Speaking to reporters at Taipei City Council Wednesday afternoon, Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) of the Social Democratic Party said the decision was "unscientific" as the removal would force buses to share road space with cars and motorcycles.

The city also went against a cross-party consensus to pause the project until further agreements have been reached with locals, she said.

She cited an evaluation made in October 2024 of the project's potential impact, which predicted traffic would worsen, while 163-180 seconds would be added to the travel time for more than 300 bus services using the underpass during rush hour.

Miao said she proposed a trial adjustment of road markings and signals at a meeting held by the city government in July, yet the government only said it would "discuss the suggestions."

Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance also said on Wednesday that it made multiple suggestions as did other road safety advocacy groups to improve the roundabout's markings, yet the city simply dismissed them as "useless" at the Wednesday press conference.

Currently, no markings tell drivers which lane to take upon approaching the roundabout, and only when they reach their exit do they realize they are in the wrong lane, leaving them no choice but to cut across lanes to exit, the group said.

While an intersection with traffic lights will provide space for pedestrians, the group argued that the roundabout could still be improved, and that the government should first experiment with cheaper solutions like road markings instead of moving straight to removal.