The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that it will no longer implement the Gongguan Pedestrian Zone following a two-stage opinion poll showing local opposition to the policy.
The first stage of the opinion poll targeted online users and was conducted via i-voting on January 15. The results showed 76-percent of the participants supporting the policy and 22-percent against it.
The second stage of the opinion poll was held at Gongguan and consisted of on-site voting by residents and business owners in the neighborhood. Among the 73 votes casted by business owners, 14 votes showed support while 59 votes were against the measure. Likewise, votes by residents indicated 77 votes for the measure and 124 votes against the policy.
With the second stage of opinion poll showing less than half of local residents and businesses supporting the policy, the agency decided to discontinue the Gongguan Pedestrian Zone.
However, DOT will continue to work on improving the traffic environment of the neighborhood through policies such as strengthening crackdown on illegal parking and expanding the sidewalks in the area.
The department would also like to take this opportunity to express its gratitude to voters who took part in the opinion poll.