On the 1st, it was reported that the Yeongdeungpo District of Seoul requested the police traffic information center located in the district to 'refrain from illegal parking.' All vehicles identified as illegally parked are police patrol cars belonging to the traffic information center. The issue of illegal parking has been ongoing for 10 years. Why is this happening?
◇ Traffic police catching illegal parking, illegal parking on the main road in Yeongdeungpo for 10 years
The traffic information center that pointed out the illegal parking is affiliated with the Yeongdeungpo Police Station. The center is located along the six-lane Yeongjung Road connecting Dangsan Station and Yeongdeungpo Station. It handles traffic accidents occurring in the vicinity and monitors violations of drinking and driving, illegal parking, and traffic signal violations. To this end, six patrol cars have been assigned.
Around 6 p.m. on the 24th of last month, three patrol cars lined up and entered in front of the center, then stopped on the road. The police officers turned off the patrol car engines and got out, but they did not return even after 20 minutes. During that time, one lane out of three on the one-way street was blocked for about 30 meters.
However, parking in this area is illegal. The road in front of the center is a no-parking zone. About 100 meters away in a straight line is Yeongjung Elementary School, and there is a sign that says 'Children's protection zone' on the road. Since October 2021, parking has been completely prohibited within the children's protection zone. Additionally, there are signs that say 'No parking' and 'Tow away zone' around the center. In such places, fines for parking violations are three times greater than in other areas.
Police patrol cars are also subject to enforcement if they are not parking for urgent business in this area. Both the police and local governments can enforce illegal parking violations. However, a Yeongdeungpo District official said, 'In reality, even if police patrol cars commit illegal parking in this area, the district office has never enforced a fine.' As a result, the situation continues where traffic police, who are responsible for enforcing parking violations, are themselves illegally parking their patrol cars.
◇ Six patrol cars, but lack of parking space, leaving the remaining three on the road
This problem arises because there are six patrol cars belonging to the traffic information center, but only three can be parked in the designated parking area. This place was converted from a security center to a traffic information center. During the security center days, there were no patrol cars assigned, so there were no parking issues. However, when it changed to a traffic information center in 2015, while six patrol cars were assigned, sufficient parking space was not secured. Consequently, three patrol cars had no place to be parked and ended up being illegally parked on the road.
As this situation has persisted for 10 years, nearby residents have been expressing their discomfort. A resident, Kim (47), said, 'This area is close to an intersection, and vehicles make right turns to get in, but patrol cars are often parked here, which poses a significant risk for accidents and hinders traffic flow during rush hours.' Choi (57), who runs a real estate agency, noted, 'Seeing police cars lined up on the main road gives the impression of a dangerous neighborhood with many incidents, even causing some to break contracts.'
In response, a police official said, 'Most patrol cars are dispatched, but they come back to the center during meetings, shifts, or meal times,' adding, 'If an urgent report comes in, they have to dispatch immediately, so they can't park far away.'
◇ Police say ‘difficult to secure budget for parking lot,’ district office says ‘cannot allocate our budget’
In light of continued complaints from residents, Yeongdeungpo District took action. In November of last year and last month, when they visited the center to assess the situation, it was found that two to three private cars were occupying all three parking spots. Illegal parking of patrol cars continued on the road. Some police officers parked their private cars in the patrol car parking spaces, exacerbating the issue by increasing the number of illegally parked patrol cars to five or six.
After Yeongdeungpo District requested improvements from the traffic information center, the practice of parking private cars in the patrol car parking spaces has reportedly ceased. However, space for parking the three patrol cars has not yet been secured.
It seems unlikely that this problem will be resolved soon. A police official stated, 'It is difficult to secure a budget for facility expansion.' A Yeongdeungpo District official also said, 'The traffic information center is under the Korean National Police Agency, so this is not a matter that can be resolved with the district's budget.'