Currently, self-driving cars in Sejong City are limited to a two-kilometer, specially-designated road. (The image does not reflect the content of this article.)
SEJONG, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Sejong, South Korea’s de facto administrative capital, will become the world’s first city dedicated to self-driving vehicles.
Lee Choong-jae, administrator for the National Agency for Administrative City Construction, announced Tuesday an ambitious plan to make all 360 kilometers of roads in the city self-driving-compatible by the year 2020, in addition to establishing eco-friendly infrastructure.
The NAACC will seek help from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to establish a detailed, high-precision map of the region to be used by autonomous vehicles, as well as a cooperative intelligent transport system (C-ITS) to provide the vehicles with real-time traffic information.
Currently, self-driving cars in Sejong City are limited to a two-kilometer, specially-designated road.
A total of 20 charging facilities will be installed in Sejong for EVs and FCEVs, while the agency is also considering constructing specific roads or guideways for future means of transport, like personal mobility vehicles (i.e. Segway) or personal rapid transit (PRT).
In addition, the agency will establish MGAS, a maintenance system for greenhouse gases that will have as its mandate the reduction of carbon emissions, and will serve to meet Sejong’s goal to achieve a “Solar City”. Sejong received global attention in 2015 for a 30-kilometer solar array bicycle path that links the administrative capital to the city of Daejeon.
“We’re trying to go side-by-side with changing transportation means, and we’ll establish a future-driven traffic system,” said Lee. “Sejong will become a global icon once self-driving becomes accessible on all 360 kilometers of roads in the city.”
By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
