Illegally Parked Cars Using “Trick” Is Prevalent

It has been a month since Pusan National University (PNU) started traffic control, but illegal parking on campus remains unchanged. This is because drivers use “tricks” to park illegally to avoid the crackdown area.

PNU began enforcing administrative sanctions against illegal parking and speeding vehicles on March 1st to resolve the persistent traffic disorder on campus. Parking attendants were deployed to designated enforcement zones. They detected vehicles parked in the zones at intervals of one to two hours among those regularly registered on campus (reported by “Channel PNU” on March 1st, 2024).

According to the findings from “Channel PNU” on April 1st and 2nd, there were only one to three vehicles illegally parked in the enforcement zones, which had many illicitly parked cars. Since the enforcement measures were implemented, there has been a noticeable decrease in illegally parked vehicles within the enforcement zones. The areas subject to enforcement include the vicinity of the Business Building, Social Sciences Building, Seonghak Hall, Jayoo Hall, Information Technology Education Center, Research & Lab Building, Research & Lab Building #2, and Core Research Facilities Building. The enforcement zone also includes the road adjacent to the Human Ecology Building and next to the Arts Building and the Pharmaceutical Research Building. Maximum penalties of “vehicle regular registration prohibition” for up to one month are imposed to cars illegally parked in these designated enforcement zones.

The issue lies in the increasing number of illegally parked vehicles in areas which are not in enforcement zones. According to PNU parking attendants, areas that are not designated as enforcement zones such as around the Humanities Building, Mechanical Engineering Building, Construction Building, and the Garden of Jilli are significantly congested with illegally parked vehicles. Parking attendant Kim mentioned, “As penalties are imposed to vehicles illegally lparked in the enforcement zones, vehicles tend to gather in areas where enforcement isn’t active. We sometimes ask owners of illegally parked vehicles to move even if the car wasn’t in the enforcement zone, but some drivers refuse to comply.”

There are concerns about potential traffic accidents due to this situation. Most of the roads on campus that are not designated enforcement zones are two-lane. In reality, “Channel PNU” witnessed vehicle movement being obstructed due to vehicles parked on the roadside to avoid enforcement. Consequently, vehicles parked along curves limit visibility and pose a risk of collisions with oncoming cars. Kim Jae-Hyuk (Dept. of Electrical Engineering, 24) expressed, “I can’t always see cars coming when walking on the road (due to illegally parked vehicles). It seems like the problem of illegally parked cars remains unresolved.”

There is also a need for more enforcement personnel. Currently, only two parking attendants are enforcing penalties on cars in all enforcement zones, and seeking cooperation to remove illegally parked vehicles outside these areas.

While the streets are saturated with illegally parked vehicles, parking lots on campus have plenty of space. Parking attendant Kim stated, “The utilization rate of the steel frame parking lot near the Jayoo Hall is only around 50% on average.” The issue of parking on the roadside instead of in parking lots for “convenience” has been consistently raised on campus (reported by “Channel PNU” on September 25th, 2022).

 Reporter Yoon Ji-Won

Translated by Ha Chae-Won