New and Old Road Markings Coexist in Nantou City; Office Clarifies: For Sidewalk Construction

(Central News Agency reporter Xiao Bo-yang, Nantou County, 24th) The Nantou City Office plans to build physical sidewalks on Wen-hua Road to protect student safety. Road markings were adjusted first, but the coexistence of new and old markings has sparked discussion. The city office stated that the current markings are preliminary adjustments for the future sidewalk positions and are not the final look. Wen-hua Road recently saw re-marked lines and speed limit adjustments, drawing resident attention. The city office explained today that these adjustments are for the subsequent launch of the 'Wen-hua Road Physical Sidewalk Construction Project.' The core goal is to build a safe school-surrounding corridor for students and teachers of Nantou Junior High and Zhanghe Elementary schools. Nantou Mayor Chang Chia-che stated that Wen-hua Road has long lacked physical sidewalks, forcing students to compete with vehicles for space. To improve this, the city office referenced the latest traffic regulations to introduce the concept of 'traffic calming zones,' using narrowed lanes to create visual pressure and lower vehicle speeds. Although this causes inconvenience during the transition, it is a necessary step for the city to move towards 'human-centric transportation.' Principal Zhang Ling-cai of Zhanghe Elementary mentioned that the school and parents highly anticipate the completion of the sidewalk for substantial protection. Principal Liu Song-yan of Nantou Junior High said that pre-marking helps users adapt to new driving patterns early and emphasizes pedestrian right-of-way. The city office noted that transitioning from 'vehicle-centric' to 'human-centric' transportation involves a painful period of habit change, citing success in other areas like Zhongzheng Road in Zhongxing New Village in accident reduction and clearing roadside chaos.