Suwon to Provide 355-Space Shared Parking Lot Next to Gwanggyo Café Street Through Sieun Small Church

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Suwon City announced on the 2nd that starting in January of next year, 355 parking spaces at the parking lot operated by Sieun Small Church will be available for use by residents.

The city and Sieun Small Church recently signed a 'Parking Lot Sharing Business Agreement' and decided to cooperate to resolve parking shortages in the area and revitalize local commercial districts.

Sieun Small Church has agreed to provide 355 parking spaces (basement levels 2-4) to residents 24 hours on weekdays and until 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

The city will support facility improvement projects to ensure residents can use the parking lot safely and conveniently. Outdated lighting will be replaced with LED lighting, and additional CCTV cameras will be installed. The parking lot is scheduled to open in January of next year after construction is completed.

Sieun Small Church (419-2 Uie-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu) is located just a one-minute walk from 'Gwanggyo Café Street,' which is expected to significantly help alleviate parking shortages on the café street.

Sieun Small Church is the 10th church to sign a parking sharing business agreement with the city. The city first signed an agreement with Joong-ang Church (Gyodong) in January 2018. In May of the same year, Suwon First Church, Suwon Young Nak Church, Church of Peace with Forest and Spring (Jowon-dong), and Hope Church, followed by Peace Church (Homaesil-dong), First Church, and Mission Church in 2019, and Hope Church (Kwonseon-dong) in March of last year continued to sign parking lot sharing agreements.

Suwon City's parking lot sharing business involves opening private parking facilities of religious and business facilities to nearby residents. Opening hours vary by facility. Suwon City provides support for parking facility improvement projects.

Through the parking sharing business, local residents resolve parking shortages to some extent, Suwon City secures parking spaces with minimal budget, and parking lot owners benefit from city support to improve parking facilities. So far, over 1,200 parking spaces have been secured through the parking sharing business.

While Suwon City continues to increase public parking lots, acquiring land to create parking facilities faces budget constraints, as it can cost up to 100 million won per space in some cases. Creating a parking lot of 30 spaces requires approximately 2.4 billion won. Suwon City is actively promoting parking sharing business to secure parking spaces with minimal budget.

An official from Suwon City said, "In a space-limited city, increasing parking lots is not easy," and expressed gratitude, saying "We thank Sieun Small Church for sharing parking facilities for local residents." The official added, "We hope parking lot sharing will continue to expand."