Taipei Times
Date: May 29, 2015
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
Ten percent of Taipei’s pedestrian overpasses are to be dismantled this year, city officials said yesterday.
New Construction Office maintenance division head Chen Ping-lin (陳炳麟) said that eight overpasses and four underpasses have been slated for demolition this year, including overpasses near Laosong Elementary School, Nangang Tire Corp and Xinxing Market.
The city has 84 pedestrian overpasses and 50 underpasses, with four overpasses demolished last year.
Chen said that the office is to demolish the overpasses because many were sparsely used “eyesores,” whose maintenance costs drain the office’s budget.
Most pedestrians prefer to wait to cross the street rather than using underpasses or overpasses which require taking the stairs, he said. [FULL STORY]