【Kaohsiung News】
The Transportation Bureau of Kaohsiung City Government has partnered with Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum through a public-private collaboration to improve the people-oriented transportation environment both inside and around the park. The improvement project incorporates roundabout guidance, speed tables, and painted sidewalks, transforming this religious destination—attracting millions of visitors annually—into a rare national model of a “people-oriented religious and cultural park.”
Director Chang Shu-chuan stated that Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum is a key religious and cultural site in Kaohsiung, attracting large numbers of visitors and tour groups each year. This improvement project adopts a user-centered approach, comprehensively reviewing circulation within and around the park. The goal is to ensure that visitors—from parking to walking to entering the museum—can travel more safely and smoothly, while enhancing the overall friendliness of the environment.
The Transportation Bureau noted that the museum previously faced issues such as excessive vehicle speeds, unclear circulation routes, and illegal parking. Drawing on the experience of pedestrian environment improvements at Chengcing Lake, the Bureau first conducted a traffic assessment inside the park. Entrance configurations were adjusted, and roundabouts were introduced to guide traffic flow, reducing vehicle conflicts and the risk of wrong-way driving. Traffic calming platforms were also installed, and roadway markings around the museum were redesigned to clearly define lane boundaries, thereby improving illegal parking conditions and enhancing pedestrian safety for visitors and monastics.
In addition to internal circulation improvements, the Bureau also addressed pedestrian needs for visitors walking from parking areas into the park. Approximately 500 meters of painted sidewalks were added along Singtian Road outside the museum, clearly separating pedestrian and vehicular spaces, providing safer walking routes, and reducing conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles.
Regarding the long-standing complex K-shaped intersection of Provincial Highway 29 and Singtian Road, the Bureau coordinated with the Southern Region Branch office, Highway Bureau , MOTC to implement phased improvements. The Bureau indicated that the southbound right-turn exclusive lane on Provincial Highway 29 was completed by the end of 2025, allowing traffic entering the park to be separated from through traffic, thereby reducing congestion. The second phase will further adjust the intersection layout, adding a northbound left-turn auxiliary lane and traffic signal control, with completion expected by mid-2026. Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum is also coordinating adjustments to parking lot entrances and exits to jointly optimize the surrounding traffic environment.
Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum stated that following the improvements, monastics, volunteers, and visitors have clearly experienced enhanced traffic safety. Particularly during the Lunar New Year period this year, when large volumes of people and vehicles entered the area, traffic operations remained stable and orderly. This demonstrates that more systematic traffic management effectively contributes to achieving the goal of “arrive safely and return home safely.”
The Transportation Bureau emphasized that this collaboration represents a concrete achievement of public-private partnership in advancing transportation improvements. The Bureau provided professional traffic engineering planning and strategic recommendations, while the museum supported site adjustments and implementation. Through coordinated efforts, both efficiency and quality were achieved. Moving forward, the Bureau will continue to promote people-oriented transportation principles, extending safe and friendly transport environments to more key destinations and daily living spaces.
