TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei will demolish nine pedestrian bridges within the next three years, the city’s public works department said on Tuesday (Nov. 5)

The Taipei City Public Works Department confirmed the demolitions will include the Xinsheng-Heping Pedestrian Bridge, which residents have protested to keep in place, per CNA. It said others to be demolished include those near the office of the Cabinet, outside five elementary schools, and at intersections.

Taipei City Department of Transport Director Hsieh Ming-hung (謝銘鴻) said that the pedestrian bridges are remnants of the past when car-centric transport was prioritized. He said they were designed to make it easier for cars to pass but now constitute a traffic hazard.

Hsieh said that all of Taipei’s 75 pedestrian bridges are over 40 years old. He said each will be reviewed in line with the city’s transport policy that prioritizes pedestrians.

Hsieh said 55 of the bridges cross obstacles other than roads. He said a preliminary consensus has been reached among local communities that all should be reviewed, and at least nine will be demolished before 2027.