The Seoul city government said Monday it will create more parking spaces for tourist buses in central Seoul to resolve parking and traffic problems with an increasing number of tourists.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said a tour bus parking lot with 35 spaces will be created near Seoul Station in the center of the capital by the end of this month, by borrowing space from Korail Corp., the state train operator.

Another 17 spaces will be provided near the popular foreigners' neighborhood of Itaewon around April, the municipal government said.

Tour buses have long been a problem as they take up lanes to unload passengers and wait for their return, causing traffic jams in nearby areas.

The city government said it expects the newly obtained parking spaces to alleviate traffic problems by reducing the number of illegally parked tour buses on the streets. It said another 30 spaces will be prepared by the end of next year.

"It was estimated that the city is short of some 407 spaces at peak times," a city official said. "(We) need to review the matter from diverse perspectives, including the maximum utilization of existing parking lots and changes in tourism behavior, in addition to making additional parking spaces." (Yonhap)