Transportation / Mobility

July 29, 2012

 

Bicycle Lane Introduced in Central Takamatsu City

Keywords: Local government Transportation / Mobility 

The City of Takamatsu, the capital of Kagawa Prefecture, held an opening ceremony for a new bicycle lane that opened on April 8, 2012. The bicycle lane of about 1 kilometer in the city center spans from the intersection at Bancho 1-chome to the one at Showacho on a part of the city road called Gobancho Saihou Line. It is based on the "Policy for Maintenance of Bicycle Network in the City Center of Takamatsu," which was formulated in November 2008 to make the city friendly to bicycle users.

The city road, which was four lanes and 22 meters wide, was modified to a two-lane road, and a two-meter-wide bicycle lane and one and half meter-wide stopping lane were set up along the sidewalk. Most bicycle lanes in Japan are only marked by lines, but this bicycle lane is separated spatially from sidewalks.

The result of an experiment that designated part of this bicycle lane for 21 days in February 2012 showed that there was no major influence on car traffic. A survey was conducted, and 71 percent of pedestrians and 59 percent of bicycle users responded that safety was enhanced. Forty-eight percent of car drivers gave positive responses, but 43 percent of car drivers didn't. This seems to be brought on by psychological factors because the road was narrowed into one lane each way when drivers entered the experimental lane.

98 Model Districts Designated to Establish Bicycle Lane Network (Related JFS article)
Nagoya's Bicycle Lane Safe for Bicycles, Pedestrians, No Negative Impact on Drivers (Related JFS article)

Posted: 2012/07/29 06:00:15 AM


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