Shiki City in Saitama Prefecture plans to increase the number of one-way local streets to make the city more pedestrian-friendly and safe.

The city was planning to build 1.5 to 2 meter-wide sidewalks on one or both sides of local streets to make them pedestrian-friendly. However, it faced a problem with attempts to widen the streets because they are too narrow to accommodate sidewalks, and houses are too densely built up next to most of the roads. This motivated the city to assess the use of one-way streets.

At present, about 20 local streets with a total distance of 2.5 kilometers are one-way streets, and the plan is to increase this to 185 streets with a total distance of 30.8 kilometers.

The city also concluded that it was possible to build more sidewalks by reallocating more space on the roads, by carefully deciding the direction of each one-way street and restricting the traffic volume of commuter cars using local streets as short-cuts. On the other hand, the changes could be a negative factor for delivery vehicles and local residents, who in some cases would be forced to drive longer distances to reach nearby destinations.

Shiki City has begun to hold public sessions to explain the pros and cons of the one-way street plans so that the citizens, who are the directly affected stakeholders, can make the final decisions.



Posted: 2003/01/10 04:06:46 AM
Japanese version

TAG Local government , System/Law , Transportation