Nine Cities in Japan Participate in Car-Free Day 2009

Nine cities in Japan held Car-Free Day events during September 2009. Visitors enjoyed the streets closed off to automobiles and exhibits/events focused on the environment and road safety, allowing participants to think about our car-oriented roads.

The cities that joined the Car-Free Day 2009 are: Kasukabe and Saitama City in Saitama Prefecture, Yokohama and Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture, Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture, Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Fukui City in Fukui Prefecture, Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture, and Naha in Okinawa Prefecture. The Car-Free Day 2009 in Japan was characterized by many events and exhibits related to bicycles - which are beneficial to people's health and are environmentally-friendly - as well as classes on road safety, how to ride a bicycle, and traffic rules taught by the police.

The City of Fukui, which held its 3rd Annual Car-Free Day in 2009, offered opportunities for visitors to test-ride bicycles such as three-person bicycles (adult bicycles featuring two additional child seats), power-assisted bicycles, and high-speed road bikes. Visitors to Takamatsu City, where its 2nd Annual Car-Free Day was held, were able to ride fun bicycles and mini trains.

A parade promoting road safety and a symposium were held in Zushi City on its 1st Annual Car-Free Day. The City of Matsumoto had a mini steam-locomotive ride as well as folksong concert by local amateur bands as it held the event for the fifth time. Visitors to Nagoya's 6th Annual Car-Free Day walked on a street covered with a grass lawn and tried "water sprinkling" experiments to cool the temperature.

Car-Free Day Held in Yokohama (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/025819.html

Posted: 2009/12/30 06:00:15 AM

TAG Local government , Transportation