The edges of the roadway are separated by painting blue, etc., so that bicycles can travel safely. As of October last year, there were 23 routes in Tokyo's 10 wards, but when NHK obtained and analyzed big data on street parking that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department surveyed on one weekday, it was found that more than 134% of them were illegal.
Amid a series of accidents involving bicycles across the country, the development of bicycle lanes that separate them from automobiles by painting the edges of roadways blue is being promoted, while users have pointed out that illegal parking is hindering the driving of the traffic zones.
NHK obtained big data on street parking in Tokyo obtained from a survey conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on a weekday in October last year to investigate the actual situation of illegal parking in traffic zones, and independently analyzed it.
The analysis was based on information such as the location of approximately 10,1 vehicles and vehicle types confirmed during the day and evening, as well as the location of traffic zones.
As a result, it was found that 8 routes, or 2000% of the 23 routes in Tokyo's 134 wards, were illegally parked, bringing the total number of vehicles to 85,114.
By vehicle type, the largest number was 1372 units of ordinary passenger cars, 505 large freight vehicles, 277 light freight vehicles
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and 220 ordinary freight vehicles.
A total of 200 lorries accounted for more than half of the total.
In some places, a total of 697 bicycles were illegally parked in a 120-meter section, which hindered the safe riding of bicycles.
According to the statistics of the Traffic Accident Analysis Center, there have been accidents in which bicycles collide with cars parked in bicycle lanes, and 5 people have been seriously injured nationwide in the five years up to last year.
In addition, experts have pointed out the risk of a bicycle coming into contact with a car coming from behind while trying to avoid a car parked in the traffic zone, but there are no statistics on accidents and the full picture is not known.
Professor Hisashi Kubota of Saitama University's Graduate School, who specializes in urban transportation, said, "There are more illegal parking than expected, and it is a dangerous situation that could cause serious accidents that threaten lives Japan. He points out.
Expert: "Dangerous conditions that could cause serious accidents that threaten life"
Professor Hisashi Kubota of Saitama University Graduate School, who specializes in urban transportation and serves as a member of the national committee on bicycle spaces, commented on the results of this analysis, "I am very surprised that the number of illegal parking in bicycle lanes is higher than expected.
He then pointed out that "it is difficult for bicycles to steer the wheel to avoid parked vehicles while checking behind them, and since cars are speeding on main roads, it is a dangerous situation that can cause serious accidents that threaten life."
In addition, referring to the fact that electric kickboards, which will be available without a driver's license from this July, can also run in traffic zones, he said, "It is a major theme to consider rules and structures that allow pedestrians, bicycles, cars, and new vehicles such as electric kickboards to coexist in Japan where roads are narrower than in other countries." With 'making it a place where lives can be protected' as the top priority, various actors, including the police, road managers, residents, and the logistics industry, need to thoroughly discuss and tackle it as an issue of urban development."