i think we have a lot to learn from japanese culture.
Originally Posted by Nippon
010
Improvement of bicycle traffic environment
It is necessary to systematically implement hard measures and traffic
regulation to secure a bicycle traffic space in order to advance the
improvement of the bicycle traffic environment for both pedestrians
and bicycles nationwide. In January 2008, the National Police Agency
and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
specified the bicycle traffic environment improvement model area in
98 places over the country. In these model districts, a project for
bicycle traffic environment that can be examples in the future by
producing bicycle paths and a space on the street exclusively for
bicycles within approximately two years.
In order to secure the road space that can be used safely by
pedestrians, bicycles and automobiles, a pilot program was carried out
on a trial basis in cooperation with the Suginami Ward in Tokyo. This
was done to improve the running space for bicycles using existing road space. Its effectiveness and possible application was analyzed and traffic rules and manners for bicycle riders were promoted.
and the sidewalk bicycling marker ubiquitous in Tokyo
and the Washington Post about tokyo cycling... maybe they are also 'nitwits'.
Originally Posted by washingtonpost
Traffic chases most Tokyo cyclists onto sidewalks, where they periodically bump into pedestrians. Mothers are forbidden by law to carry more than one child on a bicycle, but tens of thousands of them do it every day.
"The manners of Tokyo cyclists are very poor and sometime suicidal," said Nobuyuki Tsuchiya, director general of public works in Edogawa, a Tokyo ward with 640,000 people, most of whom ride bikes. As for government transportation officials in Japan, Tsuchiya said it is difficult to find one who doesn't show some "negative thinking about bicycles. We are far behind our counterparts in Europe."
Still, a bicycle is an essential component of life in Tokyo. Impossibly thin women in four-inch heels ride them, as do important-looking men in black suits. Cycling's chaotic ubiquity is a result of several factors: population density, the high cost of driving and arguably the world's best train and subway system.
hmm, sidewalk cycling from dense traffic and high bike use from expensive motoring costs and good alternate mass transit linking into bike riders multimodal commutes? nice.
best practice for american cyclists? naw, i bet we can get some inducements for roadway cycling built in and roadway architecture enhanced to encourage bicycling on the roads while enhancing safety.
Hey, I've got an idea, let's ask the Federal Highway Administration! they might have some manuals or something you could look at, danarnold
