The sidewalks ain't safe

"Both cycling with an open umbrella or while utilizing a cell phone"

how many people have to die before rules like this are put into effect?

 

what i cant understand is why 99% of Asian people dont look before they go somewhere, or turn a corner. This is while driving, bicycling, and walking. It's friggin dumbfounding... I'm from Vancouver, where the ever rising chinese population wreeks havoc, so i have witnessed this phenomenon in both canada AND japan.

I always carry a bag with me, and wack people on the legs whenever they cut me off while walking with their heads up their asses.

 

My neighborhood actually steals bicycles that are parked around the train station. If you want it back you have to pay some ransom. The reason I say steal is because during these little clean up sessions, the collectors never take the old rusted broken down thrown out bikes. no siree bob, they want the mountain bikes or ones that are obviously being used. If you don't pay the ransom, your bike is sold off toooo, some shady lot in china or india I imagine. The folks at city hall say this policy is necessary to keep the sidewalks clear for pedestrians. Needless to say they weren't to happy when this wiseass gaijin presented them photos of the local fruit and veggie vendors that block the sidewalks selling their cheap goods everyday. In this age of high fuel prices, attempts to save energy, and efforts to reduce air pollution, you'd think the Japanese would be encouraging the use of bicycles. no chance, they actually compound the problem by forcing the community to rely on motorized forms of transportation. Easy to see why Japan's efforts in the Kyoto protocal have actually resulted in a 7 percent increase in noxious gases.

 

America sucks for bicycle riding too.

Please spare me your over simplifiied narrowminded stereo types of the United States. First, America is huge, like traveling from Portugal to Poland. you want us to believe that in all that area you couldn't find a decent bicycle trail or sidewalk? Well, I've traveled extensively by bike around the U.S. absolutely marvelous, from the cascades to the rockies or up and down the pacific highway... wonderful. There are organized bicycle tours around the U.S. every summer, I suggest you contact some locals and hit the trails, streets, or back alleys.

 

If I got it right, bicycles are vehicles and legally had to use the road - until 1972, when it was generally permitted to cycle the sidewalk, where safe.

Safety depends on many factors, not all related to sidewalk, behavior or technicalities. I cycle about 5000km per year in Yokohama, office commute and soft touring. I find most drivers are courteous, some cyclists are dangerous (in the wrong lane) and pedestrians, depending on the area are unpredictable, i.e. not aware of the need to share the limited space or to keep a straight path. In cramped quarters or when children are nearby, I slow down and have both hands ready to brake. The short stopping distance of a recumbent (it cannot flip over) has saved a few bones, including mine.

 

'The SIDEWALKS ain't safe!'
Well,try walking on the ROAD.
-Like we cyclists in Japan are legally required to be doing in most cases.

I've been cycling accident free in Japan as a commuter and with some long distance rides for 9 years,-and I always ride with an open (transparent) umbrella when it is raining.

The Auto-Corporatocracy that runs Japan doesn't want bicycles to cut into their 'lane' of business.

As far as Local Governments in Japan are concerned cyclists and bicycles an incidental nuisance and at worst are being plundered as a 'cash cow' by enforcement of by-laws that deem all parked bicylces as 'illegal'.

http://kyotoinkyoto.blogspot.com/

Cycling in Japan
http://www.runmuki.com/paul/writing/japantrip.html

http://kyotoinkyoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.geocities.co.jp/NatureLand/4515/bikejpn/bikejpn_e.html

 

but I love cycling in Japan.
Yes, pedestrians make a habit of not watching where they are going.
Yes, old people invariably ride on the wrong side of the road.
Yes, a lot of silly people ride with open umbrellas open thus effectively making them an accident waiting to happen.
All of these things just add to the challenge. That's what I like about riding in Japan.
I always wanted to be a bike courier when I was growing up. Ride bike all day; get paid for it and get the opportunity to hit on office women while looking rather athletic.
All of the troubles that one encounters when riding in Japan just make the fantasy of being a bike courier in NY more realistic.
I'm weird that way.

Peace,

Taka

 

anyone 12 and over should be prohibited from riding on the sidewalks and should ride on the street, with the flow of traffic. all bikes should have working lights and bells. every cyclish should wear a helmet. these should be the rules and these rules should be enforced with ne excptions.

 

Authoritarian attitudes like those are exactly what is keeping millions from making the change to cycling that our cities and our planet so greatly need ( for a whole raft of reasons)
http://www.cycle-helmets.com/helmet_damage.html

Our civic leaders should be doing all in their power ( e.g. by making cycling as easy as possible) to encourage and enable this change to take place.

Cycling is in itself NOT particularly dangerous.
We are not in control of a tonne of steel with 10 tonnes of power .
We are (occasionally) 'fast-moving pedestrians' and need to be accommodated as such in our cities.

 

that is weird....but I like it.

 

Thanks.
No one has ever accused me of being normal.
But then again, most normal people are boring.
No bike riding today however. This weather sucks.

Peace,

Taka

 

And who will compensate me for torn clothing from bikes left willy nilly creating a labyrinth to negotiate!

In Uk everyone has to pass a bike riding test before permitted to ride a bike to school etc. Since the age of 10 I can't recall a time where I road on the path instead of the "bike lane" or road!
Although in JPN I have my doubt's of the safety of in riding on the road! Driving in JP without due care and attention is rampant!!

 

The reason bikes are parked willy nilly is basically because there are so many people who want to use them in a political environment that does not want them around and that sees them as an easy target for a 'nice little earner'.

It suits the Local Governments in Japan to have allowed this chaos to have evolved because it has given them a perpetual source of revenue which they can milk whenever they need a bit of petty cash.
(2300 yen per bike here in Kyoto)

If every cyclist in Japan was able to keep their bicylce for its natural lifespan ,the cycle manufacturers (and now importers) would have a limited market to sell their bikes to.
As it is now with the NO PARKING NOWHERE Policy , illegalizing free parking with regular enforcement around major transport hubs by means of mass confiscations , Local Government is creating an artificially high demand for bicycles as a large percentage remain unclaimed in council lockups to be auctioned off after 6 weeks to a limited number of registered second hand dealers(only).
As you will notice , none of the money has been put into trying to solve the problem by designating free parking in empty government owned (or even private ) land adjacent to stations, nor would it seem that any efforts have been made to find out what other countries have been doing to solve the menace of parked bicycles such as by the installation of wall-mounted hanger racks or by education campaigns to make cyclists aware of what they are obliged to be doing to minimise their encroachment into pedestrian throroughfares.

Establishing a system by which free parkers are obligated to write the date on which they parked on a label on ,say the back of their seat, might be a good start ... just an idea ,-but I'm not on a Local Government which is 'promising to do all it can to make our city pedestrian and cycle friendly in order to reduce CO2 emissions'.

Remember , you can park about 15 bicycles in the space it takes to park just one car.

Cycling in Japan
http://www.runmuki.com/paul/writing/japantrip.html

http://kyotoinkyoto.blogspot.com/

http://www.ucolick.org/~de/AltTrans/WhatsStupid.html

http://www.geocities.co.jp/NatureLand/4515/bikejpn/bikejpn_e.html

http://www.powerscyclediary.com/archives/2005/06/japans_greatest.html

 

Good one.

There's the 500 yen bike reigistration you can buy when you get a new bike to keep the bike from ending up on the auction block, but I have never met anyone who has had their bike recovered as a result of this registration.

 

is about danger on the roads, and the real danger comes from cars. It never ceases to amaze me how we as a community get so worked up whenever there is a rail accident, or airline crash, or even a serious bicycle accident, and yet we turn a blind (very blind) eye to the tragedies occurring on our streets each and every single day at the hands of our most beloved mode of transport - the motor vehicle. I wonder what the victims of motor car accidents and their families think about the way their suffering is ignored, sacrificed even, in the name of motor vehicle transport at all costs. Every time I see a cripple on the street, I wonder if that person was in a car accident, and if they too think it is a sacrifice worth making.

My local police box advertises the number of accidents and fatal accidents that occurred that day in Tokyo. On an average day, there are several HUNDRED accidents, many of which are extremely serious, if not fatal -amputations, disfiguring, crippling. Almost all of these accidents are caused by motor vehicles.

A lot of things happened in the 20th century, but few things have changed our lives, our cities and the face of the earth as much as the motor car. It's high time we weigh up the negatives that personal motor car use has wrought,
and think long and hard about whether there is not a better alternative. If you're not convinced, you should read
Katie Alvord's book, "Divorce Your Car". If you are a car lover it might just make you weep.

Getting back to cycling and pedestrians - they really are in the same boat in this, and it hurts me to see articles like this try to drive a wedge between pedestrians and cyclists. Both have lost the roads to cars. Both are constantly
put in serious danger from motor vehicles. Both have to put up with the noise, the pollution and aloof or aggressive behaviour of so many car drivers. Pedestrian crossings in Japan are a death trap. Cars rarely ever stop for a pedestrian even at a pedestrian crossing here. They are more likely to blow their horn at you if you step out into
their path. It's high time cyclists and pedestrians got together to reclaim the streets. When was the last this was
seriously debated in public? I bet this must be a daily cause of accidents in Tokyo.

As for governments, one thing they can do is improve the state of bicycle parking at train and subway stations, and at offices. Many cities overseas have strategically located bike parking in the city, often even with showers and bike
mechanics available for use. Make the footpath wider, so that people can park their bikes AND walk by easily. When you look out onto the road and see just how much space cars are taking up, it doesn't seem like an unreasonable request. As a short term fix, I personally often try to park my bike on the ROAD side (where the cars are parked) so
that it doesn't get in the way of pedestrians.

The wonderful combination of cycling and rail transport has amazing potential. But it needs to be more convenient. Bicycle parking should be easy, close to the station and free if we are going to entice people out of cars. Cyclists and pedestrians already have to put up with so much inconvenience at the hands of cars already. Planners could at least make these things convenient. As a short term fix, I have found that a good folding bicycle works wonders. Do not be tempted to buy the cheap ones you can get at the chemist, they are far to heavy and poorly made. I often wonder if they are not made by car manufacturers to give potential cyclists such a terrible experience that they will shrink from cycling in future. My favourite brand is Dahon, for value and quality, but there are many other good folders around (Brompton, Moulton, Birdy, Bike Friday etc).

So, pedestrians and cyclists, let's work together to make our streets better places. Encourage your local
government to widen footpaths and mark cycle lanes, make free and convenient bike parking etc etc etc. Even if you do drive a car -it is in your interests to promote better cycling and pedestrian facilities, because (1) it's safer and you're less likely to hit someone, and (2) one less car on the road means less traffic jams for you to deal with!