News Tokyo aims to get more cyclists off the pavement

Often, cyclists in Tokyo find themselves between a rock and a hard place: bicycles are treated as a type of light vehicle under the Road Traffic Law, meaning that, in principle, they must run on the left side of roads and off of walkways. With some roads and bridges too hazardous for cyclists, they are forced to share the pavement with pedestrians, resulting in close encounters of the third kind.

The Asahi article below describes the situation around Kachidoki Bridge, a route I usually take once a week.

A female cyclist zipping along the walkway of Kachidokibashi bridge in Tokyo's Tsukiji district grazed the arm of a French pedestrian. She shouted "sorry" and sped away, going so fast that all her bangs were blowing backward. The startled Frenchman, 46, said it was "unbelievable for a bicycle to be going so fast on a footway." Kachidokibashi bridge, built over the Sumidagawa river in Chuo Ward, falls under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo metropolitan government. The four-lane Harumi-dori street on the bridge is full of traffic day and night. [...] "I cannot believe no serious accidents have happened here," the Frenchman said on the bridge. The tourist said that in his homeland, different lanes are set aside for cars, bicycles and pedestrians around the popular sightseeing destination of the Paris Opera.

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Due to the increasing number of cyclists in the city, Tokyo plans to introduce four main types of bicycle lanes:

• The first category will separate roadways and bicycle lanes with a fence or curb.
• Bicycle lanes in the second category will be marked in blue on the left side of the roads.
• In the third category, white bicycle symbols and direction arrows will be painted on the left edges of the roads.
• In the fourth category, lanes for cyclists and pedestrians on sidewalks will be separated with plants, fences, painted marks or other means.

Tokyo officials said cyclists can also operate on footways in the second and third categories when: traffic signs say it is permitted; the cyclists are children under 13 years old; the cyclists are seniors aged 70 or older; the cyclists are physically disabled; and there are no other means for safety. In all of the cases, bicycle riders are urged to travel slowly.

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And:

The metropolitan government has developed 300 kilometers of bicycle lanes so far. An additional 600 km of bicycle lanes will be established primarily at tourist destinations, areas around major stations and in accident-prone zones by fiscal 2030. Still, Wada said that will not be enough to keep cyclists off sidewalks soon. He said Tokyo is first looking to work with police to crack down on automobiles parked in bicycle lanes so that cyclists can feel safer on roadways.

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With helmets and bicycle insurance mandatory, the next logical step would be a "bicycle permit" or at least better education for cyclists.

Maybe going through bicycle training/classes and getting a permit could result in a discount on the insurance. That might provide a good incentive if the discount is substantial.

Bicycles are a major issue in Chicago. Like in Japan they are considered vehicles as far as the rules of the road are concerned yet almost no bicyclists follow those rules. They run right through stop signs, often without even attempting to slow down. I have seen them run through red lights as well and plow through busy cross walks. However anytime there is an accident its always either the pedestrians or the people driving cars that are blamed, even if the car is not moving at the time (doors being opened and hitting a bicyclist for example).

They are starting to put in bike lanes but in a lot of places they are being forced into areas that were not designed to accommodate them and they end up causing other issues. Some of the bicyclists are even aggressive to other bicyclists and especially to young kids on bikes, yelling at them to get out of the way and go faster. That of course is a problem primarily with the person, not the fact that they are on a bike. I feel like they would be just as nasty if they were driving a car or walking on a busy sidewalk.

There seems to be little point in spending money painting separate cycle lanes on pavements. For example, Yamate Dori, which runs north-south to the west of some of the Yamanote line (Ikebukuro - Shinjuku - Shibuya) has wide pavements with cycle lanes painted on them, and they are not used. However, a proper physical boundary (the first and fourth categories) does seem to make a difference.

Lothor said:

There seems to be little point in spending money painting separate cycle lanes on pavements. For example, Yamate Dori, which runs north-south to the west of some of the Yamanote line (Ikebukuro - Shinjuku - Shibuya) has wide pavements with cycle lanes painted on them, and they are not used. However, a proper physical boundary (the first and fourth categories) does seem to make a difference.

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I tried to use them once on Kannana-dori: careless pedestrians and parked takyubin trucks make cyclists jump through hoops.

I love this video: ALWAYS ride in the bike lane!

He should be a professional bicycle stunt man

The blue arrows are now being standard throughout Japan. It's a good idea, but the 4 wheel drivers haven't caught on yet. Personally, I try to use the sidewalks where all the students ride their bikes.

There's a problem with sidewalks.