URBAN ROAD NETWORK--JAPAN

THE POPULATION DRIFT TO URBAN AREAS FROM RURAL IS STILL GOING ON IN JAPAN AS URBAN INDUSTRIES INCREASE THEIR PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL GROSS PRODUCT. THIS RAPID RATE OF URBAN GROWTH, ALONG WITH THE COMPARATIVELY LOW RATE OF GROWTH OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN URBAN FACILITIES SUCH AS HIGHWAYS, PARKING SPACES, PUBLIC TRANSPORT, ETC., HAS BROUGHT ABOUT URBAN PROBLEMS, SUCH AS TRAFFIC CONGESTION. THE FAMOUR ELEVATED EXPRESS MOTORWAYS IN TOKYO, EXPECTED TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN DEALING WITH AUTOMOBILE TRANSPORT, ARE BEING ENERGETICALLY DEVELOPED. ALMOST ALL URBAN EXPRESSWAYS ARE DESIGNED AS ELEVATED, IN CUTTING OR UNDERGROUND CONSTRUCTIONS BECAUSE THEY USUALLY RUN THROUGH BUILT-UP AREAS. THE TYPE OF EXPRESSWAY IS PRINCIPALLY DETERMINED ON THE BASIS OF CONSTRUCTION COST, TRAFFIC ENGINEERING AND TOPOGRAPHICAL CONDITIONS. IN PLANNING A HIGHWAY OR STREET SYSTEM PRIMARY CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO TRAFFIC SAFETY. IN MANY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, ESPECIALLY RECENT ONES, FOOTPATHS ARE DESIGNED TO SEPARATE PEDESTRIANS FROM VEHICULAR TRAFFIC. IN REGARD TO BUILT-UP AREA RE-DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, AN ATTEMPT IS MADE IN THE PLANNING STAGE TO ALLOCATE SPACE EXCLUSIVELY FOR PEDESTRIANS. REGULATION OF TRAFFIC AND INSTALLATION OF TRAFFIC SAFETY DEVICES ARE ALSO EFFECTIVE IN PROTECTING PEDESTRIANS AGAINST ACCIDENTS AND PROVIDE GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. IN MANY CASES, HIGHWAY AND STREET NETWORKS IN URBAN AREAS NEED URGENT IMPROVEMENT. IN DRAWING UP AN IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR A NETWORK, CONSIDERATION SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ACHIEVING COORDINATION WITH OTHER TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, SUCH AS RRAILWAYS, SUBWAYS, ETC. TO THIS END, MUCH EFFORT HAS GONE INTO ESTABLISHING JOINT COUNCILS, REPRESENTING VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING URBAN TRANSPORT FACILITIES. EFFECTIVE MEASURES TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DISRUPTION CAUSED BY VEHICULAR TRAFFIC HAVE NOT YET BEEN FOUND IN SPITE OF ENERGETIC RESEARCH. HOWEVER, SOME IMPORTANT PRACTICAL NOISE ABATEMENT MEASURES HAVE BEEN TAKEN IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ELEVATED HIGHWAYS AND THOSE IN CUTTING OR UNDERGROUND.