Fukuoka bans bike-riding on shopping street

Week 1: New rules observed.

A crowded section of a popular Fukuoka shopping street is off-limits to bike riders during peak hours, with riders being asked to walk their bikes through the area.The municipal government designated the section Monday as the first no-rider zone in the country. The city has seen more than 3,000 bicycle-related accidents a year since 1998, accounting for roughly 25 percent of all traffic accidents.

Reckless riding is generally considered the cause of the relatively high accident rate.The street is in the crowded Tenjin district, where the ban covers a stretch about 400 meters long. No one is allowed to ride there between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

The city based the rule on an ordinance covering bicycle safety that took effect Monday. There is no penalty for violations.

“There are so many bicycles here and I have been almost hit by them,” said Sanae Kunisaki, 70, who often walks to a nearby swimming pool. Noriko Yoshida, 68, who works part time and commutes by bicycle, said “I may have to change my commute route because pushing my bicycle takes time.”

Week 2. New rules ignored.

Update:

Just one week after the introduction of this cycling ban a survey has revealed that 22 % of cyclists ignore the ban.  The photo to the left shows how quickly things have returned to "normal" once he road safety campaigners leave the site.

It is common in Japan for new "bans" tor "laws" to be put in place that have no penalties.  In the past these rules were largely observed, but people and society are changing and these kinds of unenforced laws, with no penalties, are now largely ignored.

If people had the common sense to recognise an area where cycling amongst pedestrians is dangerous and take an alternate route these expensive and ineffective campaigns would not be needed.