Apr 11, 2023 3 min read

Get Those Bikes On The Footpath!

Bikes, pedestrians & vehicles co-exist harmoniously in a city with 12 times Melbourne's population density.

Near Tokyo's Shinjuku Station - the world's busiest railway station. Millions of passengers daily, and they do not give a toss about mixing pedestrians & cyclists on the so-called footpaths.

Oh the passions it arouses. Do we need to change the name from footpaths to shareways?

Extensive lockable bike parking lines the footpath outside Shinjuku Station - the world's busiest rail station.

The population of Tokyo is over 14 million - nearly 3 times that of Melbourne.

The area of Tokyo is 2,194 km sq., whereas Melbourne is 10,000 km sq.

So the population density of Tokyo is well over 12 times that of Melbourne.

Quiet time at the famous pedestrian mayhem at Shubaya.

The history of the city of Tokyo stretches back some 400 years. Originally named Edo, the city started to flourish after Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Tokugawa Shogunate here in 1603.

Melbourne was established 30 August 1835 - it is less than 200 years old.

While Tokyo has evolved to tower living, tower shopping and tower working, 14 million people move around at ground level (OK, point taken - there are subways and elevated roads and railways).

No-one leaps from building to building. No-one swings like Spiderman from tower to tower.

Riding of bikes on very busy footpaths and roads in Tokyo is accepted, even expected. No helmets. No fuss. No age barriers.

A very relaxed attitude to "Keep Left" does not cause angst on the "no-car paths".

No imposition of bike expressways on resisting residents - if you want to ride a bike then do it quietly, politely, sensibly on the footpath - among thousands and thousands of accepting, coping pedestrians.

Not a single piece of lycra in sight - testosterone is successfully separated from cycling. No megabucks carbon fibre boastmobiles to get you hurtling along to terrorise, to intimidate and to injure.

Thousands of bikes parked in formal areas in major shopping and business precincts. None abandoned.

Bike riding for and by all ages. Octogenarians. Young parents with two toddlers aboard. Salaryman in his dark suit. Shoppers. Delivery pedalers. High heels. All relaxed.

Nonchalant parcel delivery. Middle aged. Dress shoes. Tie. Pressed button-up shirt. Place your thumb over the bike and he is any Tokyo office worker.

Calm, mechanised mobility. Sharing of space. Dignity maintained. No rage. No incidents.

No helmets, no lights, no bells either. A lot of civility though.

Billions and billions of yen spent on vehicle expressways, on road levels separation.

An extensive train network for commuting for millions of people daily - no doubt hugely expensive to create & maintain.

All this in the land that has brought us Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Isuzu, Hino and more.

We really need a more mature discussion of shared space and shared responsibility in Australia, in Melbourne, in Banyule.

My superficial observations?

1. In Australia poor cyclist behaviour is the root cause of the distrust and resistance from drivers and pedestrians to expanded bike use in our cities - Tokyo proves that all modes of transport can co-exist.

2. In the bits of central Tokyo I have seen so far there is #NO on-street parking. Roads are just that - roads. Not linear parking lots. This leaves space for dedicated bike lanes. Australia could well follow suit.

Blue for bikes only. Note the tightly spaced bollards.

Most bikes observed on Tokyo footpaths are small wheeled and highly manoeuvrable. Ridden slowly.

Do not get me wrong. I am pro-bike. I loved cycling.

71+, both hips replaced - I am not going to risk on-road cycling. I understand other people do not want me riding a 26" wheeled bike on footpaths either.

🤣

Japanese businesses seem to be doing OK without free on-street parking being provided right outside their front door.