Topics

Evaluation and future development ofbicycle travel environment improvement
model districts

Road Department
Advanced Road Design and Safety Division
TAKAMIYA Susumu, Head (Phd(Eng.))
HONDA Hajime, Senior Researcher
Traffic Engineering Division
UESAKA Katsumi, Head (Phd(Eng.))
YAMAMOTO Akira, Researcher
KOBAYASHI Hiroshi, Senior Researcher(Key words) Bicycle, bicycle network project, intersection design, guideline
1. Background to and history of recent bicycle
countermeasures
In 2008, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism and the National Police
Agency designated a total of 98 areas nationwide asBicycle Travel Environment Improvement ModelDistricts, clarified problems with improving bicycle
travel environments and studied countermeasures.
Later, in 2011, they formed the Study Committee
for the Creation of Safe and Pleasant Bicycle
Utilization Environments, which evaluated andverified efforts made in the above model districts
and proposed the preparation of guidelines.
The NILIM collected and aggregated documents
about the model districts and helped the committee
evaluate and verify efforts made in the modeldistricts.
2. Evaluating and verifying efforts in modeldistricts
The evaluation and verification in the model
districts clarified two facts: [1] because theimprovement effects are not fully achieved simply
by partially improving bicycle traveling space, it isimportant to do the improvement as a network, and[2] because there are cases where the connection
between the uninterrupted flow section andintersection are not provided connected in a straightline, so that the improved bicycle traveling space is
not fully utilized, it is important to ensure continuity
and straightness of bicycle traveling space atintersections. So the concept of stipulating bicycle
network projects in the guidelines and the concept
of intersection design methods were proposed.
3. Future challenges
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportand Tourism and the National Police Agency will
supplement the committee’s proposals withtechnical opinions to prepare and release theguideline.
[Reference] Committee web site.

http://www.mlit.go.jp/road/ir/ir-council/cyclists/index.html
Location of the designated routes in a model district■モデル地区の指定路線位置（例）(example)

Designated routes in the
モデル地区指定路線
modeldistrict

500m

Comparison of average bicycle traffic volume before and■平均自転車交通量の整備前後の比較
after improvement
197
186Bicyclepath
自転車道

162
157

Exclusive
bicycle lane
自転車専用通行帯
Bicycle/pedestrian path
自転車歩行者道(ordinarybicycles permitted totravel on sidewalks)（普通自転車歩道通行可）
Indicationof bicycle traveling
自転車歩行者道内のspace location inside a
自転車通行位置の明示
bicycle/pedestrian path (part of a
（普通自転車の歩行通行部分）
sidewalk
where ordinary bicycles
are permitted to travel)

Beforeimprovement
整備前
After
improvement
整備後

106
117
137
147
0100

200300Bicycletraffic volume (bicycles/h)
自転車交通量（台/h）Relationship of shift/no- shift with bicycle traveling space usage rate
■シフトの有無と自転車通行空間の利用率の関係（n=27）

75.1% （n=20）
75.1%
62.5%（n=7） （n=20）
62.5%

自転車道
Bicyclepath
自転車道

79.6%
79.6% （n=7）

Total 全路線合計
of全路線合計
all routes（n=27）（n=11）（n=11）

Travel locations
通行位置の明示
自転車通行位置の明示
indicated（n=16）（n=16）（n=7）

Onfront
正面にある

正面にない
Not
on front

63.8% （n=4） （n=7）
63.8%
（n=4）

72.7%（n=13）
60.7%72.7%（n=3） （n=13）
60.7%
（n=3）

0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
※ But the result of a screening (95%) found no statistical significance.
※ただし、検定(95%）の結果、統計的有意性は認められなかった※ Bicycle traffic volume (one-way) excludes routes with traffic volume of 40 bicycles/h or※自転車交通量（片側）自転車40台/h以下の路線を除外（国土交通省調べ）
less (study by MLIT)

Route with a crossing zone for

Route without a crossing zone for

横断帯が正面にない（シフトのある）路線
横断帯が正面にある（シフトのない）路線
bicycles on front (shift)
bicycles on front (no shift)

FigureExample of evaluation/verificationof model district (excerpted from committee
documents)