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| Building Roads to Support
Self-development of Hokkaido |
With respect to Hokkaido roads,
measures supporting the 21st century self-development of Hokkaido are proceeding
based on the 6th term Hokkaido Comprehensive Development Plan. Taking into
consideration changes in the economic-social situation since the plan was
decided upon, steady advance can be seen in the basic network structure
of Human, Physical and Information Distribution with the promotion of sightseeing
exchange and formation of safe, livable, comfortable communities.
Placing priority on effective and efficient facilities, Hokkaido
has promoted concrete measures such as a high-standard road artery networks
and developing roads connected with major airports and seaports, barrier-free
walking space, traffic safety measures, counter-measures to relieve city
congestion, development of an information-communication infrastructure for
reform of Hokkaido structure, maintaining and developing roadside scenery
for creating comfortable moving space. Moreover, because of damage from
frequent disasters, including typhoons, earthquakes, heavy snowfall and
landslides, aiming at the formation of safe, comfortable communities, road
disaster measures are advanced. |
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Roadside Scenery
Characterizing Hokkaido
(National Highway No. 273) |
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| For the most effective, efficient
as well as high transparency in the management of roads, road administration
is result oriented. An outcome performance report on the degree of achievement
in reaching set goals (project achievement index), called "Achievement
Report / Performance Report," is made one year after the project is
begun and the knowledge gained from evaluating former measures is reflected
in the selection of important measures and budget for the following year. |
| [National Highway Projects] |
High-standard arterial thoroughfares
secure high-speed automobile traffic and provide exclusive automobile road
access to connect a multi-polar, decentralized society. A project to develop
a road network targeted at completing a 14,000km nation-wide road network
uniting national expressways and national highways by the beginning of the
21st century is being promoted.
Hokkaido has a total of 1,825km of high-standard thoroughfares
by combining 450km of 5 national highways and 1,375km of national expressways.
The goals of developing a high-standard thoroughfare network
are relieving traffic congestion, mitigating the load on the environment,
increasing logistic efficiency, etc., and at the same time connecting the
central cities of 6 areas, Sapporo, Hakodate, Asahikawa, Obihiro, Kitami
and Abashiri, Kushiro, for promoting exchange and cooperation between these
core cities, since Hokkaido has a widely distributed type of social structure. |
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National Highway
No. 39 (Bihoro Bypass)
(scheduled to be open for public use in 2005) |
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Promoting the development of high-standard
local roads and connecting them with national high-standard highway arteries
to form a nationwide high-standard highway network is aimed at contributing
to the development and revitalization of areas.
With respect to national highways, together with advancing road
network development as a measure against disasters, securing safe traffic
conditions and relieving city traffic congestion, building roads to connect
main airports and harbors is being promoted.
Also, to provide secure, safe and comfortable traffic conditions,
road surface repair and structural maintenance, providing road information,
tree planting in city areas, etc., is fully promoted to enhance road environment. |
Since prefecture roads, as thoroughfares
for the area, are important for increasing logistics (physical distribution)
efficiency, broadening the living environment, vitalization of center city
activity, supporting the promotion of tourism, etc., projects are promoted
to solve problems in traffic interruption areas, measures to deal with winter
traffic and traffic safety, etc.
With respect to village and city streets, emphasis is placed
on promoting maintenance of commuter roads and bus routes connecting to
cooperative facilities which are basic to daily life. |
| [Large-scale Bicycle Roads] |
| To ensure bicycle traffic safety,
a wide-area bicycle lane project is being promoted with the purpose of contributing
to the development of healthy minds and bodies. |
| [Road Disaster Measures Projects] |
The Hokkaido Bureau promotes the
development of a reliable road network to cope with disasters, such as typhoons,
earthquakes, heavy snowfall and landslides to make the area safe and strong
in response to disaster. Special emphasis is placed on checking the slopes
of bridges that were designed based on the old standard and promoting anti-seismic
reinforcement, placing priority on coping with catastrophic disasters.
To respond promptly and efficiently as soon as road damage appears,
a cooperative volcanic disaster prevention WAN network using optical cable
to share disaster information has been formed for communication between
concerned organs such as road administration. |
| [Snow and Freezing Projects] |
The Hokkaido Bureau initiates
snow removal projects to ensure safe and smooth automobile traffic and improve
pedestrian space in winter. Wide area freeze damage prevention projects
are also promoted for protection against avalanches and snow drifts, improvement
of roadbeds by installing snow dumping areas, facilities such as snow sheds,
snow fences, and snow break forest groves as snow disaster measures, striving
to ensure a safe, pleasant road traffic network in the winter season.
Snow melting maintenance projects introducing new technology
are also developed to produce a peaceful winter environment with measures
to prevent slippery road surface, a serious concern in cities. Also, positive
advancement of cooperative measures with volunteer groups in the area are
promoted to take care of the details of winter road projects. |
| [Traffic Safety Projects] |
The number of traffic deaths in
Hokkaido since 1992 on, is one of the worst in the nation, making the prevention
of traffic accidents a big topic.
For this reason, along with introducing a priority clear system,
measures are promoted to raise the level of effective, efficient traffic
safety on major arterial thoroughfares, such as improving street crossings
to reduce traffic accidents in areas where accidents are frequent and where
major accidents occur. Especially in areas where many head-on collision
accidents occur, new technology is introduced, such as barrier strips on
the division line to maintain a central belt. Moreover, we advance maintenance
of safe passing space, such as installing bicycle and pedestrian lanes centering
on school zones.
In cooperation with local self-governing bodies, development
of "Michi-no-eki (road stations)" equipped with a parking lot,
toilets, facilities for relaxation, all types of information, local promotion,
etc. are being promoted. |
Among street projects, based on
city planning, the development of residential unit major roads as an artery
for the formation of the city framework and good city environment is promoted.
Regarding land area readjustment projects, aiming at basic reorganization
of the central areas of cities or local vitalization to create a good habitation
environment in a new city area, unified development of life infrastructure
facilities, such as roads and parks and housing sites in an established
city area is promoted. |
| [Road development contributing to vitalization
of central city areas] |
To promote the development of
public facilities in central city areas, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure
and Transport Hokkaido Bureau, with the cooperation of other ministries,
is promoting several measures, including the "Core City Area Comprehensive
Development Project" and, since the 1995 fiscal year, the "Building
a Neighborly Town" project.
A core city area comprehensive maintenance project is a project
which forms the base of new city activity in the central area of a core
city, by carrying out priority and synthetic development of urban infrastructure
facilities, such as roads, parks, sewage, scenery formation, high-tech information
advancement, focused on developing new city activities.
Moreover, the "Building a Neighborly Town" project
is a project for promoting vitalization of an area in the central city area
by undertaking a unified development of along-the-route facilities such
as stations, public offices, shopping centers, roads, parks, sewage, etc.,
plan, aimed at creating friendly areas which take advantage of the scenery
of the area, and a charming life space to revitalize the area. |
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