Problems with Okubo Street Widening -1

In Kagurazaka, widening of Okubo Street (Radial Road No. 25) is in progress. The widening plan was authorized in 1946 as a part of restoration plan after the war, when this area was almost totally burnt down. The street runs through the middle of Kagurazaka shopping and residential area. Current width is 18 meters (two traffic lanes) and the widened width will be 30 meters (four traffic lanes, 6 meter sidewalk on each side). The road section plan by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) is shown below. Now TMG is negotiating with land owners about the purchase of the properties.

If the road is constructed as planned, wide four-lane road will go through the middle of Kagurazaka Street and divide the flourishing and continuing town into two. And the sides, not fronts of building will face the new road, which will discourage rich street life and activities.

The road construction project can take many years, and if the purchased properties are just surrounded by bare wired fence for long, it will damage the shopping street and hurt the street-scape as well.

The social condition, traffic condition (which is decreasing now), land use and urban development policy are very different in 1946 and now. It is difficult to justify the construction of the road for automobiles as planned by TMG.

It is probably unrealistic to try to stop the road widening now, because quite a few land was already purchased by TMG, and many residents are planning their future under the assumption that their property will be purchased sooner or later. But it is significant if the widened space is used for pedestrians, not for automobiles.

(to be continued)