Influence of Bicycles Left on Safety and Amenity in Pedestrian Footpath

Recently, bicycles left in front of railway stations has been a social problem in Japan. Because the pedestrian footpaths are occupied by bicycles left, safe and comfortable footpath space is desired by many pedestrians. Therefore, in this study, the influence that bicycles left have upon the pedestrian environment for visually impaired is analyzed from the viewpoint of the barrier-free environment. For investigation of the actual condition of bicycles left, a questionnaire for bicycle users and the visually impaired was carried out. From the results of these investigations, we found the following. Bicycles left cause a decrease in the width of footpath, and they have a bad influence on the safety and amenity of all persons including elderly and disabled people. Bicycle users are not satisfied with the fee of bicycle parking lots. It is assumed that this aspect is related to the bicycles left problem. The function of tactile tiles for the visually impaired is useless as bicycles left are often on the tactile tiles and thus prevent visually impaired from walking safely. From the results of this analysis, the authors propose a policy to create a pedestrian environment with safety and amenity.