United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Edogawa City is a city of 670,000 located at the eastern edge of the capital of Tokyo. With five train lines and twelve train stations within the city limits, it is highly convenient, offering fifteen-minute access to downtown Tokyo. It teems with young people and bustles with life.
Edogawa once retained a rural charm. From the 1960s, however, infrastructure development increasingly lagged behind the growth in population triggered by rapid urbanization, and urban problems cropped up such as pollution and overflowing garbage. One of those problems was the proliferation of bicycles chaotically parked around train stations.
At the time Japan’s railway network was rapidly expanding, and it became common for people to commute to work and school by bicycling to the nearest station and then taking the train to their destination. As a result of increased bicycle use, the areas around train stations became cluttered with large numbers of randomly parked bicycles. Bicycles blocking the sidewalk forced pedestrians onto the road, placing the vulnerable — small children, senior citizens, the handicapped — at particular risk. Bicycles jutting out into the roadway paralyzed urban functions by impeding the passage of emergency vehicles. Haphazardly parked bicycles also formed a serious blight on the cityscape and greatly hampered the business of surrounding stores. Moreover, they were one factor in the decline of public order in that they led to bicycle theft. At its peak the number of improperly parked bicycles around Edogawa’s twelve stations exceeded 10,000, creating numerous challenges for the community and prompting growing calls by local residents for a solution.
The City attempted to solve the problem by establishing bicycle parking areas. However, it was difficult to procure the required land right next to each station because the surrounding area was already built up; the only available space was located at some distance — directly beneath elevated train lines, for example. Such parking was inconvenient to use, with the upshot that bicycles continued to be left haphazardly around stations. The City also set up barricades on sidewalks to prevent people from leaving their bicycles; but that proved self-defeating in that it actually worsened the pedestrian environment and impeded the provision of safe, pleasant conditions for pedestrians, which was after all the ultimate goal.
But bicycles are a time-honored, eco-friendly means of transport that anyone can use. Today, with the looming threat of global warming, it is vital that steps be taken to reduce CO2 emissions by making a modal shift and replacing the car with the bicycle as our chief means of transport. Hence the concept of the Comprehensive Bicycle Program — a system designed not simply to banish bicycles as a nuisance on the roads, but rather to encourage widespread bicycle ridership while completely eliminating improper parking of bicycles.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The greatest benefit gained from implementation of the Comprehensive Bicycle Program has been the improvement of the urban environment around train stations thanks to a dramatic reduction in improperly parked bicycles. In 2001, before the policy came into force, the number of bicycles improperly parked around Edogawa’s twelve stations was over 10,000; by the time of an October 2009 survey, that figure had dropped 94% to about 550. Especial success was achieved at Kasai Rinkai Koen Station, where the number of improperly parked bicycles is now zero. With the Comprehensive Bicycle Program well advanced, Edogawa City now has an improper bicycle parking rate of just 1.7%, the lowest in the Tokyo Metropolitan area; the improper bicycle parking rate indicates what percentage of bicycles arriving in the vicinity of a train station are improperly parked. Today the square in front of each station offers an attractive environment free of the clutter of bicycles, creating user-friendly surroundings for both bike-riding commuters and the many other residents who pass to and fro. Edogawa’s bicycle parking facilities have a combined capacity of over 50,000 bicycles, and thanks to this and other improvements in the environment for cyclists, many people have made the shift from car to bike, thereby helping in the fight against global warming. The running of bicycle parking facilities, removal and delivery of improperly parked bicycles, and other related services have been outsourced en bloc to the private sector. In addition to streamlining operations, that has greatly improved the level of public services by enabling rapid response during emergencies and provision of service at night. A further benefit has been a drop in crime. By creating an environment not conducive to the petty crime of bicycle theft — taking a cue from the “broken windows” theory that produced such impressive results in New York under Mayor Giuliani — Edogawa succeeded in reducing the total number of crimes committed within the city limits by some 44% compared to its peak. More attractive surroundings heighten the desire of local residents to protect their environment. In 1992, Edogawa City set up a committee consisting of representatives of government and the local citizenry called the Liaison Council on Prevention of Illegal Parking, and launched a series of community-wide campaigns to eliminate improper parking of automobiles and bicycles. In recent years these efforts have really taken off: in 2008, over 8,000 people took part. The cornerstone of public administration lies in nurturing attractive local communities, and the Comprehensive Bicycle Program has been of tremendous benefit in that regard too.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The proliferation of improperly parked bicycles is an extremely serious problem affecting cities in all parts of Japan, and many people have struggled to find a solution. In the case of this initiative, the municipal government concentrated on hard infrastructure, particularly the installation of bicycle parking facilities; meanwhile local residents engaged in public awareness programs and campaigns in various settings, especially through the aforementioned Liaison Council on Prevention of Illegal Parking. Recent advances in construction technology have made possible the construction of underground and mechanized bicycle parking facilities capable of accommodating several hundred to several thousand bikes in a small area such as next to a train station. Many new types of bicycle racks have also been developed that enable bikes to be stored more efficiently. Having kept track of these technological innovations, City engineers came up with the idea of installing a new, more convenient type of bicycle parking facility in the immediate vicinity of each station. At the actual design stage, close coordination was maintained with staff of private-sector companies possessing specialized knowledge, ultimately enabling many such innovative parking facilities to be built. Input was obtained from private-sector businesses on various aspects of bicycle-parking-related services, and much use was made of their ideas and insights. Public services were once considered the preserve of the public sector, but as they have diversified, they have recently come to be performed by a growing range of players. One of those players is the private sector, whose wisdom and experience have become indispensable to the provision of high-quality public services. Meanwhile local citizens participated actively in the task of deciding basic etiquette and rules for cyclists, thus ensuring that what emerged conformed to actual conditions in the community. An environment was thus created in which government, the private sector, and local citizens were each able to play their own distinctive role. That enabled the municipal government to devise an innovative new system in the form of the Comprehensive Bicycle Program and implement it with the assent of the municipal assembly and local residents.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The objective of the Comprehensive Bicycle Program was not simply to eliminate improper parking of bicycles; it was to promote a modal shift by creating an environment favorable to bicycles and encouraging the use of this eco-friendly mode of transport, and at the same time to rid the city completely of improperly parked bicycles. We believed that greater success could be achieved in realizing that objective if various bicycle-parking-related services were organically integrated, with government, the private sector, and local citizens all working together as partners in implementing them. The ideas underpinning the Comprehensive Bicycle Program were first set out in the Long-term Plan for Edogawa City adopted in 2002. The long-term plan is the most basic of the plans plotting the course of public administration by the local government. It is drawn up by a drafting committee consisting of individuals with experience in government and academia as well as local citizens, then adopted by resolution of the municipal assembly. The strategies on bicycles enshrined in the Long-term Plan were put into action, with the addition of many new elements, in the form of the Comprehensive Bicycle Program. The Comprehensive Bicycle Program consists in the main of five strategies: first, in the immediate vicinity of each station, installing bicycle parking facilities able to accommodate 100% of demand; second, expanding no-bicycle-parking zones; third, creating a bicycle-friendly environment (installing cycling lanes); fourth, en bloc outsourcing of bicycle parking services at each station to a private-sector operator; and fifth, a campaign to improve bicycle etiquette and foster public awareness in partnership with local citizens. These bicycle-related measures, previously each implemented separately, have under the Comprehensive Bicycle Program been integrated into a single system at each station in order to improve outcomes. In implementing the Comprehensive Bicycle Program, government, the private sector, and local citizens agreed that by each playing their respective roles, they could endow the community with a more attractive environment around each station while enabling the provision of a high-quality public service to the community.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Construction of bicycle parking facilities in an attempt to alleviate the proliferation of improperly parked bicycles around train stations commenced in the 1980s. However, most such parking facilities were located beneath elevated train lines or at some distance from the station, and left much to be desired in terms of both convenience for residents and of the urban landscape. Various other problems too arose: for example, far more bikes were parked at the facilities than they were designed to hold, since they did not have enough capacity to fully accommodate parking demand at each station; nor were they well managed. In 1995, however, a large-scale parking facility with capacity for 3,000 bicycles was constructed at Hirai Station, one of Edogawa’s main stations. This facility differed from previous ones in that it was built underground, beneath the square next to the station; so besides being extremely convenient, it did not mar the scenery. It thus overcame the deficiencies that had plagued bicycle parking facilities to date. From then on bicycle parking facilities were generally installed underground in the immediate vicinity of each station. The 2002 Long-term Plan for Edogawa City explicitly set the goal of creating a bicycle-friendly environment, including constructing bicycle parking facilities. The exact steps to be taken had now been brought into focus. The Comprehensive Bicycle Program was introduced at five of Edogawa’s stations in 2005 once all the necessary conditions were in place, including the completion of a bicycle parking facility in the station’s immediate vicinity. The number of stations where the program was brought in increased gradually from there. Most notably, in 2008, work was completed on the world’s largest mechanized bicycle parking facility situated underground, a 5,600 m2 facility with capacity for 9,400 bicycles adjacent to Kasai Station. This marked the crowning achievement of Edogawa City’s ambitious bicycle parking construction program. With the completion of this facility the Comprehensive Bicycle Program came on line at Kasai Station as well. Today ten stations in Edogawa have enough parking capacity among them for a total of more than 50,000 bicycles. In 2009, an experimental bicycle rental program was launched with the goal of further promoting bicycle ridership and creating a more attractive environment. At three stations on the south side of Edogawa City, a total of 400 bicycles are now available for rental from early in the morning until 1 a.m., after the last train of the day. These are used not only for commuting to and from work and school but also for recreation and sightseeing. Plans call for gradually expanding this rental program while monitoring usage.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The greatest obstacle encountered in implementing the Comprehensive Bicycle Program was the construction of bicycle parking facilities. To begin with, building such a facility requires a great deal of money. For example, the mechanized underground facility at Kasai Station cost 7.1 billion yen. While putting subsidies from the national government to effective use, the City also invested large amounts of its own funds in construction. Those funds were procured through the implementation of administrative and financial reforms. An organization tasked with studying more efficient and effective approaches to public administration at all levels of municipal government was set up in 2001, and bold reforms were undertaken. These made it possible to dramatically cut personnel costs while maintaining quality of public services. With the funds saved, the City managed to expand and enhance a wide range of public services. The construction of so many large-scale bicycle parking facilities was made possible by the implementation of these reforms and the large amounts of revenue they freed up. During construction due consideration needed to be given to efficiency and safety, especially as each project took place in the bustling vicinity of a train station. The building of the mechanized underground parking facility at Kasai Station entailed a particularly large number of challenges. Located on the south side of Edogawa City, Kasai Station is a major transportation hub used by 100,000 people a day, and many cars and public buses come and go throughout the day. Implementing a major building project in such circumstances required compressing the project schedule as much as possible, thereby minimizing the impact on regular traffic. A construction project team led by City engineers conducted repeated studies in the search for a solution to this difficult challenge, and ultimately settled on adopting the cutting-edge techniques of Urban Ring and Precast concrete construction. There had been few previous cases of these techniques being applied to construction of underground bicycle parking facilities, and skepticism was expressed in certain quarters. Nonetheless, a series of painstaking simulations was made and the obstacles were removed one by one. As a result the construction schedule, set in the original plan at five years six months, was cut dramatically to just two years six months. It was also necessary to provide storage for a large number of bicycles in a limited space. That was achieved by mechanizing the facility. Bicycle parking facilities at the time almost invariably required the cyclist to wheel his or her bicycle to the place of storage; there were only a handful of mechanized facilities in existence. Nonetheless, the many challenges involved were overcome, and whereas in the original plan a storage capacity of 7,100 bicycles was regarded as the outside limit, that figure was successfully boosted to 9,400.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The construction of the bicycle parking facilities that form the keystone of the Comprehensive Bicycle Program was underpinned by cutting-edge technology and people with the ability to use it. Seventy percent of the land area of Edogawa City lies at zero meters elevation (below sea level), and the ground is extremely soft. Thus as soon as one starts excavating with the intention of installing anything underground, groundwater wells up and the hole becomes flooded. In areas like this, Urban Ring construction amply proved its worth during excavation of the shaft to house the main parking facility. This method, being superior to conventional techniques in stopping water inflow, enabled subsequent construction to proceed smoothly. The adoption of Precast concrete construction — which involves manufacturing the concrete members required for the project in the factory rather than on the construction site, and then simply assembling them on site — helped shorten the construction schedule. It also greatly reduced the number of vehicles required by the project and thus contributed greatly on the environmental front. The construction cost per bicycle, estimated at 845,000 yen in the original plan, was ultimately reduced by some 12% to 748,000 yen, also taking into account the fact that secondary products made in the factory were used for 75% of the concrete members. Moreover, bicycle storage and retrieval are for the most part automated. The system uses an IC tag and magnetic card, and it takes only a few seconds to store your bicycle and about 20 seconds to retrieve it; the whole operation is over in an instant. That has dramatically increased convenience for users, eliminating congestion even at busy times of day like the morning and early evening when large numbers of people utilize the facility. User information and storage and retrieval records are all stored in data format. Not only does that make it possible to deal promptly with inquiries from users, it also has the secondary benefit of enabling future road and traffic policies to be better tailored to actual conditions through analysis of storage and retrieval records. The above description is of the mechanized underground bicycle parking facility at Kasai Station. Similar technology has been used to great success at Funabori Station as well as Hirai Station, where a new bicycle parking facility was installed in 2009.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Today local government finances in Japan are extremely straitened owing to the impact of the worldwide recession. In addition, the country’s birthrates are declining and its population is graying rapidly. The working-age population — people aged 15-64, who pay the lion’s share of taxes — is beginning to dwindle, while the numbers of elderly (those 65 and over) are steadily growing. This trend will place a severe strain on local government finances far into the future. On the other hand, maintaining the Comprehensive Bicycle Program entails considerable running costs. Sustaining the program will thus require establishing a stable financial base. To that end it will be necessary to ask users who benefit from this public service to bear a fair share of the costs. The levying of user fees commensurate to services provided is prescribed by Japan’s Local Autonomy Act, and charging user fees based on the law will be of vital importance to sustaining the Comprehensive Bicycle Program. Expenditures on the program currently total 1.1 billion yen, while revenues from users stand at 1.0 billion yen; thus right now costs slightly exceed income. In a few years, however, the two should become roughly balanced as the number of users increases and further cost cuts are made. That should make it possible to continue providing high-quality public service into the future. At the same time, the local government must not forget to pursue greater efficiency by constantly reviewing administrative costs and keeping a close eye on the evolution of private markets and the progress of technology. This program of Edogawa City has won numerous prestigious prizes in Japan, including the Japan Society of Civil Engineers Award and the Japan Construction Engineers’ Association Award, which recognize the utilization of outstanding construction technology and implementation of innovative projects. For that reason the program has become a model for other municipalities grappling with the problem of improperly parked bicycles, and observers now come to Edogawa from all over Japan. On a global scale, too, Edogawa is working to create a more bicycle-friendly environment and promote the use of this eco-friendly form of transport by exchanging technology and information with cities in countries like France, Italy, and the Netherlands that are world leaders in the field of bicycle policy.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Implementing the Comprehensive Bicycle Program was a valuable reminder that in providing public services, governments should not simply impose things unilaterally; rather, the most important thing is to go about planning while listening carefully to what people in the community have to say, and to pursue implementation in partnership with local citizens. That is natural enough when you consider whom public services are for, but one can easily forget it under the pressure of the rapidly increasing demand faced by public administration. The program reminded the many staff members involved in its execution of this most important aspect of being a public servant. Another lesson learned was that something that may appear impossible can actually be achieved if you put enough heads together. Constructing a large bicycle parking facility in the limited space next to a train station while giving due consideration to safety, and doing so moreover in a short span of time without disrupting the daily flow of traffic, is an immensely difficult task. Installing the underground parking facility at Kasai Station in particular involved so many challenges in terms of space and scheduling that at first the idea of building something large enough to accommodate 9,400 bicycles was considered unrealistic. But Edogawa was determined to make the impossible happen. Instead of confining study of the issue to the departments directly involved, systematic arrangements were made to engage in discussion of the matter on a government-wide basis, with the whole of City Office involved; that meant eliminating the psychological barriers that exist between departments in your typical Japanese government office. Valuable input was also obtained from outside the municipal government; for example, close consultations were held with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as well as private-sector engineers. These efforts made possible the construction of the world’s largest bicycle parking facility. As a result of the attention given to such matters, the Comprehensive Bicycle Program proved a tremendous success. One final point. The world’s population is growing, and its cities are becoming increasingly overcrowded. The global environment has been ravaged, and fighting global warming is a task of the greatest urgency for the whole planet. Given this state of affairs, we believe it to be extremely important to promote the use of bicycles all over the world, since they are a convenient means of urban transport with a low environmental footprint. We would be delighted if by sharing with the world the steps Edogawa City has been taking, we could help in the effort to stop global warming.


Institution Name:		Planning Section,Management and Planning Department,Edogawa City
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Yoshiaki Ishida
Title:		Director
Telephone/ Fax:		+81-3-5662-6054 c/o Mr.Shiota
Institution's / Project's Website:		+81-3-3652-1109 c/o Mr.shiota
E-mail:		mitsuaki-shiota@city.edogawa.tokyo.jp
Address:		1-4-1 Chuo
Postal Code:		132-8501
City:		Edogawa-Ku
State/Province:		Tokyo
Country:		Japan

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information