FUNDAMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE STATUS OF ZONE 30 IMPLEMENTATION: THROUGHOUT THE DISCUSSION PROCESS AND AREA CHARACTERISTICS ANALYSIS IN AICHI PREFECTURE

Abstract

 In August 2021, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced a policy to establish Zone 30 Plus, an area where traffic safety is to be improved through an appropriate combination of zone regulations with a maximum speed of 30 km/h and physical devices. This study aims to provide essential data for the future promotion of Zone 30 Plus by reviewing the past implementation trends of Zone 30, which is the precedent measure. The study was conducted by interviewing road administrators and traffic managers in four cities in Aichi Prefecture to grasp the actual conditions of the implementation process for Zone 30 designated in Aichi Prefecture and by analyzing the characteristics of the areas to be implemented based on the results of these interviews. The results were as follows; municipalities that did not have a Zone 30 by residents' initiative did not implement Zone 30s after the initial target year (FY2016), and the development period was concentrated in a short period; there was a significant variation among cities and towns that implemented Zone 30s after the target year or not; the cities with many children and students continued to implement Zone 30s after the target year; implemented Zone 30s after the target year had a shorter average distance to the adjacent existing Zone 30s.