このページはフレーム対応ブラウザ用に作成されています。下のリンクは非フレーム使用ページですのでそちらをご覧ください。
この記事をプリントする
子供の先行権
筆者は子供のころ、近所の友達と
路上でホッケーなどをして遊んだ。
子供が遊んでいる道を車が通るときは、
運転手は子供たちに配慮して通ったものだ。
そんなふうに子供が遊べる場所は、
今の日本にはとても少ない。
A Right of Way for Kids
By JOHN GATHRIGHT
From the ages of 5 to 10, I was a street kid. Twenty-seven years ago the
term "street kids" didn't mean the same as it does today. In my middle-class
Canadian neighborhood, all the kids were street kids. When we weren't in
school, eating or sleeping, we played, learned, shared and socialized in
the streets. Sure, there were parks and lots of green fields to play in, but
the cold, hard pavement beckoned us to play.
We were street-hockey junkies! We would drag goal nets and gear into
the street to play serious street hockey. Stores sold special street hockey
sticks and pucks. There were street leagues with parent spectators.
Mums were even known to yell, "Kids, it's a nice day! Go out and play in
the street!" In today's society, if a parent or adult were to encourage kids
to play in the street, that adult could be charged with negligence and
child abuse.
Times have changed. Back then, residential streets were respected by
drivers. Cars gave the right of way to kids and street hockey games.
People didn't need signs or laws to tell them how fast to drive on
residential streets. They just drove prudently. It was the golden rule:
Drive carefully and respect kids in other neighborhoods, and they will do the
same in yours.
Unfortunately, in most cities, including those in Japan, those days are
long gone. Cars whip down residential streets to beat a traffic light or
as a shortcut. Respect, prudence and common sense are thrown out the window
in order to shave seconds off commuting and travel time.
But in car-crowded Britain, 50 towns are planning to turn residential
streets into "home zones," where cars are discouraged. "Slow down,"
"reduce speed" and "caution" markings on the pavement are being
replaced by pitches for ball games and even benches for spectators.
In Britain, 11,000 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured in 1997;
about 4,000 of them were under 16 years old. I hate to imagine how many
children die in Japan from residential car accidents or how many parents turn
white at the sound of screeching tires coming from where their children could
be playing.
In my home — Victoria, Canada — lots of streets have circle traffic
diverts and trees planted in the middle of the road to discourage nonlocal
and nonessential traffic from zooming through and endangering children. In
Amsterdam, a "right of way for children" zone has been so successful that
there are many virtually car-free residential areas.
Why not in Japan? Japan is pouring lots of money into road construction
and public projects to spur the economy. Faster and wider roads are in vogue. What about slow and safe, child-friendly roads and neighborhoods?
"Machi zukuri" is a catch phrase heard from soapboxes, symposiums and
the media, but I haven't heard much mention about a right of way for children.
The whole purpose of machi zukuri is to raise the quality of life. Couldn't
sizable amounts of money be funneled into making existing and future residential areas more child-friendly?
For a country that is very concerned with the declining population of
children and the rapidly aging society, you would think that Japan could
make a bigger effort to protect the few children we have and to make
neighborhoods more fun for street kids and families.
From the ages of 5 to 10, I was a street kid. Twenty-seven years ago the
term "street kids" didn't mean the same as it does today. In my middle-class
Canadian neighborhood, all the kids were street kids. When we weren't in
school, eating or sleeping, we played, learned, shared and socialized in
the streets. Sure, there were parks and lots of green fields to play in, but
the cold, hard pavement beckoned us to play.
We were street-hockey junkies! We would drag goal nets and gear into
the street to play serious street hockey. Stores sold special street hockey
sticks and pucks. There were street leagues with parent spectators.
Mums were even known to yell, "Kids, it's a nice day! Go out and play in
the street!" In today's society, if a parent or adult were to encourage kids
to play in the street, that adult could be charged with negligence and
child abuse.
Times have changed. Back then, residential streets were respected by
drivers. Cars gave the right of way to kids and street hockey games.
People didn't need signs or laws to tell them how fast to drive on
residential streets. They just drove prudently. It was the golden rule:
Drive carefully and respect kids in other neighborhoods, and they will do the
same in yours.
Unfortunately, in most cities, including those in Japan, those days are
long gone. Cars whip down residential streets to beat a traffic light or
as a shortcut. Respect, prudence and common sense are thrown out the window
in order to shave seconds off commuting and travel time.
But in car-crowded Britain, 50 towns are planning to turn residential
streets into "home zones," where cars are discouraged. "Slow down,"
"reduce speed" and "caution" markings on the pavement are being
replaced by pitches for ball games and even benches for spectators.
In Britain, 11,000 pedestrians were killed or seriously injured in 1997;
about 4,000 of them were under 16 years old. I hate to imagine how many
children die in Japan from residential car accidents or how many parents turn
white at the sound of screeching tires coming from where their children could
be playing.
In my home — Victoria, Canada — lots of streets have circle traffic
diverts and trees planted in the middle of the road to discourage nonlocal
and nonessential traffic from zooming through and endangering children. In
Amsterdam, a "right of way for children" zone has been so successful that
there are many virtually car-free residential areas.
Why not in Japan? Japan is pouring lots of money into road construction
and public projects to spur the economy. Faster and wider roads are in vogue. What about slow and safe, child-friendly roads and neighborhoods?
"Machi zukuri" is a catch phrase heard from soapboxes, symposiums and
the media, but I haven't heard much mention about a right of way for children.
The whole purpose of machi zukuri is to raise the quality of life. Couldn't
sizable amounts of money be funneled into making existing and future residential areas more child-friendly?
For a country that is very concerned with the declining population of
children and the rapidly aging society, you would think that Japan could
make a bigger effort to protect the few children we have and to make
neighborhoods more fun for street kids and families.
Shukan ST: Sept. 10, 1999
(C) All rights reserved
- street kid
- ここでは「街で遊び育つ子供」の意(現在は「荒っぽい街で生き抜く知恵を身につけた子供」の意味で使われている)
- shared
- (経験、喜び、悲しみなどを)分かちあった
- socialized
- 友達付き合いをした
- pavement
- 舗道
- beckoned 〜 to 〜
- 〜 するよう 〜 を招いた
- street-hockey junkies
- 路上ホッケーの熱中者
- drag 〜 into 〜
- 〜 を 〜 へ引きずり出す
- gear
- 用具
- sticks
- ホッケー用のスティック
- pucks
- ホッケー用のゴム製平円盤
- spectators
- 観客
- be charged with 〜
- 〜 で告発される
- negligence
- 怠慢
- child abuse
- 児童虐待
- residential sreets
- 住宅地の道路
- were respected by 〜
- 〜 にそっとしておかれた
- prudently
- 用心深く
- golden rule
- 大切な原則
- whip down
- すっ飛ばす
- beat a traffic light
- 信号が赤に変わる前に通る
- as a short cut
- 近道として
- are thrown out the window
- 無視される
- shave seconds off 〜
- 〜 のうちの数秒を削る
- commuting
- 通勤の
- car-crowded
- 車の多い
- cars are discouraged
- 車の運転は奨励されていない
- markings
- 印
- 〜 are being replaced by 〜
- 〜 が 〜 に取って代わっている
- pitches
- 競技場
- pedestrians
- 歩行者
- (were)seriously injured
- 重傷を負った
- turn white at the sound of 〜
- 〜 を聞いて血の気が引く
- screeching
- キキーッと鳴る
- circle traffic diverts
- 環状の迂回路
- zooming through
- 突っ走る
- endangering 〜
- 〜 を危険にさらす
- virtually
- 実質的に
- car-free
- 車のない
- is pouring 〜 into 〜
- 〜 を 〜 につぎ込んでいる
- public projects
- 公共事業
- spur
- 刺激する
- are in vogue
- はやっている
- child-friendly
- 子供にやさしい
- soapboxes
- 街頭演説の場
- purpose
- 目的
- sizable amounts of 〜
- 多額の 〜
- be funneled into 〜
- 〜 のためにつぎ込まれる
- existing and future 〜
- 既存の、そしてこれからできる 〜
- rapidly aging
- 急速に高齢化している