Opinion A Right of Way for Kids By JOHN GATHRIGHT	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
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。

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

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