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Save the Tamagawa-Josui Footway!
(Let's Say NO to Radial Route No.5!)
Background:
Tamagawa-Josui
(Tamagawa Waterworks) was made in 1653-1654 to secure water for the people
of Edo (old name for Tokyo). It was a major construction work at the time, digging
a canal of approximately 43 kilometers from Tama River running the west of Edo,
to the center of the town. It was the longest of the kind in the world at that
time, and the remaining waterworks is a valuable relic showing the technology
of the age.
Most of the waterworks from the Sengen Bridge downstream was transformed an
underground drain in 1966. The upstream part remains upground to this day, and
the footway which runs by the waterworks, with its thick woods and rich natural
environment, gives pleasure to those treading the footway.
Only the uppermost part of Tamagawa-Josui is used as a water supply today, but
in an effort to restore the waterworks to its original state, the Tokyo Municipal
Government decided to supply treated water to the waterworks in 1986, and now
we can enjoy the sight of water flowing in the old canal.
Present
issue:
The Tokyo Municipal Government is planning to build a
highway named 'Hosha 5 go-sen' (Radial Route No.5), and has chosen the 1.3 kilometers
starting from the Sengen Bridge upstream to be included in the route. The area
in question is one in which the original form of the waterworks is best retained,
and the footway which runs by it is a precious natural environment in a quickly
urbanizing area.
'Is this highway really necessary?' Is it worth
the damage it plans to do to the environment? Will it really reduce the traffic
jam as the Tokyo Municipal Government says? Can't we find other solutions to
traffic jams instead of endlessly building new roads? A road can always be built
and torn down, but natural environment is irrestorable.
What can we do to save the footway?
Please send any advice or comments you may have on this issue. (Please click
here.)
Please also write to
Governor Shintaro Ishihara of Tokyo to say NO to the Radial Route No.5 and the
damage it is to do to the Tamagawa-Josui footway.
Please click here to send
an e-mail to Mr. Ishihara.