先日、報告した通り、清掃作業をしている「交通公園」の事が新聞で掲載されましたので、その紙面と文章を転載・紹介します。これによって、この「交通公園」がより多くの人々に利用される事を願っています。そのためにも、清掃作業で可能な限り安全な環境にしていきます。
As I reported the other day, there was an article in the newspaper about the "Traffic Park" where I am cleaning, so I would like to reprint and introduce the page and text.
We hope that this "traffic park" will be used by more people. To that end, we will create a safe environment through cleaning work.
【 記事文章 / Article Text 】神戸新聞より転載 / Reprinted from Kobe Shinbun
新緑の山々の間を緩やかに水が流れる、赤穂市中広の千種川下流。草の生える広大な河川敷に、アスファルト舗装され、なぜか横断歩道や右折専用を示す矢印の白線、黄色の中央線が書かれた場所がある。車は通らない。元は自動車教習所だった？
大型施設の駐車場？ 滑走路のような中央部分以外の道幅は約1メートルと狭め。線は消えかかっており、もはや道路標識とは言えない。 脇の変な位置にはぽつぽつと丸いベンチも。これは一体・・・。
近所に住む女性（75）に尋ねると「昔、警察や自転車やバイクの講習で使っていたの。子どもたちの交通安全教室もやってたのよ」。 赤穂市に聞くと、1982年に交通ルールを学ぶ場として、国費でつくられたという。市が管理する広さ約4千平方メートルのその名も「交通広場」だ。
1960-70年代、全国的に交通事故が深刻な社会問題となり、同じような「交通公園」が各地にできた。だが現在、県内で機能が残っているのは、赤穂のほか西宮、尼崎市のみだ。 時代は移ろい、赤穂市では今はほぼ使われていない。2020年、赤穂署員が小学生に向けた動画撮影に使ったのが最後。役目を終えたのだ-と思ってペンを置こうとすると、市職員から「今年3月から、清掃活動を始めた団体がある」との情報が入った。
バイクの運転技術を高めるイベントを約30年企画するNPO法人の代表理事、小林裕之さん（68）＝同市坂越。昨年心不全にかかり神戸から移住した。リハビリを兼ねて月2～3買、草抜きや砂利の除去をする。 「せっかく生まれた公共の場所、放置されていたらもったいない」。いつか誰かが使えるように。今は無人の道に、バイクの音や子どもの声が響く日を思い描いて。（小谷千穂）
The lower reaches of the Chikusa River in Nakahiro, Ako, where water gently flows between freshly green mountains. On the vast grassy riverbed, there is a place with asphalt pavement, a white line with an arrow indicating a pedestrian crossing and a right-turn only, and a yellow center line for some reason. Cars do not pass through. Was it formerly a driving school? A parking lot for a large facility? The road is narrow, about 1 meter wide, except for the runway-like center section. The lines are disappearing and can no longer be called road signs. There are some round benches in odd positions on the side. What in the world is this?
When we asked a woman, 75, who lives nearby, she replied, "It used to be used by the police and for bicycle and motorcycle classes. We used to hold traffic safety classes for children. When asked by the city of Ako, she replied that it was built in 1982 at government expense as a place to learn traffic rules. The city manages the 4,000-square-meter "traffic plaza," as it is called. In the 1960s and 1970s, traffic accidents became a serious social problem nationwide, and similar "traffic parks" were established in many places. Today, however, only Ako and the cities of Nishinomiya and Amagasaki still have traffic parks in the prefecture. Times have changed, and in Ako, the park is almost no longer in use; it was last used in 2020 when Ako police officers filmed a video for elementary school students. As I was about to put down my pen, thinking that it had served its purpose, a city official informed me that a group had started a cleanup activity in March of this year.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi, 68, the president of a non-profit organization that has been planning events to improve motorcycle driving skills for about 30 years, is located in Sakoshi, the city. He moved to Sakagoshi from Kobe last year after suffering from heart failure. He spends two to three days a month pulling weeds and removing gravel as part of his rehabilitation efforts.
He believes that it would be a waste if the public space is left unattended. He hopes that someday someone will be able to use it. She envisions a day when the sound of motorcycles and children's voices will echo along the now uninhabited road. (by Chiho Kotani)
＊＊＊ Translated with DeepL.com (free version) ＊＊＊
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上記の 5月3日付け発行の神戸新聞で、「 認定NPO法人 フードバンク関西 」の事が紹介されていました。 社会的には、もっと注目されて高く評価されるべき NPO法人ですから、その記事と法人を紹介した 記事も作成していますので、どうぞ、ご覧下さい。
In the Kobe Shimbun published by him on May 3rd, ``Certified NPO Food Bank Kansai'' was introduced. From a social perspective, we are an NPO that should receive more attention and be highly evaluated, so we have also created an article that introduces the organization and the organization, so please take a look.
https://gra.hatenablog.jp/entry/2024/05/03/163554
https://gra-npo.org
