There was a gate that bicycles and motorbikes couldn’t get through (^^)
It’s under the Hanshin Railway elevated tracks, across from Naruo Hachiman Shrine…
Here it is on the map↓
The posts are placed at just the right spacing, making it look like bicycles and motorbikes can’t get through at all…I wonder why they won’t let them through (・_・;)
…But then I found a spot where I thought, “Maybe a motorbike could get through here!”
But the handlebars and mirrors get caught, so it can’t pass through!!!
Looking closely, there was a sticker that said “Wheelchair-only gate. No entry for bicycles or motorbikes” (^^)
I was curious about the “USG,” so I looked it up and it seems to refer to Sunpole Co., Ltd.’s Universal Design Gate↓
To stop illegal motorbikes and protect the safety of park users, the first wheelchair gate was delivered to Tokyo Metropolitan Wadabori Park in the late 1980s, developed jointly with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Parks Division, the Tokyo Metropolitan Welfare Center for the Physically and Mentally Disabled, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Prosthetic and Orthotic Research Institute.
From Car Stopper UDG Universal Design Gate｜Sunpole Co., Ltd.
So it seems this was originally developed to stop illegal motorbikes and protect the safety of people using parks.
I had been wondering, “Why won’t they let motorbikes through?” but it turns out it was to prevent illegally parked motorbikes and bicycles (^^)
And since this gate allows wheelchairs and pushcarts used by older adults to pass through, it’s actually a considerate gate !(^^)!
※Update 2/1
The above was what we reported in the original article on June 9, 2020, but we have since learned that some light vehicles, such as wide twin strollers and electric wheelchairs, may not be able to pass through this gate. In other words, this gate is not perfect. In this particular case, from the perspective of stopping illegal motorbikes at all costs (at the time of writing, the exact circumstances behind why this gate was installed are unknown), using this type of gate seems to make sense as one possible measure. That said, since not everyone can pass through it, it may be better described as a better option rather than the best one.
