No.153 Designation of Tokyo Tama 2020 Legacy Course

On August 15th, the Tokyo section of the course that will be used for the cycling road race at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was designated as a model route for promoting cycle tourism by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "GOOD CYCLE JAPAN" and has been published on the ministry's website.
　
Then, on October 25th, a joint press conference was held by the eight cities along the course (Hachioji, Mitaka, Fuchu, Chofu, Machida, Koganei, Tama, and Inagi).
　
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's website,

(1) The idea of placing value on Quality of Life (QOL) is spreading around the world, and the way people travel is no exception. Countries around the world are increasingly turning to bicycles as a form of mobility that contributes to QOL in ways that go beyond speed and efficiency.

(2) Bicycles are not only an environmentally friendly form of mobility, but also a communication tool that promotes health and enriches leisure time through cycling, broadens people's activities, and facilitates interaction with the local community and connections with friends.

(3) In Japan, the Bicycle Promotion Act was promulgated in December 2016. This is not a conventional regulatory law, but a concept law that aims to actively promote bicycle use. Based on this law, the Bicycle Promotion Plan was approved by the Cabinet, and the government will concretely promote bicycle use together with local governments, companies, private organizations, etc.

(4) GOOD CYCLE JAPAN is the name given to this all-Japan initiative, which aims to promote improvements in the four main areas of "environment," "health," "tourism," and "safety" based on the idea that if more people ride bicycles, a good cycle of "happiness" will be created in Japan.

The purpose of the announcement is as follows.
　
In order to realize these ideals, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has designated the following two routes:
　
National Cycle Route

In order to promote the development of tourist areas through bicycles, this project aims to develop cycling routes with rest, lodging, information dissemination, etc., through public-private partnerships nationwide. Currently, a total of six routes, including the Shimanami Kaido, have been designated.

Model routes for promoting cycle tourism

Aiming to develop an advanced cycling environment, a council of related parties was established, and the public and private sectors worked together to develop the riding environment, reception environment, and information dissemination, and to set up core routes that cross municipalities. Currently, a total of 101 routes have been designated.
　
The route designated for our eight cities this time is approximately 38 kilometers long, running through Musashino Forest Park, the Minami Tama Ridge Main Line, Tama New Town Street, and the prefectural border with Sagamihara City, and is almost the same as the Olympic course.
　
In the future, we would like to pass on to future generations the fact that the eight partner cities were part of the Tokyo 2020 Games route, as well as use this opportunity to promote tourism in the Tama region, spread awareness of its attractions, encourage bicycle use, and hold safe riding seminars.
　
The Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefecture sections of the Tokyo 2020 course have already received the same designation, and there is also intention to receive designation for the Kanagawa prefecture section (Sagamihara City). Therefore, we will strive to ensure that the course connects from the starting point, Musashino Forest Park, to the finish line, Fuji Speedway.