Honmoku LRT project has begun!
This photo was taken on a morning walk.
Hello everyone!
Recently, a group of people who shared the desire to revitalize the town of Honmoku as a livable and attractive city came together to launch the Honmoku LRT Project.
LRT stands for Light Rail Transit, a new type of streetcar known as a tram in Europe.
Honmoku has a long history and has had many contacts with foreign cultures, having been a foreign settlement after the opening of Yokohama Port and a US military camp after the war.
Even now, the basic atmosphere remains the same, even though an international school has moved in.
It is also home to Sankeien Garden, a nationally designated scenic garden, making it an interesting place where old and new, purely Japanese and international things coexist side by side.
The fact that the area juts out slightly into the sea and the wind passes through may also contribute to the comfortable living environment.
However, the downside of this protruding terrain is that there is no train station.
A streetcar operated until around 1970, but was discontinued after the increase in automobiles caused traffic congestion.
Buses do run through the area, so it's not a traffic dead zone, but in recent years there has been a shortage of bus drivers, which has led to routes being discontinued and services being reduced, and buses often passing through stops because they are full.
In the first place, when the land that had been confiscated by the US military was returned, rezoned, and restarted as Shin-Honmoku, the town was developed on the assumption that a subway would run through it.
However, nearly 40 years have passed since then, and no subway has been built.
The subway plans remain on the Yokohama City website, but Honmoku is the third priority out of three plans, and with none of them having been realized, it seems unlikely that we, at least, will ever see the light of day.
It was during this time that I came across this new transportation system called LRT.
The construction cost would be one-tenth of that of a subway, and since no large structures would be required, the construction period would be short. It would be relatively easy to lay the line in Honmoku, where streetcars used to run, so I thought this might be a great opportunity to align with the urban development that Honmoku had planned 40 years ago!
I don't know what we ordinary citizens can do.
However, is this the best option, or are there other options? Why not just run the LRT for now? I would like to share this perspective with many people living in Honmoku.
We plan to hold meetings at the Honmoku Chiku Center and other locations.
Would you like to join us in thinking about how to make Honmoku more convenient and more active?
We look forward to your participation.
If you are even slightly interested, please contact us through the contact section of this website or become our official LINE friend. (by E.K.)
Honmoku LRT Project LINE Official
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