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2019.04.23

“Tokyo Review 034″ Shinjuku area-10 The fundamental frame of TOD established 50 years’ ago

“Tokyo Review 034” Shinjuku area-10

The fundamental frame of TOD established 50 years’ ago

One of the clues which show that Shinjuku Shin-Toshin was once a purification reservoir is in Shinjuku Chuo Park. Rokkakudo (hexagon rotunda) of Old Yodobashi Purification Reservoir is stored in “Fujimidai” in the park. On a mound where people could see Mt. Fuji. The mound itself was created by soil which had excavated by digging the reservoir. There is also a monument behind the Shinjuku L Tower, but actually, the simplest and clearest clue is the master plan of Shinjuku Shin-Toshin itself.

Some of the roads in the Shinjuku Shin-Toshin has an upper and a lower two-layer structure, and there are some reasons for this. Firstly, when we look at the topography of the surrounding area, it is the highest around Shinjuku Station which is about 40m above sea level. The east side of Shinjuku Central Park is about 35m above sea level. Secondly, the ground level of Shinjuku Station West Exit Underground Transportation Hub. Thirdly, the bottom of the water treatment plant reservoir is about 7m lower than the surrounding area and is about 28m above sea level. The predecessors took these height difference into consideration, conceived an idea of the two-layer structure which intentionally do not make intersections for some of the crossings and realized it.

The planners predicted that a number of skyscrapers will be built in Shin-Toshin and the origin and destination trip volume of pedestrians and vehicles will increase. There was a planned trunk road No.4 which connects east and west across the reservoir area straight to the Shinjuku Station West Exit Underground Transportation Hub. They proposed that a part of this road should have two-layer structure from the station to Shinjuku Mitsui Building, the length of which is about 500m. As a result, vehicles heading for the taxi drop off or public car parking at the underground transportation hub can access there with almost no signal waiting. The sidewalks are also two-layered, allowing pedestrian traffic to be distributed, and innumerous commuters who are exhaling from the Shinjuku Station West Exit every morning, can walk without congestion. It is exactly the wisdom of the planners.

Recently, the concept of TOD (Transit Oriented Development) has attracted attention both in domestic and overseas, and Shinjuku Shin-Toshin had already established the framework of TOD 50 years ago. We can say it is one of the pioneers of TOD, can’t we?

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