- I've lived in New York City for more than a decade.
- In a recent trip to Japan, I realized New York was missing three key things.
I've lived in New York for more than a decade, and during a recent visit to Japan, I saw three major differences in how public spaces are utilized to the best of their potential in Tokyo.
When I came back to New York City, and people asked me about some of my favorite things from the trip, I said the trains, pedestrian safety, and the bathrooms. New York City planners could learn a lot of lessons from Tokyo's highly organized and effective use of shared spaces.
There were clean public restrooms everywhere
In New York City, even if areas open to the public, such as parks or subway stations, have restrooms, they aren't always open due to limited hours of operation or issues including disrepair.
My experience finding accessible restrooms in Tokyo was completely different than in New York City. Bathrooms were everywhere, including train stations — and usually located in both the north and south ends of the station. Every bathroom was clean, and there were never any lines.
The stalls in some restrooms even had booster-like seats available for mothers to place their toddlers while they use the facilities.
Watching people cross the street in Tokyo was beautiful
Pedestrian safety is crucial anywhere but is especially necessary in cities where there are often many pedestrians sharing sidewalks and crossing streets that are crowded with cars, e-bikes, and scooters.
In Tokyo, I was in awe of the Shibuya Crossing, which is known as the world's busiest pedestrian crossing. Traffic stopped in all directions so pedestrians could cross everywhere. It was beautiful to witness.
In New York City, pedestrian fatalities are an unfortunate reality for the city. Though the city rolled out Vision Zero in 2014 as a program to eventually result in zero fatalities for pedestrians, this hasn't been the reality. In 2021 Japan 3,000 people died in crashes, compared to 43,000 in the US, according to Bloomberg.
I previously worked on policy issues for the New York City Council and researched the feasibility of implementing the Barnes Dance — when all traffic stops for pedestrians to cross from all corners at the same time, including diagonally — throughout busy intersections in New York City. One major safety hazard for pedestrians is that even when pedestrians have the right-of-way, traffic isn't stopped in all directions. Therefore, a pedestrian has the right-of-way to cross, but a vehicle is also technically allowed to make a turn at some intersections. Though the vehicle is supposed to give the pedestrian the right-of-way, that isn't always what happens.
Japan has over 300 intersections that have scramble crossings, the most famous one being the Shibuya station in Tokyo
Trains have a reputation of being on time in Japan
Timely public transit is also often lacking in New York City. Train delays, whether they are scheduled due to track work, or they occur randomly because of track fires or other emergencies, happen too frequently. Train, subway and bus delays happen so much that a verification letter request from the MTA is available for workers who are late because of these disruptions, and it is often joked about as being necessary.
These delays can cause a lot of stress for New Yorkers.
In Tokyo, the trains have a reputation for running on schedule. In fact, when a train once left 25 seconds early, an apology was issued. The trains are also pristine, and I never saw any stray litter.
New York City definitely has room for improvement regarding its bathrooms, pedestrian safety, and public transit. While no place is perfect, it is important to look at the positive aspects of other cities to see what lessons can be implemented.