Overhead structures along side walks in downtown Gifu
Jun 25, 2019, 10:48 pm
#1
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Overhead structures along side walks in downtown Gifu
I am curious, what are these structures for? Seem capable of supporting some heavy loads. Along major roads, both sides, and they go on for many blocks. Seems overkill as structures for street lights.
Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/VADQUctTuZkpJtxc9
Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/VADQUctTuZkpJtxc9
Jun 26, 2019, 12:51 am
#4
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I think they're to help prevent snow from clogging the sidewalks in shopping districts and near transport hubs like train stations. You'll see them all over Japan, in places where they get heavy snowfall and can't keep up with snow removal.
Jun 26, 2019, 7:56 am
#5
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Yes, that's exactly where you see these structures. Parts of Japan receive incredible amounts of snow, especially in the mountains and on the Japan Sea side of the country.
Jun 26, 2019, 9:46 am
#6
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I'm not sure it's a snow thing. These covered shopping arcades are all over Japan, (I'm guessing) put up by shopkeepers banding together in an effort to improve shoppers experience.
These can be an eerie sight in dying towns in rural Japan -- I walked through the shopping arcades in Omuta and Ube on a recent trip -- blocks and blocks of covered streets, but barely a shop remains. (For more information about the "shopping arcades of a thousand bankruptcies," see this great blog post about the economic devastation in depopulating and aging cities)
These can be an eerie sight in dying towns in rural Japan -- I walked through the shopping arcades in Omuta and Ube on a recent trip -- blocks and blocks of covered streets, but barely a shop remains. (For more information about the "shopping arcades of a thousand bankruptcies," see this great blog post about the economic devastation in depopulating and aging cities)
Jun 26, 2019, 3:38 pm
#7
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Makes sense. But not found in Sapporo, supposedly one of the snowiest cities in the world.
Jun 26, 2019, 7:11 pm
#8
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True, but most of downtown Sapporo is connect via underground walkways and shopping centers. In addition, Sapporo is a large city and has the resources to deal with the snow better than a smaller city or rural area.
Jun 27, 2019, 12:37 am
#9
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Gifu City is spectacularly rainy, but it isn’t known for snow
https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...al-average.php
One can expect it to snow for about 13 days in a year and total average is 47cm
London is snowier:
https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...al-average.php
https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...al-average.php
One can expect it to snow for about 13 days in a year and total average is 47cm
London is snowier:
https://www.currentresults.com/Weath...al-average.php
Jul 1, 2019, 12:53 am
#10
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These are just your typical shopping arcade / sidewalk roofs. They’re found all over Japan in various designs. As others have mentioned they’re not specifically to keep the snow off but rather to keep any sort of weather (snow, rain, sun or otherwise) off patrons. The local shopping district merchants associations traditionally clubbed together to put these up.
Jul 1, 2019, 4:43 pm
#11
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These are just your typical shopping arcade / sidewalk roofs. They’re found all over Japan in various designs. As others have mentioned they’re not specifically to keep the snow off but rather to keep any sort of weather (snow, rain, sun or otherwise) off patrons. The local shopping district merchants associations traditionally clubbed together to put these up.
