路面清掃報告「秋の清掃」/ Road Cleaning Report: “Autumn Cleanup”

11月4日、秋の色が濃くなってきた赤穂市交通公園の路面清掃活動を行ない、公園の外周路約21㎡の清掃をしました。

On November 4th, as the autumn colors began to deepen, we carried out a road cleaning activity at Ako City Traffic Park, cleaning approximately 21 ㎡ of the park's outer road.

夏の時期には、公園を取り囲む草地の草が伸び伸びと育つだけではありません。公園内の舗装された路面でさえ、舗装の継ぎ目を押し広げる様に、草たちが密集して一斉に伸びて来るので、一度清掃した箇所でさえやり直しが必要になります。ただ、今は秋なので、それらの草たちの勢いは少し衰えるので少し楽になります。しかし、意外な伏兵に手を焼かされています。

In the summer, not only does the grass surrounding the park grow freely, but even on the paved roads within the park, grass grows densely and all at once, pushing out the seams in the pavement, meaning even areas that have already been cleaned once have to be redone. However, now that it's autumn, the grass has slowed down a bit, making things a little easier. However, we're having trouble with an unexpected unexpected enemy.

公園の周囲を取り囲む様に植えられている灌木の隙間から、ススキなのかオギなのか、細長い葉を空に向けて高く伸びて来るのです。当然、路面の上にまで浸食して来ている草たちは根こそぎ除去しますが、背丈が 1.5ｍ以上に伸びて、路面上に覆いかぶさって来る草も意外に邪魔な存在なのです。だから、灌木の間に手を入れて、根こそぎ引き抜いています。

From between the gaps in the shrubs planted around the park, long, thin leaves of what appears to be Japanese silver grass or Japanese sedge grow high, reaching toward the sky. Naturally, we remove any grass that has encroached onto the road surface by the roots, but grass that grows to a height of over 1.5 meters and hangs over the road surface is also surprisingly troublesome. That's why we reach between the shrubs and pull them out by the roots.

公園の周囲の草地から侵入してくる草たちとの闘いは続きます。更に、灌木があると、スコップを使った作業がやり難いので、意外と手間がかかるものです。

The battle against the weeds that invade from the surrounding grasslands continues. Furthermore, the presence of shrubs makes it difficult to work with a shovel, so it is surprisingly time-consuming.

今は、公園の外周路に的を絞って清掃を進めていますが、まだ手をつけていない、公園内部のコース上には小石や砂などの砂利などが溜まっている路面も多く残っています。外周路の清掃が終わった後は、公園内部の清掃を進めていく予定です。

Currently, we're focusing on cleaning the park's outer path, but there are still many areas of the park's interior that have yet to be touched, where pebbles, sand, and other gravel have accumulated. Once the outer path is cleaned, we plan to move on to cleaning the interior of the park.

公園内を十字型に横切っている太い通路は、以前から、繰り返し路面清掃を繰り返していますので、赤穂市や近くにお住まいの方、またはツーリングでお越しの方は、軽く練習を兼ねて、赤穂市交通公園をご利用下さい。自転車や二輪車専用の施設で、個人利用の場合は、事前予約や利用料金は不要です。

The wide pathway that crosses the park in a crisscross pattern has been repeatedly cleaned, so if you live in Ako City or nearby, or are visiting on a tour, please use Ako City Traffic Park as a place to do some light practice. This facility is exclusively for bicycles and motorcycles, and no advance reservations or fees are required for personal use.

今年も残り2か月足らずとなりました。残す外周路も 50m足らず、150㎡ほどになりました。あと 7日程度は必要ですが、今年中には完了させたいと思っています。では、また報告します。

There are less than two months left in the year. There's just under 50 meters of the outer perimeter path, covering an area of about 150 square meters, left. It will take about seven more days, but we hope to complete it by the end of the year. We'll report back soon.