1. Van Raam adapted bicycles as a means of escape
Everyone has heard of the terrible tsunami in Japan in 2011. This tsunami showed that many people fled by car to higher areas. The result of this was that because of the crowds, people came to a stop with their cars in traffic and were therefore unable to go any further. In this way, people who are dependent on others, such as the elderly or people with a disability, also got into trouble. It also turned out that, after the reconstruction of many cities, few young people returned to these cities. They continued to live in the higher areas, and it was mainly the elderly who returned to their original place of residence.
Rikuzentakata has also been hit badly by this tsunami. That is why the National Tsunami Museum "Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum" is located here. It is in this town that the first pilot project is being started. The aim of this pilot project is to investigate and prevent traffic from getting stuck, as in 2011, so that people cannot move on. The aim of the pilot project is to use adapted bicycles as a means of escape in order to bring the elderly and people with disabilities to safety. In addition, part of the city will be heightened in order to create 'tsunami safe' places. The Fun2Go, the Chat, the OPair and the VeloPlus will be used for this purpose.