Screenshot from Skycycle concept video.
A London architect is trying to convince the mayor that the way to expand the city’s bike infrastructure is not on the streets but in the air. His firm calls the idea SkyCycle, and it looks totally awesome, like a cross between the High Line and the credits of Futurama.
These would work sort of like bicycle turnpikes: Riders would have to pay a small fee to use them, but they could go fast and be safe. The system does isolate bikes from the rest of traffic, though, and it was born out of fear of cars, according to the Daily Mail:
Mr Martin, director of Exterior Architecture, who admits to giving up cycling in London because he found it too dangerous added that the raised network was the only option left to expand cycling in London….
He said: ‘TfL estimate the number of journeys made by bike will treble to around 1.5 million by 2020. Where are they meant to go? SkyCycle is the next logical step, because you can’t realistically build more cycle lanes on ground level.
Biking in the sky looks pretty cool in a concept video, but it’s worth noting that we’ve tried moving transit off the ground before. The underpass of a bike-way bridge probably isn’t any more charming than the underpass of a highway or elevated train. But this could be a big win for bikers, graffiti artists, and people who like to pee on the side of the road.
