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LONDON, England - Imagine a highway for cyclists only – one that towers above the dangers of the traffic below. It can become a reality in London for a mere R34-billion.
Plans for a ‘SkyCycle’ route have been drafted by one the world’s most renowned architects, according to the London Daily Mail.
SkyCycle is a proposed 216km network of flyover roads above existing suburban railways to create cycle routes throughout the capital.
FREEWAY-LIKE RAMPS
It concept, the Mail reports, was developed by cycling enthusiast Sir Norman Foster, he who designed St Mary Axe (better known as 'The Gherkin' - the pointy thing top centre in the above image) and the new Wembley Stadium.
The equivalent of an estimated R34-billion would be needed to complete the construction which would connect the the first stage of the route (6.4km) between east London and Liverpool Street Station. Cyclists would access the SkyCycle on freeway-like ramps of which, eventually, there could be 200.
GREATEST BARRIER
This completed design, as envisaged by the architect, would have 10 routes and accommodate 12 000 cyclists per hour who would speed their journey times by about a half-hour.
The greatest barrier to segregating cars and cyclists and so encouraging the latters' use has been the physical constraint of London’s narrow streets. Sam Martin of Exterior Architecture Ltd told the Mail: "SkyCycle is an urban cycling solution for London. A cycling Utopia, with no buses, no cars, no stress.
"We are incredibly excited at how, with Foster + Partners, our idea has been developed and turned into a truly world-changing scenario by Space Syntax for revolutionising cycling in London and possibly the world."
Would a design such as SkyCycle work in South Africa? Tell us in the Readers' Comments section below or email us.
Plans for a ‘SkyCycle’ route have been drafted by one the world’s most renowned architects, according to the London Daily Mail.
SkyCycle is a proposed 216km network of flyover roads above existing suburban railways to create cycle routes throughout the capital.
FREEWAY-LIKE RAMPS
It concept, the Mail reports, was developed by cycling enthusiast Sir Norman Foster, he who designed St Mary Axe (better known as 'The Gherkin' - the pointy thing top centre in the above image) and the new Wembley Stadium.
The equivalent of an estimated R34-billion would be needed to complete the construction which would connect the the first stage of the route (6.4km) between east London and Liverpool Street Station. Cyclists would access the SkyCycle on freeway-like ramps of which, eventually, there could be 200.
GREATEST BARRIER
This completed design, as envisaged by the architect, would have 10 routes and accommodate 12 000 cyclists per hour who would speed their journey times by about a half-hour.
The greatest barrier to segregating cars and cyclists and so encouraging the latters' use has been the physical constraint of London’s narrow streets. Sam Martin of Exterior Architecture Ltd told the Mail: "SkyCycle is an urban cycling solution for London. A cycling Utopia, with no buses, no cars, no stress.
"We are incredibly excited at how, with Foster + Partners, our idea has been developed and turned into a truly world-changing scenario by Space Syntax for revolutionising cycling in London and possibly the world."
Would a design such as SkyCycle work in South Africa? Tell us in the Readers' Comments section below or email us.
