Plans have been released by London’s Mayor to create elevated cycle lanes designed by Exterior Architecture.
Users will be charge with 1 UKP on their Oyster cars to use the lanes. This allows you to bicycle without buses, trucks or other hazardous elements.
Does this make sense for major cities where it would be difficult to modify existing infrastructure – or would it completely take away the life and culture of cities’ streets? What do you think?
This is a truly dreadful and incredibly stupid idea. London is a city so addicted to automobile use that it would rather build a bicycle network in the sky than deal with our congestion issues. We already have SO MUCH SPACE on our roads. We simply need to redistribute it.
Agree with Joe, we need to fix what we have before building something new which needs to be maintained. Our roads are in a dreadful state of disrepair at the very least, not to mention the congestion. Potholes and uneven surfaces make cycling for many an increasingly dangerous activity.
I absolutely agree with @ragtag:disqus and @joepeach:disqus, however – if specific routes are so in-demand it could make sense? What I mean is, if a specific route is primarily just used to bicycle commute on (ie. bicyclists don’t really stop along the route for anything specific) AND it cuts down on travel time, while minimising infrastructural changes to existing roads then I think it could work.
People seem to love also (well, the idea). https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=478344428863376&set=a.296746903689797.74550.192382937459528&type=1
It also makes sense what Sam Martin of Exterior Architecture said: “the streets of London are not going to get any bigger, and you have retail and other activity, so you need trucks, buses, taxis — you can get rid of cars, maybe, but vehicles are a reality.” http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design/2012/09/london-serious-about-builing-network-elevated-bike-lanes/3174/
The point is, the idea should be handled with care and shouldn’t be the considered the only ‘ideal’ solution for everywhere and cause a major building of elevated bicycle highways that will become scars on cities as are current elevated motor vehicle highways in cities.
what urban/transportation issues does this solve? it’s purely a gimmick to make people think the london government care about active transportation. bikes are not used in the same manner as cars and therefore, should not be treated as such. fix what’s really the problem, vehicular oriented planning! empower active transportation ridership!