Lookit. It's just vaporware, and there are real usability issues...
But this SkyCycle concept, to put a network of trails above rail rights-of-way in London, I think has some limited applications in lots of places. https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/skycycle/
@bikepedantic At first glance I thought it was the Central Artery in Somerville.
@bikepedantic The most important question is perhaps which real cycle project they are trying to kill with this.
@bikepedantic sir, this is Central Park in Zwift
@bikepedantic my first thought was the southern end of the orange line
@bikepedantic I can see the value, definitely—especially if it’s not built above a bunch of exhaust. Definitely issues to be dealt with: how steep the on- and off- ramps are and how many there are, along, of course, with what bicycle infrastructure exists between those ramps and between these highways.
@kingtor and there's only so many ramped access points you can provide. So it's never going to be a substitute for on-street facilities in a city.
@bikepedantic True. Albuquerque does a pretty good job with frequency of ramped overpasses over Tramway (there’s one of these at every major cross-street with decent bike lanes), *but* (and this is key) many of them have sharp corners that make the bike all-but-stop around the corner. There’s enough space that they could’ve built them better, but it’s obviously not very urban up there either.
@bikepedantic It still cracks me up (while also scaring me) to think back to the ANC 5E meeting where a commissioner suggested this as an alternative to DDOT's plan to close the gap in the Metropolitan Branch Trail and remove car space from 8th NE.
@LhasaCM @bikepedantic billions for this but not one cent to extent the MBT viaduct to Union Station*
*Would this be stupid? yes. Would it be counterproductive to healthy street life. Yes. Would it be HELLA COOL? Also yes.
@bikepedantic #bicycle riders and organizations have been advocating for cycle ways, wheel ways, cycle paths linking cities for a long time. The initial advocacy was coopted by the car industry, resulting in our highway system. The idea is still good. Here's a subset of the newspaper clippings I've saved, for this subject. (Tagging is a late addition to my clippings.)
https://www.newspapers.com/clippings/?user=3570264%3Amorganfletcher&tag=%20cycle%20path
Please do give these a read. LA had one.
#advocacy #history #BikeTooter #GoodRoads #transportation
@bikepedantic That looks like the Auckland Lightpath, which is an actually existing thing.
@bikepedantic because it is not at all difficult to build above active rail lines with 25,000 volt overhead wires.
One might also charge that this the very high built-structure opportunity cost of taking space away from cars. Which is fair.
But bikeways belong alongside transit routes, because transit and communities grow together, and that's a natural place to install bikeways. Where there's no practical space to directly connect, why aren't we talking about putting decks atop these ROWs? Is there some sort of cash shortage in US transportation?