An elevated system of bike paths, dubbed Skycycle, is being proposed as a solution to the dangerous nature of cycling in the city of London. If built, this could go a long way towards opening up bicycling as a form of transportation to those that find it too dangerous, such as seniors and children.
It’s estimated that the number of trips made via bike will rise to around 1.5 million in London by 2020. But if it does rise that much or more in the already crowded streets, where will they go?
“SkyCycle is the next logical step, because you can’t realistically build more cycle lanes on ground level. You have to start knocking down buildings and there will always be the problem of traffic. It will be less safe than it is now and you can’t persuade people to get on bikes as it is even if you keep raising taxes on cars.”
Also worth noting is that, by enclosing the cyclists in a tube, it creates a “dynamic air circulation loop that creates a natural tail-wind for cyclists. The reduction in air resistance increases the efficiency of cycling by about 90%, allowing for speeds up to 25 miles/hr.” This increase in efficiency and speed would allow for potentially much quicker and easier bike commutes.
Source: TreeHugger
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