The first phase of London’s SkyCycle could possibly be completed in 2015 and will link Stratford with the City of London. The cost to commuters is expected to be approximately £1 per journey, and the scheme may end up costing tens of millions of pounds to implement.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson is looking at architects proposals for the elevated bike path network which is expected to be located between the city’s mainline stations. Artists have been submitting their visions of SkyCycle, and the images were released to the public this week along with some of the project’s first details.
Some of the images are of high-tech, raised glass open-topped tunnels, and have been compared to the High Line in New York. The idea of a raised cycle path is to make bicycle commuting easier and safer for city residents; feasibility studies conducted by architect Sam Martin showed that simply adding bicycle lanes in the already crowded city roads was next to impossible.
“'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,” the director of Exterior Architecture said.
“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.'
He further stated: 'Boris loves the idea and Network Rail are really positive about it. I sincerely believe it could be the next significant piece of London infrastructure and would transform the capital.”
The proposal will be focusing on paying commuters who would be using their Oyster card for payment.
