Elevated bike lanes in congested cities

By Henrik Løcke

In many cities all over the world, people are wasting their time in near stand-still traffic. It is especially a growing problem in developed countries where the infrastructure cannot keep pace with growing populations and ever increased numbers of vehicles on the road. Public transport like buses are often stuck in the same traffic jams. A low cost solution could be to embrace cycling. If cycle lanes are build on pylons above the road, cyclists will not add to the congestion on the street level. It will also help poor people, who will get a low cost and congestion free way of moving around the city, relieving the traffic congestion on the streets below. If budgets permit it, they could even be shaded by solar panels above the cyclists, providing both shade and clean electricity for the grid.