Seoul Exploring the Creation of Elevated Bike Paths
I like this idea of having elevated bike paths, much safer than sharing the road with cars, especially in a congested city like Seoul:
Seoul has announced the winners of an architectural design contest for elevated bike paths that can provide cyclists a more continuous and safer ride around Seoul.
Korea Times
The first prize went to a submission titled “UNDER the C,” which drew up plans for a bike path beneath an elevated expressway in northeastern Seoul. If built, this elevated bike lane will connect cyclists in the Jeongneung Station area to the Jungnang stream, whose bike paths eventually connect to those along the Han River in the south.
You can read more at the link.
Nice! I’m not racing anymore, so I don’t have the legs to hang in traffic. Most Korean riders never will, and a separate road infrastructure will reduce accidents and hopefully keep the road rage down.
I live in the Netherlands. Here we have a country wide extensive bike path, virtually every street has a bike path, almost always separated from the road by a small strip of grass, also separate from a sidewalk. Obviously Seoul is unable to carve out that space because of sheer congestion but elevated might make a difference. My only concern is that truck that’s a wee bit too tall.
Some of us walkers like to walk along the bike paths, so I hope they don’t make the paths too skinny. Many on-the-ground bike paths already sport an extra lane for pedestrians (sanchaekno, bohaengno). I hope the new paths will do so, too.
It’s Seoul, so regardless of whatever someone comes up with it’ll be congested and unsafe.
I know it’s just an artist’s rendering but imagine the damage you’ll take when you fall in that grisly ribcage of death up there…
I am sad to say that we all know the bikepaths of death will be the exclusive property of motorcycle riders committing various other crimes.
However, I do hope the final design will offer a bit more safety than my (and Smokes’) imagination offers. Imagine the publicity over a NYT headline and grisly accident photo… “Sparkling! Seoul’s Suburban Slaughterhouses”
So Seoul is making scooter paths.
Anyway, who will bike to work in Seoul. Summer you would be soaked in sweat by the time you get to work and winter be frozen…spring and fall die from the air pollution.