Cycling through the skies
Norman Foster plans 220km of cycle routes above London’s rooftops
Famed architect Norman Foster has revealed a visionary plan to build a network of cycle paths high above London’s rooftops, so that commuters can travel into the city quickly and safely.
The blueprints, which have been backed by National Rail and Transport for London, would accommodate 12,000 cyclists per hour on ten fifteen-metre-wide routes suspended on pylons above existing rail lines. 220 kilometres of tracks are included in the plans, developed jointly by Foster + Partners, Exterior Architecture and Space Syntax.
More than 200 access points will connect the six million people who live in its catchment area to the network, seen in the image below. Almost three million live and work between 10 minutes of a proposed SkyCycle enteance.
Foster described the scheme as “a lateral approach to finding space in a congested city”, naming cycling as one of his passions. “I believe that cities where you can walk or cycle, rather than drive, are more congenial places in which to live.”
That’s necessary in a city that has a perception as one of the most dangerous places to cycle. Recently, 1,000 cyclists staged a “die-in” outside Transport for London’s headquarters in protest after six cyclists were killed in two weeks.
“We could create a world-class network of safe, car-free cycle routes that are ideally located for commuters”
The idea was originally sparked by the student project of Oli Clark, an employee of Exterior Architecture, who envisioned a network of elevated cycle routes around Battersea Power Station. “We arranged a meeting at City Hall with the deputy mayor of transport — and bumped into Boris [Johnson, mayor of London] in the lift,” said Exterior Architecture’s Sam Martin.
To begin with, a trial route from Stratford to Liverpool Street Station is planned, covering a distance of 6.5 kilometres and costing £220 million. Roger Ridsdill-Smith, Foster’s head of structural engineering, has come up with a system for installing the cycleways safely while still allowing trains to run below.
“As London’s railway lines were originally built for steam trains, they follow contours that naturally reduce the amount of energy expended and avoid steep gradients. SkyCycle exploits this historic legacy,” writes Space Syntax on its project page.
Rainwater collectors and solar panels may be installed on the roof, but for the time being it doesn’t sound like you’ll be able cycle directly on and off the paths. Instead there’ll be hydraulic lifts and ramps that bring you up to the correct height.
What’s lacking, however, is funding. “Early studies of a SkyCycle system indicate that it provides capacity at a much lower cost than building new roads and tunnels,” says Space Syntax. “The possibility of the deck providing development opportunities for businesses along the route, particularly where it intersects with stations and bridges, has also been the subject of the study, exploring ideas for public/private commercial growth and regeneration.”
Whatever happens, some form of revolution in London’s transport network is necessary. The system is already operating at capacity, despite expected population growth within the city of 12 percent over the next decade.
“By using the corridors above the suburban railways,” Foster told Looking Up, “we could create a world-class network of safe, car-free cycle routes that are ideally located for commuters.”
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