Boris Johnson shoots down “fantastically expensive” SkyCycle plan for cycle routes in the sky

There's a long history of architects sending out press releases about grandiose schemes that will never actually happen, and the media just roll over and swallow them without question. This falls into that category.

Silly question: Why aren't we focusing on making bikes want to go on the roads? That's what roads are for.

Silly question: Why aren't we focusing on making bikes want to go on the roads? That's what roads are for.

Imagine the wind!?

Good, let's hope this daft idea gets permanently forgotten so people can concentrate on real solutions.

So when is he / tfl going to do what most want or is he still to busy trying to be populist?

Agreed generally on the synopsis that this is unpractical and a crazy waste of money. Not sure that I'd want to cycle up 8 or 9 meters to get onto it AND pay to be in such a exposed to weather position.
Epic Fail!

Carlton Reid has the history on an cycle elevated highway in the US in the early 20th century here: http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/californiacycleway/

This scheme just shows how the media work..a world renowned celebrity architect and an eye catching scheme - with nice graphic for the newspapers / websites make this a good story.

Bread and butter changes just aren't sexy enough.

Can't help thinking for £30m Leeds are getting one cross city segregated cycle route, plus an upgrade to 12 miles of canal path and a city centre cycle route.

For the 4 mile first phase (£230).. Leeds could have 6 cross city routes - enough to cover most ways into the city and a cycle path around the ring road....but they wouldn't be exciting high level routes ..or in London!!

Let's be honest an elevated cycling highway in the sky is pretty silly. Would it be awesome? Yes. But come on there are easier and much cheaper ways to encourage cycling

Great idea but it's upside down!
Cars going to their various car parks/just passin thru on the top deck, cyclists on the lower roads. Speed up traffic flows, fewer traffic lights, no busses or Taxis. Motorists are paying to drive in London anyway so a small increase in the congestion charge could give them access to this Nirvana.

If your idea seems daft your selling it wrong!

I would prefer to see specific roads closed to private transport i.e. cars, taxis (including non-hi viz black cabs), vans and lorries.

Coming from Streatham there are three choices, via Battersea Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Restrict one of them to buses and bicycles only and leave the other two to market forces. As it currently stands you can take a bus but you get nowhere fast because the usual bozos HAVE to drive everywhere and central London maintenance firms choose vans over cargo bikes every time. Cyclists have to weave their way in and out of angry traffic, angered all the more because we still get to our destination quicker.

Efforts at making the sharing of roads safer have a minimal effect, rather than have segregated cycle routes with endless issues when passing side roads segregate the main routes and give cyclists and public transport users a fair share of roads relative to their taxation contribution. We could do without the traffic lights and speed bumps on our routes too, only issue would be the usual idiots who don't respect pedestrian crossings but then they are blind to traffic lights as well.

It isn't the cost that makes this idea ridiculous but the other factors. It wouldn't create a city where cycling is as safe as it should be. It doesn't provide for door-to-door journeys (like roads do), and doesn't create the atmosphere for normalised cycling for everyday errands and journeys.

High-quality integrated segregation on busy routes, along with filtered permeability and junction improvements will.

This idea is obviously full of problems and would be hughly expensive, so why does it keep coming back?
I hope this is the last I see of it.

£34 million per km, is cheaper than than the M74 extension which was about £86.5 million per km...

Is there anything more to say on the idea, other than ....

Is there anything more to say on the idea, other than ....

While I would agree that the proposal is fantastically expensive, Boris can hardly complain - his "Super"highways scheme cost almost as much per km just for dollops of blue paint.