Article 2NV34 How 80 forgotten 1930s cycleways could transform UK cycling

How 80 forgotten 1930s cycleways could transform UK cycling

by
Carlton Reid
from on (#2NV34)

Between 1934 and 1940 the UK built 280 miles of cycle paths with Dutch guidance. A Kickstarter campaign to rescue these lost cycle paths needs support

In September 2012 the Google Street View car drove slowly along a road in Twickenham, London. It had to reverse when the driver found three wooden bollards blocking its way. The road was not a road at all, it was a cycleway. A cycleway built in - wait for it - 1937.

Originally surfaced with red concrete, the cycleway has faded to light pink but the granite kerbs are still in situ and, fooling the Street View navigation algorithms, it looks like a narrow road instead of the normal kind of "crap cycle lane" we are so unhappily used to in the UK.

Continue reading...
External Content
Source RSS or Atom Feed
Feed Location http://feeds.theguardian.com/theguardian/environment/rss
Feed Title
Feed Link http://feeds.theguardian.com/
Reply 0 comments