Could Chicago's floating cycle path defy the doubters and reconnect the city?

Plans for a continuous route along the Chicago River include cycling on floating pontoons - like the controversial Thames Deckway in London. But with the US city's cycle numbers growing, this long-held ambition could yet be realised

Cycling is no stranger to invention, from the steady swell of Kickstarter campaigns to the almost innumerable cycleways dreamed up to be dangled, dug and floated on various bodies of water around the world. The latest, a 6.5 mile, $84m (67m) floating pontoon, is currently being imagined for the Chicago River, between the city's Chinatown and Ravenswood Manor.

The RiverRide, to link Horner and Ping Tom Park in Chicago, was dreamed up by James Price Chuck, investor and co-founder of Second Shore. It's a six- to 12ft-wide, steel reinforced concrete pontoon, intended as a commuter and leisure route through the city.