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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths
bike paths introCities all over the world are increasingly focused on becoming more bike-friendly. More cycle paths, bike parking sites and rental schemes are great for urban mobility, to ease traffic congestion and up their sustainability cred. A bonus side effect is the ease of exploring a city on two wheels, especially when the eye-catching bike paths are tourist attractions in their own right.
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
copenhagenCopenhagen: We can’t talk about bike-friendliness without mentioning the city that inspired a verb meaning “to make more bike-friendly” (no really, “copenhagenise” – look it up!). Copenhagen has long had a great infrastructure, backed by a cohesive urban planning vision supporting two-wheeled transport. The Cykelslangen, or Bicycle Snake Bridge, is merely the most visually impressive manifestation of that vision. dac.dk
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
malmoMalmö: This Swedish port city isn’t far behind its Danish neighbour, which is hardly surprising, considering the two are only separated by the 8-kilometre Øresund Bridge. In fact, a scheme is afoot to add a pedestrian and bike level to this bridge, but for now, cyclists on both sides of the border will have to make do with the excellent network of bike lanes, level crossings and park-and-ride stations already on offer. thelocal.se [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
trondheimTrondheim: Not strictly a bike path, but those who hate struggling uphill will appreciate the genius of the Trampe CycloCable in Norway. The bicycle lift was built in 1993 by a local inventor, who is now in talks with cities in Europe, North America and even South Korea that are interested in installing the system. Until the innovation comes to a steep hill near you, you can try it out – free of charge – in Trondheim, where an updated model of the original prototype is still going strong. trampe.no [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
bridgesThe Netherlands – Bridges: The Netherlands are known as a nation of cyclists and as the home of great design, so it comes as no surprise that the small country offers a huge amount of innovative bike infrastructure. In Eindhoven, the eye-catching circular Hovenring bridge sees commuters floating on a halo, illuminated at night. In Amsterdam’s IJburg district, the award-winning Nescio Bridge, the longest cycle and pedestrian bridge in the Netherlands, elegantly spans the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. hovenring.com, arup.com [Photo: Hovenring, courtesy ipvdelft.com]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
solarThe Netherlands – Solar Paths: Other Dutch bike paths don’t just provide easy transit for cyclists, but create energy while they’re at it. The headline-making SolaRoad, a bike path that doubles as a solar power station, is perhaps the most intriguing in terms of sustainability, but the glow-in-the-dark Van Gogh Path trumps it visually, even if the amount of solar energy collected here is relatively small. solaroad.nl, studioroosegaarde.net [Photo @ Studio Roosegaarde]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
berlinBerlin: Take a trip through German history with a bike tour along the Berliner Mauerweg, a path tracing the former border that separated East and West. After the first chips were taken out of the forbidding wall that once marked this particular Cold War frontier in November 1989, the grim structure quickly came crumbling down. Only few sections remain as memorials today, but the incision has left its mark in many places. germany.travel [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
lyonLyon: The Tunnel de la Croix-Rousse, shared by pedestrians and cyclists, links the Rhône and the Saône rivers, but its real attraction is the fact that it marries infrastructure and art in a unique fashion. Images and videos, accompanied by music, are projected on the walls to great effect (and raising security concerns). The tunnel saves locals an 80-metre climb over a hill to get from one side of Lyon to the other, but also attracts tourists, who treat the tube as just another art gallery. lyon.fr [Photo: Tiffany/Flickr]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
londonLondon: London’s “Vision for Cycling” aims to make cycling “an integral part of the transport network.“ Time will tell which of the ambitious proposals, ranging from “Mini-Hollands” modelled on Dutch towns and an underground bike network running through disused tube tunnels, to a floating path on the Thames or elevated cycleways designed by Sir Norman Foster, will become a reality. For now, stick to the greenways, canals and ever-expanding network of Cycle Superhighways. sustrans.org.uk, tfl.gov.uk
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
memphisMemphis: The Hampline doesn’t provide spectacular skyline vistas, it isn’t visually amazing, nor is it technologically groundbreaking. What makes the proposed bike path for a metropolitan area of Memphis, Tennessee, notable, is that it was partly crowdfunded. Hundreds of contributors raised almost USD 70,000 to make the dream of a safe link between the city’s existing cycling hubs a reality. Final plans are currently being approved by the Department of Transportation. livablememphis.org
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
nyeNew York City: New York is rapidly changing its image – away from the admonitory Ghost Bikes dedicated to cyclists killed in its traffic, to a cycle-friendly future where commuting to work by bike is no longer reserved for thrill-seekers. For now, the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway allows a glimpse of that future. The paved bike path, mostly separate from traffic except for a few short stretches on roadside bike lanes, loops around from the northern tip of the island, south along the Hudson to the Battery, and back along the East River. nyc.gov [Photo: gigi_nyc/Flickr]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
bogotaBogotá: Car-free Sundays are popular in cities all over the world, but Bogotá can claim to be the city that originated the trend. The Colombian capital first hosted the so-called Ciclovía event almost 40 years ago, and the pedestrian- and bike-friendly Sunday has since become a weekly highlight for locals and tourists alike. 121km of public roads all over the city are closed to motorised vehicles, and urban traffic is replaced with street food, music and people enjoying the city. idrd.gov.co [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
cape townCape Town: Although we’re classing this as an urban bike path, the Table Mountain bike trails aren’t made for city cruising. Rent a proper mountain bike and saddle up for an off-road adventure with spectacular views of Cape Town, its beaches and the Atlantic beyond. You have to dismount to scale the very peak of the mountain, but you’ll see much more along the way than those who take the cable car. southafrica.net [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
onomichiOnomichi: Located in Japan’s Hiroshima Prefecture, Onomichi is an unlikely bike city at first glance: its tightly packed streets sloping up from the waterfront, with museums and temples clinging to the hillsides. It is, however, home to the most lavishly dedicated bike hotel in the world, where patrons ride all the way into the lobby and check in without having to dismount, then hang their bike on the in-room bike racks or take it to the pro store for a service. The path that attracts its cycling clientele leads out of the city, on a traffic-free bridge across the islands of Seto Inland Sea. onomichi-u2.com
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
singaporeSingapore: Visitors are more likely to think of highly efficient public transport or high-speed F1 racing when they plan a trip to Singapore, but the city has been making great strides in increasing its bike-friendliness. The Park Connector Network consists of several loop tracks – some interlinked – that connect the island state’s National Parks. Cycling along these paths, you can explore green urban spaces, with the city skyline as a backdrop. nparks.gov.sg [Photo: National Parks Board, Singapore]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
melbourneMelbourne: The reasons listed for Melbourne’s frequent appearance at the top of “most liveable city” rankings include its infrastructure, recreation, access to nature and urban design. Visitors can verify all these merits and more on a ride along the Bay Trail, taking in leafy Brighton and its multicoloured bathing boxes, St. Kilda’s pier and resident penguins, and the sandy beaches stretching all the way into the city with its compact skyline. visitvictoria.com [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
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The World’s Best Urban Bike Paths.
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