In South Korea, the solar panels in the middle of the highway have a bicycle path underneath..cyclists are protected from the sun, isolated from traffic, and the country can produce clean energy.

[u/Ciocolatel]

[u/Zikkan1]

This is awesome and all but how protected is that thing from a 90km/h 10tonnes+ truck ramming into it? Seems risky placing a bike lane in the middle of a highway

[u/Jaywess86 → u/Zikkan1]

I can only assume their drivers are going to be a lot safer than ours on the road. They prob don’t even have lot lizards in South Korea smh

[u/Zikkan1 → u/Jaywess86]

They are #150 in the world with traffic accident death per capita with 5.76 per 100.000 so they are doing pretty well but it is far from 0 so it seems like an unnecessary risk to place a cycling lane there. And the incredible loud sounds from high speed traffic at such close proximity will lead to a very unpleasant cycling experience

[u/pauly13771377 → u/Zikkan1]

Oh for fucks sake just take the win. They have thousands of miles of solar cells producing energy. Cyclists aren't at any more risk then if they weren't on surface streets. And f they don't like the noise they don't have to ride there.

The more renewable energy they can produce the more attractive electric cars become. But it's going to be an incremental progress. If it works on a smaller scale in Korea other larger nations may adopt the method. Pushing gas powered vehicles further from favor and reducing pollution.

EDIT - I will never not be amazed how people will shit all over a good idea because it's not a perfect one.

EDIT # 2 - The way it is now they can have potentially thousands of miles of solar cell catching free power. The bike lane is just a bonus, not the focus of this project. If bikers want to use it great. If not there is nothing lost. they can use the same surface streets as they did before this was built. The cost of building a few bridges to the bike lane was minimal and allowed for a second use.

[u/RailroadKyle → u/pauly13771377]

Why did it not immediately occur to me that just because there IS a bike lane...doesnt mean people are REQUIRED to bike there, lmao. Even if they placed a sign that said no biking, there's STILL TONS OF SOLAR PANELS.

[u/Shooter503 → u/RailroadKyle]

Nah bro, gotta look at the glass-half-empty side of everything, being positive is not allowed.

[u/FlostonParadise → u/Shooter503]

For real. Don't let 'reddit perfect' be the enemy of the good people.

Who are the reddit tool bags that can't understand South Korea had to do planning and traffic studies before they decided to move forward and build it?

So many gotcha comments here that are frankly stupid and cynical.

This bike lane has been in operation since 2014 and inspired other Korean solar bike paths across the country. I'm sure they're going to let us know how shitty and stupid they were not to consult reddit any day now..... any day now

[u/FlostonParadise → u/[deleted]]

I remember seeing this! Those are some 'cool' solar panels!

[u/tropicbrownthunder → u/RailroadKyle]

yeah like the cycling lane is a plus, all those solar panels are worth by itselves

[u/Tef-al → u/RailroadKyle]

Yeah take away the bikes and it's "this highway has tones of solar panels and its own dedicated service road for maintainence"

[u/Pokemathmon → u/pauly13771377]

Seriously, how many sidewalks have you driven by that are next to roads with cars going 40+ mph in America? Pretty sure that's a death sentence for any pedestrian hit by a car as well. Or is Reddit on a ban sidewalks kick that I wasn't aware of?

[u/tweak06 → u/Pokemathmon]

Or is Reddit on a ban sidewalks kick that I wasn't aware of?

Reddit is in a constant battle with itself on taking something good, buuuuuuuut also finding something bad in that, so that the community can tell itself they're deep. Or something.

[u/w0nderbrad → u/tweak06]

I live in California. We have earthquakes. I can stay at home and still get crushed to death. Can’t even stay home in peace /reddit

[u/krazyboi → u/w0nderbrad]

And south korea has north korea

[u/Suspicious-Bee-5129 → u/Pokemathmon]

Very common in the suburbs of Chicago. Also 40+ mph roads where there are often bicyclists/pedestrians, but no sidewalk at all. Sidewalks that do exist end after a short distance for no reason, so you can't actually walk or bike from one place to another without walking on the shoulder of the road, mere feet away from speeding cars, or tresspassing on private property.

[u/[deleted] → u/Pokemathmon]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/CorporateGranola → u/Pokemathmon]

Runners know they should run toward oncoming traffic so we can hop out of the way if a motorist is driving too close, but Cyclists are technically a vehicle so they have to move in the appropriate direction of traffic.

I run far more than I bike, but it's nerve racking riding on streets that don't have a nice wide (or segregated) bike lane.

[u/Tru-Queer → u/Pokemathmon]

I mean, there’s bike lanes right next to roads that don’t even have solar panels to protect from an errant vehicle. At least solar panels would absorb some force from the vehicle and make the accident more survivable, maybe.

[u/AuralSculpture → u/pauly13771377]

These comments are from Americans who can’t grasp a working government that uses its tax money from corporations to invest in infrastructure, modern infrastructure for the use of all people. They are jealous of the rest of the world, so instead of heralding advancements in other countries, they project and pick apart impactful ideas with their arm-chair analysis and weak science. That’s were this all comes from. If we can’t have nice things, because we vote red, then no one else can either. Americans think infrastructure are “entitlements”.

[u/rcl2 → u/AuralSculpture]

Most of that attitude is rooted in American Exceptionalism - when a country thinks they're better than everyone by nature of existing, they cannot perceive that another country can do something better than them.

[u/KSPN → u/pauly13771377]

This is Reddit. There is always something wrong with everything🤣

[u/mope_n → u/pauly13771377]

If my city had a bike lane in the middle of the motorway you better believe I'd use it. Skipping an hour of bumper to bumper traffic for the sake of 5 miles? Fuck yeah.

This would be life changing in my city which has some of the worst traffic in Europe and is almost entirely car dependent.

[u/Live2Lift → u/pauly13771377]

Seriously! Build a multi million dollar engineering solution to a real world problem and Reddit will bitch that it’s, “probably not a very pleasant cycling experience.”

[u/the_black_sails → u/Zikkan1]

Also exhaust fumes and particulates 🤢

[u/artniSintra → u/the_black_sails]

No different than a bycicle lane in the middle of New York.

[u/PizzaScout → u/artniSintra]

Actually the air there is probably better lol

edit: all I was trying to say is that the air on the bicycle lane in the middle of this highway compared to the baseline in Korea is probably better than a bicycle lane in the middle of New York compared to an american baseline. basically I want to express that New York pollutes air more than the highway this bike lane is going through.

[u/JA_Wolf → u/PizzaScout]

I'm in Korea right now and there's a big old smog cloud wafting over from China.

[u/trashmunki → u/JA_Wolf]

It looked like Blade Runner 2019 on my way to work this morning. Couldn't see Namsan for even a second.

[u/TyrionsCodpiece → u/JA_Wolf]

Have you guys considered shooting down the Chinese Smog?

[u/Entire-Tonight-8927 → u/PizzaScout]

It's not. Seoul has pretty consistent smog issues, likely from Chinese manufacturing across the peninsula. That said, the Bronx in particular has the highest rate of child asthma in the country, so it's probably close :/

[u/bobbertmiller → u/the_black_sails]

And the fuckin noise! Highways are loud, and it's a constant woosh woosh woosh of people driving past. Horrible idea!

[u/0235 → u/bobbertmiller]

Always makes me laugh when people are like "don't worry. Amazon delivery drones are no louder than highway noise". Yeah. That's very loud.

[u/Navstar27 → u/the_black_sails]

Wouldn't all that dust also coat the solar panels making them less efficient?

[u/[deleted] → u/the_black_sails]

And trying to exit is a real bitch

[u/zystyl → u/Zikkan1]

People cycle on highway shoulders if they have no other options.

[u/Fogl3 → u/Zikkan1]

As opposed to North America where people bike on the shoulder?

[u/HaveBlue_2 → u/Zikkan1]

That seems to be a pretty GOOD rate, mate. 5.76 deaths per 100k is great.

[u/Stoppels → u/Zikkan1]

Yet another ranking I wasn't aware exists lol. Wiki doesn't have rank numbers, though. Source: WHO Global status report on road safety 2018.

[u/I_DESPISE_BIRDS → u/Zikkan1]

Where else are they gonna cycle? The sounds of cars are always heard on bikelanes.

[u/mypacifistaccount → u/Zikkan1]

I live next to a popular cycling route where the traffic speed is 50 but everyone goes faster and we’ve had several cyclists fatalities over the years. This is far safer compared to the US where the bike lane is connected to the highway road.

[u/captjons → u/Zikkan1]

They are #150 in the world with traffic accident death per capita with 5.76 per 100.000 so they are doing pretty well but it is far from 0 so it seems like an unnecessary risk to place a cycling lane there.

one death per 111 km of road. 6% of deaths on SK roads are cyclists. The chances are tiny.

[u/Coldcase0985 → u/Jaywess86]

Have you been to Korea? Korean drivers are the most aggressive drivers I've ever seen in any of the developed countries Ive ever been to. They are so fucking aggressive when it comes to driving I get road raged everytime I had to drive in Korea

[u/Kareers → u/Coldcase0985]

South Korea has the 3rd worst traffic related death rate in the developed world.

And I don't know if I would even count #2 since Luxembourg's numbers are highly inflated due them being a tiny transit and commuter country between Germany, France and Belgium.

[u/Kiorysu → u/Kareers]

Maybe because they often don't wear seatbelts? Especially the back passengers almost never do.

[u/vax48 → u/Jaywess86]

How do you assume such a thing??

[u/TheMainCharacterIsMe → u/vax48]

bEcAuSe aMeRiCa bAd!!1

[u/Revenesis → u/Jaywess86]

Some of the worst and most dangerous drivers I've ever seen while traveling. I've been to Korea 3-4 times in the last 5 years and witnessed a car accident, and worried for my life in a taxi every single trip.

[u/DenverDouglas → u/Zikkan1]

This is actually a really good question. Crash barriers are meant to deform and allow vehicles to enter the central reservation before guiding them back onto the carriageway they came from. See here.. I wouldn’t want to be riding a bike in that centre area when that happens.

EDIT: having written my dissertation on planned failure engineering I DO realise that not every form of centre barrier is the same as this, even in the U.K., never mind around the world. If anyone wants to listen I can talk for a good couple of hours on the right places to use 1.5 tonne, 5 tonne, 15 tonne, full concrete etc etc. I can also throw in some stuff on how soda cans work if you aren’t already asleep.

The point I’m making is that anything that drives into the barrier is going to either deflect it to some degree, making it dangerous for anyone behind it, or not deflect it, which is likely to shower glass fragments into the centre reservation, making it dangerous for anyone behind it.

[u/Zikkan1 → u/DenverDouglas]

Didn't know they worked like that but this is the exact thing that worried me when I saw this. You don't want hard inflexible stuff to crash into on a highway so making the cycling lane completely safe would make it dangerous for cars and trucks instead. I just don't see any reason to mix cycling with a highway.

[u/mommasaidmommasaid → u/Zikkan1]

I just don't see any reason to mix cycling with a highway.

The cost of solar panels aside, I would imagine it's much more efficient to make one big road than multiple smaller ones, especially with bridges involved.

​

You don't want hard inflexible stuff to crash into on a highway

But you have that issue anyway, on a multilane highway with no dead space between. Generally there is a concrete centerline barrier to prevent head-on disasters.

​

Overall I'd say this bike path looks WAY more safe than where I live... which relies only on a painted line on the road and attentive courteous drivers (lol).

I am curious how the cyclists enter and exit though.

[u/January28thSixers → u/mommasaidmommasaid]

Those painted lines are the best we get in my city. Mostly they just put up signs saying Share the Road and you're supposed to stay on the shoulder. People seem to get hit quite a bit, so I stick to riding at 5 am when the drunks are usually home and most people aren't going to work yet.

[u/Critical_Mastodon462 → u/mommasaidmommasaid]

There's exits that are tunnels under the highway I just read so they never cross traffic

[u/rocketshipkiwi → u/Zikkan1]

Plus all the dirt, spray, noise and pollution from the traffic. Doesn’t seem like a good design really.

[u/AwesomeFrisbee → u/rocketshipkiwi]

The noise alone will make people use an alternative. The panels basically turn it into an echo chamber. It also doesn't seem all that wide. If it was 3 meters wider, you would have some actual cycling with overtaking possibilities (because people can be super slow). And being between the roads it also makes it a lot more expensive to have exits for the path. Not everybody will be cycling for many kilometers to a single destination. There's a reason countries like The Netherlands and Denmark don't use stupid stuff like this. The cycling part is so dumb.

[u/SIR_BEEBLEBROX → u/AwesomeFrisbee]

I don't know where you are cycling, but that path looks like atleast twice the width of a normal cycling path here in the Netherlands. Also you can just dig a tunnel for an exit, or build a bridge, something we do alot here in the Netherlands to let cyclist cross a highway, since we build alot of cycling paths paralel to the highways. Being next to it or in the center has the exact same problem if your destination is on the other side of the highway. The echo chamber can be solved in many ways, this doesn't look like a full air sealed tunnel so I don't think it will be an echo anyways. It will be a it noisy, but if you have ever cyclied in Rotterdam centre, or alongside a highway you will notice it isn't that bad. Although we also have alot of sound proofing walls in between the highway and cycling paths, but not nearly everywhere. Also a teenager on a pimped out scooter which overtakes you will be a lot louder then the cars, and from the looks of it they have alot less cars in Korea per square meter then we have in the Netherlands.

[u/drivers9001 → u/AwesomeFrisbee]

This is the type of infrastructure that gets designed by designers who don’t ride bikes regularly.

[u/IronBatman → u/rocketshipkiwi]

This is it. People keep making these suggestions but no one thinks about maintenance. You need to clean the solar panels or you get reduced efficient. Buying them on highways is such a waste. Especially when an accident takes out 10-20k work of panels in seconds

[u/Rhodie114 → u/IronBatman]

This whole thing would make way more sense running parallel to the highway instead. The panels would be more accessible for maintenance, and you could have a greater buffer for the cyclists. That would also solve the problem of cyclists having to cross a major freeway to get to the trail.

[u/TAc20220920 → u/Zikkan1]

Of course it's not, that's why it's called an accident. They probably considered how often would that likely to happen. The space underneath must be too much to waste to just leave unutilised.

[u/DaFugYouSay → u/Zikkan1]

Not only that but how easy is it to get in there and get back out again? I mean what if I only want to go a half mile do I have to wait for the next exit?

[u/DiasporicTexan → u/DaFugYouSay]

There are tunnel entrances in the bike lane that let you exit to the sides of the highway. Source: I live off the highway in Sejong City. This is the highway between Sejong and Daejeon.

[u/schkmenebene → u/Zikkan1]

To be fair, the highway is the safest place "on the road".

They are the widest and have great visibility, which is why we get to drive so fast on them.

Very few accidents actually happen on the highway. It's on the country roads with bad poor visibility that are really dangerous, and AFAIK there are no protections for cyclists on those roads.

I would definitely ride my bike more if we had those on the roads.

[u/ChipmunkCooties → u/Zikkan1]

At the end of the day, not much will stop a b double weighing 20-28tonnes going at 100 km/h, I’d much rather systems like this in place instead of our current “systems” here in Australia ..

[u/Cojobe → u/Zikkan1]

“Protected from sun, isolated from traffic”

It didn’t say they’re protected from traffic, however they do have their own lane and section

[u/gottaknowgottanono]

Since this is my daily commute and I've cycled it twice, let's see if I can quickly address some of the comments;

Crashing- Trucks rarely get as big here as back home. The drivers are much better trained in Korea. They're not driving dangerously to maintain a schedule. Nor are they on speed. The lane next to the bike trail is the bus lane and trucks would usually be on the outside lane anyway. There are barriers. A Michael Bey style crash isn't likely to happen but I guess if it did everyone would be dodging debris not just the cyclists.

Getting off and on- The main (yes obviously road-level Jesus Christ think before you post a needlessly angry reply) entrances are at either end of the highway which is about 12km end to end. There are stairs that lead down to a lane passing under the highway every few KM that lead out to the local villages. Maintenance is done by small trucks that drive up the bike lane to whatever needs repairing and/or cleaning. Big jobs will see the bus lane closed.

Smog- The lane is surrounded by mostly flat countryside with a good wind crossing it. And again, the only thing passing close would be the occasional bus, which are more and more electronic each passing year. Overall I would say that it's cleaner than any bike ride I've ever taken in a city.

I'll try to add some more later as I read more...

ETA

Dirt- They clean and repair it regularly because Korea is not America where the infrastructure plan is "How many people died when it collapsed?"

ETA 2

What if a one legged granny with a weak heart riding a Korean War surplus bike made out of Tungsten needed to get down those stairs? - She's fucked.

[u/atrews → u/gottaknowgottanono]

Why is this not getting more likes? This is the only response I've read from an actual person who's used the bike lane. Either way thanks for posting this!

[u/kevin_zavala21 → u/atrews]

Because everyone wants to hate on something for reasons they pull out of their asses.

[u/Ocularias → u/kevin_zavala21]

It's sad how many people in here think they have thought of shit that one of the most technologically efficient countries in the world have not thought of.

[u/Gothmog_LordOBalrogs → u/Ocularias]

Especially when it comes to renewables

[u/neutron240 → u/Ocularias]

That's reddit. Always thinks they're smarter than everyone. I can be guilty of this too.

[u/Moon_Atomizer → u/kevin_zavala21]

But can you imagine, a bike lane next to a ROAD? /s

[u/hamo804 → u/atrews]

Because Reddit loves to sit around and make shit up while “Yes and”ing each other.

[u/EcstaticTrainingdatm → u/hamo804]

I call it the “well actually....” effect.

But I’d say it’s the people defending this as safe that are doing it

[u/-FlyingAce- → u/atrews]

You mean the average redditor who glanced at this image for 5 seconds before casting judgement doesn’t have more knowledge than the engineer who studied for years to create this solution? You mean the culture of the country and societal norms stand for nothing when there’s a redditor about? I’m shocked!

[u/-eccentric- → u/atrews]

This thing is fucking awesome, meanwhile the average reddit cyclist is like "hurr durr bad air i'm gonna die from this, what a stupid idea"

[u/[deleted] → u/atrews]

Because Reddit is full of concern trolls

[u/OddCoping → u/atrews]

Because many American think that rest of the world works like America. They forget that other countries have functional rail and public transportation systems. They forget that small villages are more likely to be built around walking or cycling.

[u/kilnsea → u/gottaknowgottanono]

This should be higher. Thanks for the deets.

[u/gottaknowgottanono → u/kilnsea]

Glad to help.

[u/dumbwaeguk → u/gottaknowgottanono]

after half a decade in South Korea this is the first time I've ever heard someone refer to it as a country of good drivers with proactive traffic planning

[u/Moon_Atomizer → u/dumbwaeguk]

SK is safer than North America so maybe you're from somewhere in Europe or something? And expats here blame Korean culture for just about anything and are a big bunch of complainers, I wouldn't care about their opinions on anything that can be googled instead

[u/EcstaticTrainingdatm → u/Moon_Atomizer]

Almost all countries are safer than the US

https://i.imgur.com/8NbSqpo.jpg

We’re an astoundingly low bar

Another common American response to road safety critiques is to challenge deaths per capita as a metric. Some argue that deaths per mile driven is a better comparison, since it takes into account the added risks of driving more miles, as Americans are wont to do. But this flunks the test of common sense. Consider: If traffic deaths are flat, but everyone drives twice as far, is society safer? Furthermore, rural interstate driving is significantly less dangerous per mile than driving on urban arterials, so a country could grow “safer” on a deaths/VMT basis simply by moving urban residents into the countryside.

[u/MidContrast → u/EcstaticTrainingdatm]

lmao I'm torn on this comment chain because America is double the accidents than SK....but SK is 3rd on the list which honestly aint that hot.

[u/mojojojomu → u/dumbwaeguk]

There's definitely a share of crazy drivers in Korea but after seeing how well people are able to park in tight spaces and get around urban streets I'm convinced that the caliber of drivers is way higher than most of the US.

[u/MeccIt → u/gottaknowgottanono]

where the infrastructure plan is "How many people died when it collapsed?"

This was a guilty laugh.

[u/captain-burrito → u/gottaknowgottanono]

If a one legged granny can ride a bike she'll be able to use the stairs.

[u/gottaknowgottanono → u/captain-burrito]

Don't fuck around with Korean grannies. They'll snap you like a celery stick.

[u/verygoodchoices → u/gottaknowgottanono]

ETA 2

What if a one legged granny with a weak heart riding a Korean War surplus bike made out of Tungsten needed to get down those stairs? - She's fucked.

So you admit it is a heinous, inhuman travesty of civil engineering

That's it boys, shut it down.

[u/gottaknowgottanono → u/verygoodchoices]

Busted!

Leg it, boys!

[u/RageA333 → u/gottaknowgottanono]

It's hilarious how many comments come from the US which has a FUCKED transport system lol

[u/faded-cosmos → u/gottaknowgottanono]

As others say, this comment should be way higher. Thank you for the personal perspective. Additionally, in reading the other comments it's funny how many Americans forget not every country is like the United States.

[u/TZALZA → u/gottaknowgottanono]

Thank you!

[u/Golden-0wl → u/gottaknowgottanono]

Nice to have feedback from someone who actually use it, and not some Redditors “Mr. know it all” and “Mr. I know what’s best”.

[u/BeefJerkyHunter → u/gottaknowgottanono]

But is that bike lane safe from the KDrama White-Unlabeled-Truck-Of-Death?

[u/gottaknowgottanono → u/BeefJerkyHunter]

KDrama White-Unlabeled-Truck-Of-Death

Nothing is safe from that. I barely dodged it while making my coffee this morning.

[u/willzuskris → u/gottaknowgottanono]

Thank you for the ETA 2, that made my morning 😂

[u/domo415 → u/gottaknowgottanono]

Thank you. There’s so many arm chair experts on here and no one from the actual country that uses it provided actual feedback until now.

[u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

Nothing like inhaling fresh exhaust gasses when riding your bicycle.

[u/EvolvedA → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

Exhaust gases and brake dust

[u/zsaleeba → u/EvolvedA]

AND INCREDIBLY LOUD TRAFFIC NOISE

[u/_Diskreet_ → u/zsaleeba]

WHAT?

[u/imreallydead → u/_Diskreet_]

AND INCREDIBLY LOUD TRAFFIC NOISE

[u/schonkat → u/EvolvedA]

You don't brake much on the highway. And your car burns less gas on the highway, because you don't accelerate, you maintain a speed. On top of that, you aren't locked in between buildings like you would be in btw York City for example. The wine gets to blow the particulates away. Maybe you should consider that it was thought out much better than it seems like

[u/Hyperion1144 → u/schonkat]

It's probably best for you not to make too many assumptions about South Korea's great air quality characteristics.

[u/bigdickbigdrip → u/Hyperion1144]

Except he didn't say anything about south Korea's great air quality characteristics. Only that highway air is cleaner than city air

[u/Repulsive_Poem_5204 → u/schonkat]

You're telling me that wine is so abundant in SK that it blows the highway cancer particulates away? Damn, someone needs to tell Italy

[u/inu-no-policemen → u/schonkat]

Highways are super loud. Being in the center next to the two fast lanes is the absolute worst place for a bike path.

And your car burns less gas on the highway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(physics)#Power

Note that the power needed to push an object through a fluid increases as the cube of the velocity. A car cruising on a highway at 50 mph (80 km/h) may require only 10 horsepower (7.5 kW) to overcome aerodynamic drag, but that same car at 100 mph (160 km/h) requires 80 hp (60 kW). With a doubling of speed the drag (force) quadruples per the formula.

[u/Skyhawkson → u/EvolvedA]

Dont forget the tire rubber

[u/Steph2145 → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

I mean do you ever drive with your windows down? something positive and y’all talk about how bad it is. Sounds like bunch of bicycle snobs.

[u/CreatureWarrior → u/Steph2145]

For real. These people sound miserable as hell, having to find negativity in positivity all the time

[u/QuantumBitcoin → u/CreatureWarrior]

Have you ever ridden a bicycle for transportation on city streets once in your life? Have you ever stood less than five meters from a highway?

[u/betterversionn → u/QuantumBitcoin]

Yes. I lived in Manhattan and biked all over 3 of the 5 Boros for years. I’ve also biked all over PA, VT, And NY next to highways. And I would not hesitate to use a bike lane like this if it made sense for what I was doing

[u/Darth_Nibbles → u/QuantumBitcoin]

I've done both, and this looks great

[u/mintysmellshowntell → u/QuantumBitcoin]

Lol. Your questioning makes me wonder if you are simply asking what it's like...

[u/QuantumBitcoin → u/mintysmellshowntell]

Lol. I'm wondering if all the people supporting this have any experience with this or if they are the same people in the onion article, "Report: 98 Percent Of U.S. Commuters Favor Public Transportation For Others"

[u/Teh_Hicks → u/QuantumBitcoin]

They definitely don't, and are just scared of change. That said, we also have people who have watched one StrongTowns/NotJustBikes video and immediately got indoctrinated into r/fuckcars, which I'm pretty sure is not really the intention of those channels.

I love cars, but I also want to be able to not drive (nor take a Lyft) everywhere, living just outside the center of a major city. Cyclists don't want to be on the road, cars don't want cyclists on the road, it's pretty simple in theory. But $$

[u/ChuyStyle → u/Steph2145]

On the highway? Hell no. You try breathing that in then. It’s a shitty design

[u/Low_Cell_2094 → u/[deleted]]

Lol people in here acting like rolling a window down is blasphemy. Wtf lmaoo

[u/AsleepDesign1706 → u/ChuyStyle]

Air being too fucking loud and it being too windy are one thing, breathing in the gasses by the nearby cars, or the car we are driving isn't one of them

Its crazy reading the bicycle people takes on cars in this thread

literally motorcycles and top down cars are a thing, BICYCLE PEOPLE

[u/buddha8298 → u/AsleepDesign1706]

Not sure why you all think it's "bicycle people" complaining. As a cyclist I think it's great.

[u/Skyhawkson → u/Steph2145]

I don't actually, because the pollution and exhaust smell is so bad.

[u/thanosisawhore → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

You do so everyday all day (with minor exceptions) anyway

[u/PM_NICE_SOCKS → u/thanosisawhore]

Apparently people here ride their bikes exclusively in areas where there are absolutely no cars at all and live in a farmland because they seem to never be breathing car exhaust

[u/Dickcheese_McDoogles → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

homie are you aware of how bike lanes work inside cities?

do... do you think they have their own special tunnels or something?

[u/tjschroeder87 → u/Dickcheese_McDoogles]

Exactly... wtf is this guy bitching about?

[u/Cauhs → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

Pedestrian at busy intersection: This is fine 😶‍🌫️

[u/drawkbox → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

Probably lots of debris gets kicked up as well. Better to do this on the sidewalk areas if by a road. Odd to do it down the middle. Looks dangerous for cyclists and vehicles.

The dumbest part though is you might have to go long stretches before you can get on and off... the benefit of a bike or walking is more freedom on movement. This is like being in a train and unable to get off freely except at point where they have either a stop or some other way to get on and off (pedestrian bridge maybe?)

[u/disisathrowaway → u/drawkbox]

Then don't use it.

It seems like it was planned out and executed just fine, and other folks in this thread who actually use it have no issues with it.

[u/jtakaine → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

My thoughts exactly. Not really a place I want to ride.

[u/AsleepDesign1706 → u/jtakaine]

this is so weird to read, not wanting to bike on a highway because of the "gasses"

buddy the 20 cars parked at the red light while you bike by, isn't any better.

Its crazy reading the bicycle people takes on cars in this thread

literally motorcycles and top down cars are a thing, BICYCLE PEOPLE

[u/Wifdat → u/AsleepDesign1706]

Literally. Have these ppl never been on a road before? Is this the AI becoming sentient and commenting on reddit? Where are these aliens coming from?

[u/joethesaint → u/jtakaine]

So the concept of people cycling anywhere in a city is strange too? Or is it only when the road is a highway for some reason.

[u/hgwxx7_foxtrotdelta → u/HertogJanVanBrabant]

At least this will solve the problem of having to turn way around just to get from A to B.. because the only fastest way to get there is by highway.

[u/captain_longstocking]

Why does everyone think this is awesome? I don't want to bike in the middle of a highway, that seems awful.

[u/paskahuussi89 → u/captain_longstocking]

Only people who don't ride bikes a lot can think this is awesome.

This is also old video, posted before in Reddit, and always the same thing.

[u/Dickcheese_McDoogles → u/paskahuussi89]

A lot of assumptions without knowing a lot of info

read gottaknowgottanono's comment here, as he's the only person in this thread who actually has experience riding on this exact path

[u/Kitten-Kay → u/paskahuussi89]

I ride my bike everyday and I love this idea. I already ride next to a busy road everyday, and I rarely smell any fumes.

[u/ButtLlcker → u/paskahuussi89]

Sounds like you’re the one that doesn’t bike lol

[u/StrawberryEiri → u/captain_longstocking]

Edit: looks like there's a lot more to it than I thought. Seems like they actually thought about cyclist safety and how they'll get on and off the road. This is embarrassing.

I apologize for jumping to conclusions; I take back much of what I said below and in replies. I'm not knowledgeable enough about city planning to know whether this is a great project, but it sure as hell is not the horror I assumed.

It's awful, unsafe and a bad idea all around. Sounds like a classic case of politicians thinking they're smarter than professional city planners.

[u/Dickcheese_McDoogles → u/StrawberryEiri]

It's awful, unsafe and a bad idea all around. Sounds like a classic case of politicians thinking they're smarter than professional city planners.

this sounds like a professional case of Americans thinking that their shitty infrastructure applies to the rest of the developed world

[u/vitringur → u/StrawberryEiri]

It sounds exactly like some city planners with a great idea.

[u/Ergheis → u/vitringur]

ITT: Redditors are so addicted to claiming new tech will never work, that they proceed to discuss how an 8 year old project, that was approved by city planners and engineers, will never work.

[u/magnitudearhole → u/Ergheis]

Being angry is the same as being smart here

[u/aliehsan-kun → u/captain_longstocking]

I'm sure they are not putting guns on people's heads forcing them to bike on the highway. If you don't want to..... just don't.

[u/alarming_archipelago → u/captain_longstocking]

Highways are filthy dirty. "Road grime". Just yuck.

[u/Dickcheese_McDoogles → u/alarming_archipelago]

they are filthy in America. this is Korea.

they actually give a shit about infrastructure and maintenance.

[u/GhostR29 → u/captain_longstocking]

Along with that, solar panels reach really painful temperatures under sunlight. I don't want a weird ass sauna along with a ride.

[u/garblflax → u/GhostR29]

i hadn't considered the electrical heat, and highways already have a higher ambient temperature... 💀

[u/GhostR29 → u/garblflax]

Now combine that with regions between the tropics. SK already has cold temps so it doesn't affect those people.

[u/Dickcheese_McDoogles → u/captain_longstocking]

read gottaknowgottanono's comment here, as he's the only person in this thread who actually has experience riding on this exact path

[u/iknownothin_ → u/captain_longstocking]

Because the alternative would be to ride on the highway shoulder??

[u/Cynical_Cyanide]

Yet another 'sounds good, pretty stupid' kind of ideas. You don't need to over-think solar energy panel placement, or cycling paths for that matter. There's a reason why people tend to put them on roofs, and why cycling paths tend to be away from cars.

Solar panels don't do well when covered in soot and brake dust. Or when they have a rock scattered into them. Humans don't do so well huffing in the same, or having just about anything projected at them - entire trucks, included.

Just bloody put them on roofs where there's already existing electrical infrastructure. Put bike paths safely away from cars and pollution.

Edit: A lot of buffoons are commenting 'in my urban city, bike paths aren't far from cars!' ... This is a bloody highway. I'm not talking about bike paths along city streets!

[u/Creepy-Ad-4832 → u/Cynical_Cyanide]

cycling path tend to be away from cars

Ehm... about that...

[u/ploxathel → u/Cynical_Cyanide]

Plus solar panels will need maintenance. Which is why another idea, putting solar panels between trains tracks, is also not catching on.

[u/Rickles360 → u/ploxathel]

Typically, solar panels do not need much maintenance. Maybe the occasional cleaning if they are installed in a dusty place with little rain and at low tilt. That's not the reason putting them on train tracks isn't catching on. It's monumentally stupid to put them where they will be intermittently shaded by a train as intermittent electricity is a PITA.

[u/I_Like_Me_Though → u/Cynical_Cyanide]

Ideally though, it'll be fewer ICEs. That's what would cause all those contaminants, right. More EVs, more air filtering crash barriers, less density of vehicles for transit+cycling and bam! Contaminant vacuuming away the emissions by highway innovations.

[u/peantbuterjelly → u/I_Like_Me_Though]

Brake and tire dust are still large sources of airborne pollution and those aren’t going away with EVs

[u/SleestakJack → u/I_Like_Me_Though]

EVs still kick up highway-speed dust and rocks. You’re not wrong that it’ll eventually be cleaner by switching to batteries, but even with a complete lack of fuel-burning cars, this is still a problematic idea.

[u/kevin_zavala21 → u/Cynical_Cyanide]

Where do you cycle? In the United States, seems like a majority of bike paths that people use to actually get to places are right next to cars. At least in this case, you have a barrier between you and a car.

[u/Dickcheese_McDoogles → u/Cynical_Cyanide]

A lot of assumptions without knowing a lot of info

read gottaknowgottanono's comment here, as he's the only person in this thread who actually has experience riding on this exact path

[u/davo_the_lingo]

Ever been on a Highway without a car?

[u/crispychickenwing → u/davo_the_lingo]

Yep. Car broke down so I had to wait 2+ hours outside the car behind the railing. Its misserable

[u/liamnesss → u/crispychickenwing]

Had to do this once, we all felt ill for days afterwards. The fumes are no joke, for some reason it's much worse than if you're just in a car driving through. I guess a car's air intakes filter out the worst stuff?

[u/DamnitGoose → u/liamnesss]

Air intake has a HEPA filter. Does a good job keeping shit out of your lungs

[u/liamnesss → u/DamnitGoose]

I also imagine said shit will be just as bad when EVs are the norm, because particulate pollution mostly comes from brake / tyre dust and road surface breakup. All of which is still produced by EVs (maybe even more so as they tend to be heavier). So we can't even expect this cycle path to become more pleasant with time.

I think maybe if I had to tackle this as part of a cycle route, I'd do so with an N95 mask, and using an e-bike to reduce how heavily I need to breathe. I doubt that's what the planners had in mind when they drew up the plans for this though.

[u/jen_17]

How do cyclist join / leave the cycle lane?

[u/gottaknowgottanono → u/jen_17]

Every 3km there's a set of stairs that leads to a lane passing under the highway.

EDIT:

Yes, obviously there are road entrances on either end of the highway bike lane. Apologies for giving you ammunition for getting your argument on. My fault on this one.

[u/[deleted] → u/gottaknowgottanono]

stairs

Ah yes, a cyclist's best friend

[u/dewisri → u/[deleted]]

If the stairs are like the stairs used for bikes and pedestrians in Japan, there is a ramp for the bike going up the middle of the stairs.

[u/FoldedDice → u/[deleted]]

If you're in decently good shape then carrying a lightweight bike up or down a staircase is trivial. I used to do it at my apartment every day.

[u/kn05is → u/FoldedDice]

And if you're riding your bike for a dozen or so KMs daily, then you're probably in pretty good shape.

Man, all the negative commenters aren't providing any solutions or better ideas, only criticizing what I see as (at the very least) a step in the right direction.

[u/GoneFishing36 → u/[deleted]]

Interestingly. Only a car centric culture would jump to the flawed design of "stairs". In reality, bike culture countries have long solved this by including a small ramp just off to the side of stairs. You slowly push the bike up, as you walk the stairs.

I just find it funny it's something so fundamental to the biking lifestyle that no one bats an eye, but so removed from car cultures, like the US.

[u/lero1324]

This is also extremely rare in South Korea. I only know of a single road that has this, wish they would build more.

[u/Evangelion00900 → u/lero1324]

Do you know where? I'm Korean and I dont know where it is

[u/gottaknowgottanono → u/Evangelion00900]

The highway between Daejeon and Sejong.

[u/Skoobie_Deux]

But america without fossil fuels or big trucks just doesn't sound right. We better nip this in the bud before they start teaching our kids about renewable resources and treating each other kindly.

[u/ThailurCorp]

I would like to see a video of people biking through here.

[u/Orientronic → u/ThailurCorp]

https://youtu.be/CKWhXpUEpk8

I thought the same thing only to be bored by it. Not sure what I expected.

[u/flopsicles77]

Cardio and exhaust, perfect combo

[u/Fantact]

This is great, but I can't help but think these cyclist will be breathing in tons of pollution from the cars, the bike lanes would be better placed somewhere else in terms of public health tbh.

[u/Lets_Go_Why_Not → u/Fantact]

I live in Korea and it has a ton of bike lanes, and the majority of them are along rivers. I've cycled quite a bit here, and I've never come across this path or any like it. It must be very, very rare.

[u/amorphous_machine]

So wish we had this.

[u/Maikeaul → u/amorphous_machine]

I would only want to cycle there if there is no emission from the cars.

[u/CreatureWarrior → u/Maikeaul]

Ever driven with your window open?

[u/amorphous_machine → u/Maikeaul]

Yeah, wouldn't be great if all sides ran diesel. Smoking 2 packes a day would be similar.

[u/Dimaaaa]

People hating hard in here lmfao.

[u/TheRealJellona]

This comment section resembles twitter... 🤮

[u/Pankratos_Gaming]

Imagine getting on that bike lane only to find out it goes on for 50 miles before the next junction.

[u/Amon213]

The US COULD be just like this.

[u/Owbrowbeat]

Strange location for maintenance…

[u/AdvertisingOdd6471]

But it's not as catchy as solar freaking roadways