Bow, Vauxhall, Elephant and Castle – they are the roundabouts that nightmares are made of. We’ve recently seen a commitment to safety for cyclists in London after a spate of deaths over the past year – some of which happened on these very roundabouts.
Initiatives include cycle highways, bus safety technologies and those infamous ‘cyclist stay back signs’ for HGVs and buses. Boris Johnston has even looked to the Netherlands for inspiration, with plans in the pipelines to create ‘mini hollands‘ across London.
The Netherlands it seems really are the ones to watch when it comes to cycling infrastructure. And we think that Hovenring might just be its best invention yet. Hovenring is the world’s first suspended bicycle path roundabout and can be found between Eindhoven, Veldhoven and Meerhoven.
Designed by Ipv Delft, Hovenring comprises of a 70-metre (230 ft) tall central pylon, 24 steel cables and a circular bridge deck made out of circa approximately 1,000 tons of steel. The project took just nine months to build.
Check out this video to see Hovenring in action:
bird’s-eye view Hovenring Eindhoven (the Netherlands) designed by ipv Delft from ipv Delft on Vimeo.
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