Poland's New Glow-in-the-dark Bike Path

Poland just revealed, near Lidzbark Warminski, a new bike path that emits blue light at night. The bike lane is made from synthetic material that can glow at night because of energy from sunlight that is collected during the day. This allows the bike lane to glow at night without any power source. Next Nature Network says that the bike path can emit a variety of colors, however the decision to use the color blue was influenced by the surrounding landscape. Additionally, the President of TPA. Zo. O, Igor Ruttmar, says that the material used in the bike path can emit light for up to ten hours.

TPA Instytut Techniczych Sp. Zo. O was inspired to create this new glowing bike lane by Studio Roosegaarde’s Starry Night bike lane and even though the Starry Night bike lane served as inspiration, the technology used in the new Polish bike path is different than that of the Van Gogh inspired bike lane. The director of the Board of Regional Roads, Waldemar Krolikowski, said the new path is meant to provide bikers with a safer travel route at night. However, this blue bike path is still being tested and it is said to be unclear how long the path will last before it begins to wear out. Although, designers researched the materials used in order to ensure they were cost efficient since it is more expensive than the traditional bike lane.

Images via TPA Sp. z o.o.