Bicycle enthusiasts will love this glow in the dark bicycle trail which glistens in a mesmeric blue color at night. This unique bicycle path is in the rural town of Lidzbark Warminski. Charged by solar power throughout the day, the bicycle path is a new addition to an existing a larger recreation path that leads up to Wielochowskie Lake. This trail which looks like a path from a fairy tale is built by the European engineering company TPA sp. z o.o, whose goal is to help prevent bicycle and pedestrian accidents.
By. Ran
The path contains synthetic particles called luminophores which absorb energy from the sun and then release that energy at night by emitting light for up to 10 hours.
TPA’s President Igor Ruttmar explains;
“The material we used for the track gives light for over ten hours. That means the road can radiate throughout the whole night and re-accumulate light the following day.”
Image Credit: inhabitat
Apart from being incredibly beautiful, the path also serves a larger purpose of keeping bicyclists and pedestrians safe at night. Since it is charging solely on solar power, the path is highly eco-friendly.
“We hope that the glowing bicycle path will help prevent bicycle and pedestrian accidents at night,” Igor explains. “It’s a problem here in Poland, especially in the areas farther from the cities that are darker and more invisible in the night.”
The bright blue color of the lane is chosen to compliment the breathtaking scenery of the surroundings.
“It illuminates a very bright blue, which is gorgeous against the dark forest and river at night. The glow is a very nice complement to the area’s beautiful nature, lakes, small hills, and countryside,” Igor said.
At the moment, only 328 feet of the bike path is illuminated at night; they hope to expand the glowing path in the future.
“We want to test out this short section. See how it endures the winter and then create a plan to make it longer,” said Igor.
Even though some other European companies have approached the idea as well, they are yet to find a solution as eco-friendly as that of the TPA’s bike lane. A Dutch designer created a “Starry Night” bike trail in the town of Eindhoven in 2014, where the famous artist Van Gogh resided for several years. In 2013, at Christ’s Pieces Park in Cambridge, England, a U.K. based company called Pro-Teq Surfacing sprayed glow-in-the-dark coating called “Starpath” on 1,614 square feet of a path to illuminate it at night.
Here is a video of the path glowing at the night:
