Cambridge Cycle Path Has a Mind of Its Own

Hamish Scott’s “glowing, seemingly self-aware bike path” is being tested in Christ’s Pieces park in Cambridge. The New Zealander’s “Starpath” is a type of solar-enhanced liquid and aggregate made by UK-based Pro-Teq Surfacing, which works by absorbing UV rays during the day and later releasing them as topaz light.

The Atlantic thinks the path “looks like it should be pulsing off of magic crystals inside some miles-deep cavern.”

“But if it saves a rider from road rash or fractured bones, then more power to the folks who made it,” the publication says.

“In a weird feature, it can somehow adjust its brightness levels similar to the screen of an iPhone; the path gets dimmer on pitch-black nights ‘almost like it has a mind of its own,’ Scott, Pro-Teq’s owner explains.

“Pro-Teq is hoping that governments will embrace its self-aware, supernatural-looking pathway for its energy-saving elements and the ease in which it goes down. The installation is fairly quick (the Cambridge job took about 4 hours), and because it’s a resurfacing technique doesn’t involve the burdensome disassembly and disposal of existing pathways.

“No word yet on the private-security guards cities might need to hire to keep the Starpath free from glowstick-waving club kids.”