cityscape Public Works: A Bike Escalator That Can Get You Up That Steep Hill

An idea that started in Norway is hitting the open market. Should Toronto buy in?

Public Works looks at public space, urban design, and city-building innovations from around the world, and considers what Toronto might learn from them.

A 130-metre hill in Trondheim, Norway, is home to what may be the future of urban cycling infrastructure: a bike escalator.

First installed in 1993 under the name Trampe, the rig has helped more than 200,000 people from fussing over a particularly steep hump.

In 2013, French company Skirail, which produces chairlifts and cable cars, updated the lift to new safety standards, and rechristened it “CycloCable.” Now they’re ready to produce new bike escalators, and put them on the market for purchase by cities around the world.

The CycloCable consists of a wire cable with 11 metal footholds running along the kerb. Up to five people can latch on at a time at least 12 seconds apart.

The instructions are pretty simple. You, the cyclist, stand astride your bike, right foot over the designated “start slot,” and left foot on the bike pedal. Then you press a button and wait for one of the footholds to motor up behind your right foot—sort of like waiting for a ski lift. Once you make contact with the foothold, you shift your weight to it, and are conveyed automatically up the hill at around two metres per second—not a bad cruising speed.

It’s not just for cyclists, either. Marketing materials show mothers pushing strollers and kids riding scooters using the CycloCable, too.

Skirail is looking to sell CycloCable to cities in the US, Canada, Europe, and East Asia. And it seems an attractive possibility. The manufacturers estimate it could cover up to half a kilometre of ground, at a building cost of $2.47–$3.30 (CAD) per metre. And while CycloCable’s website suggests cities could charge a toll for the cable’s use, the prototype in Trondheim is free.

But above all else, there’s a wonderful democratic sensibility to CycloCable. You shouldn’t have to be a Spandex-wearing road warrior to navigate city streets on your bike, which is good news, since most Toronto cyclists are not. They’re commuters wearing business clothes, parents with kids in tow, the elderly, skirted and loafered cool kids riding fixed-gears to brunch. Heck, the rise of Bike Share means bike riders don’t even have to be bike owners.

Cyclists, in other words, are anyone—people of all degrees of fitness, strength and enthusiasm. For many, if not most, of them, the more daunting challenges of city streets, including hills, raised bridges, or staircases, can be serious impediments to getting around. CycloCable makes cycling that much more accessible to regular people—not a bad bargain for $3 a metre.