LightLane, 2009

Rigorous experimentation with new materials and production techniques was behind Evan Gant and Alex Tee’s concept for LightLane, an ingenious design made in response to the dangers of cycling on city streets that are not equipped with bicycle lanes. “One of the biggest benefits that a bike lane provides is a common boundary that both drivers and bikers respect,” these avid cyclists assert. A series of brainstorming sessions resulted in a range of ideas, some more guerilla-style such as attaching a can of spray paint to the side of a bicycle so that cyclists could paint their own lane as they rode along, while other ideas were more threatening, such as suspending a key from the side of the bike that would warn drivers not to get too close (“keying a car” being a common form of vandalism). Realizing the inherent problems, however, with these more hazardous solutions, Gant and Tee began to investigate ways in which they could establish a boundary that wasn't physically attached to the bike, ultimately conceiving of a projected boundary using green lasers that are visible even in ambient light. The prototype design, currently being developed for industrial production, can be clipped to the post of a bicycle seat, creating what the partners refer to as an “on-demand bike lane.”

_{GANT/TEE. LightLane, 2009. Courtesy of GANT/TEE.}