Nope, it's not April Fools' Day, and neither has Transport for London (TfL) gone off its rocker (at least not with this particular idea). Next year London is getting the world's longest urban trampoline — the 'Bounceway'. It's hoped commuters will use the lengthy strip of springy matter to leap from A to B while getting in their daily exercise, recapturing their childhood and, who knows, maybe even squeezing out a smile.
We say A to B... it's as yet unclear where exactly the trampoline will run between (the press images suggest the Waterloo area is involved)... or how long it will be.
A spokesperson for the project told Londonist:
"These kind of details have not yet been nailed down, which is why we haven’t made a proactive announcement about the project yet."
But then who cares about the minutiae when it's a scheme that's bound to win over all but the glummest of commuters?
The Bounceway is part of TfL's £1.8million Future Streets Incubator initiative, which also includes a 'flexi-lane', pedestrian crossings covered with graphic designs and a jazzed up underpass.
Says a TfL statement about the Bounceway:
"This iconic and inclusive new public space in the heart of London will boost fitness and fun, and provide a novel form of transport where the journey is the main event."
TfL is part-funding the Bounceway scheme, which is being overseen by Architecture for Humanity. A crowdfunding scheme launching before the end of the year will hope to rake in the rest of the necessary cash.
And when this project's out of the way, who's up for a full-sized bouncy Tower of London?
