A new, glow-in-the-dark bike path inspired by Vincent van Gogh's famous "Starry Night" painting recently opened in the Dutch town of Nuenen, adding to an increasing number of futuristic transit innovations proliferating across the country.
Just a week before the opening of the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde bike path, the translucent SolaRoad pike bath opened in the Amsterdam suburb of Krommenie. Lined with solar panels, SolaRoad soaks up energy from the sun, producing enough electricity to power 3 homes. The new Van Gogh tribute path is similar insofar as it harvests it energy from the sun, and radiates it back out as night falls,
Gizmodo reported.
Visually, the pathway is a glowing, bespeckled ribbon of low, greenish light cutting through a dark field. Not only visually captivating, the path's light acts as a safety guide for both bicycle rider and pedestrians. Moreover, it is situated in the hometown of the late artist, acting as both an homage and memorial. "Starry Night" itself, however, is currently stateside, on display at the New York Museum of Modern Art.
The project was conceived and executed by Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde and Dutch construction company Heijmans. It took roughly two years to design and implement.
"I wanted to create a place that people will experience in a special way, the technical combined with experience, that's what techno-poetry means to me," said Roosegaarde ahead of the path's Wednesday opening.
Instead of using chemical agents to make the path glow — like those found in common glow sticks — Roosegaarde used LED lighting. By doing so, he ensured that the path's light would be consistent over the years. He even built in a fail safe power supply for cloudy days, when it could become difficult for the path to harvest energy from the sun.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.