This Glow-in-the-Dark Bike Path Is Real, But That Viral Image Isn’t What You Think

Throughout 2024, social media users shared an image that they claimed shows a solar-powered, glow-in-the-dark bicycle path in Poland that charges during the day and glows at night. People said it was located in numerous different places, with some users suggesting multiple paths could be found in several parts of the country.

One such Facebook post on Dec. 5 read: “Glow-in-the-dark bicycle paths in Poland.” Text in the image read: “In Poland, bicycle paths glow at the night which are charged by the sun.”

Another Facebook post featuring a similar image, which had garnered more than 118,000 reactions as of this writing, was shared on Sept. 24, while another said the path was located in the town of Pruszków.

One Facebook user said of the claim: “I’m from Poland, i had never see or heard something like this, probably its fake,” while another added: “I live in Poland for 15 years and went to almost 90% of the polish cities and never seen or heard anything like this. probably 100 feet made by students as a school project or something!” Additionally, some people claimed the image was AI-generated: “Looks like AI, great idea though.”

Elsewhere, a Reddit user who shared a different image said there was one such path in Poland: “There is a bicycle path in Poland that is solar-powered and glows in the dark.” 

There is a bicycle path in Poland that is solar-powered and glows in the dark.
byu/Sea_Land_1944 inDamnthatsinteresting

Similar claims, featuring both alleged images of the path, spread on multiple social media platforms, including Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Threads.

In short, the rumors included a mixture of true, false and undetermined information presented in various forms. Therefore, due to the nuances of the claims, we have elected not to provide a rating in this article.

While a solar-powered, glow-in-the-dark bike path was indeed developed in Poland in 2016 as an experimental project, it was only 100 meters long. Additionally, it was located near Lidzbark Warmiński in the Mazury region, not in Pruszków, as some posts claimed. While the second image shared was accurate and did depict the actual path, the spread of the fake, likely AI-generated image (mentioned first above) contributed to the confusion. Finally, it is unclear whether the path is still operational as of 2024.

Glowing Bike Path Definitely Existed

The glowing bike path was first reported in September 2016 by local Polish newspapers, including Gazeta Olsztyńska and Wyborcza Olsztyn, as well as nationwide Polish media. It was located near Lidzbark Warmiński in the Mazury region.

Some social media posts incorrectly claimed it was in Pruszków, near the capital, Warsaw. This confusion likely arose from the fact that the path was designed by the TPA company, which is based in Pruszków.

Dr. Igor Ruttmar, CEO of TPA, explained in an interview with Gazeta Olsztyńska that the material used to create the path “is capable of emitting light for over 10 hours,” meaning that light energy stored during the day makes it glow at night.

“This effect is solely due to the properties of the aggregate used, without the need for additional energy sources. For the construction of the path near Lidzbark Warmiński, we chose blue-glowing phosphors to maintain consistency with the Masurian landscape,” he added.

The path was 100 meters long and not a part of any major urban or national cycling infrastructure.

Dominika Górska from the TPA press office said the path was “a 100-meter test section” and that her team would monitor “how this surface performs in different weather conditions, temperatures, etc.”

Whether the glow-in-the-dark bike path still exists, as of 2024, is uncertain as there have been no recent updates from TPA or local authorities about the path’s status. 

Some reviews and photos of the area were uploaded to Google Maps in 2023. However, Google Maps imagery from 2012-13 predates its creation, meaning it neither shows the path as it was in 2016 nor provides any indication of its current state in 2024.

We have contacted TPA and the relevant local authority to verify whether the path still exists and will update this article if we receive a response.

True Story, Fake Photo 

The story about the glowing bicycle path was frequently shared alongside an image that did not depict the actual path. The picture on the left below, which shows a brightly glowing blue trail, displays several signs of being artificially created, likely through digital manipulation or AI generation. For instance, the stars and constellations depicted on the path look highly stylized and artificial. Moreover, the blue glow of the bike path is overly vibrant and evenly distributed, which is not typical of real-life glowing materials. 

Importantly, genuine photographs of the bike path in question do exist, with the one displayed below on the right being the most well-known example. 

(TPA/STRABAG, Facebook user David Smith, Canva)

Other claims regarding bikes we have investigated in the past include a rumor that a photograph showed a “young Bill Gates” riding a bicycle in the 1970s and a story about a 66-year-old Swedish man who won a 1,800-kilometer (1,118-mile) bike race despite being too old to enter it.

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