Indianapolis strives to be bike friendly

Posted: Oct 2, 2008 05:26 PM EDT

Updated: Oct 2, 2008 05:37 PM EDT








Mary Milz/Eyewitness News
Indianapolis - With gas prices so high, more people are commuting to work on their bikes. The ride should become easier in Indianapolis, where the city plans to add several miles of bike lanes.

If you like to cycle, chances are you use the Monon or Cultural Trail. But if you venture out on the open road, especially downtown, it's often at your own risk. You won't find a single bike lane there.

"Indianapolis does have a poor record as being bike friendly," said Marcus Barlow, spokesman for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.

But Barlow says the city is shifting gears with plans for 200 miles of bike lanes over the next 15 years.

"What we're looking at is using trails that already exist and streets that run into them and just create countywide mobility on bicycles," said Barlow.

Jeff Gold, an avid cyclist, applauds the move.

"There are cities that have a lot more bike lanes than we have. We could certainly use more," he said.

Gold lives close to 52nd Street. It's one of just a handful of Indianapolis streets with marked bike lanes.

"Bike lanes are important because they encourage people to be on bikes and they connect the community," said Gold.

Tentative plans call for starting with marked bike lanes along Michigan and New York Streets and possibly even Allisonville Road.

Barlow says the mayor wants the city designated as a "Bicycle Friendly Community" and in order to do that, it needs to meet several criteria. One of those criteria is educating the community on the importance of sharing the road. Justin Yoder, who owns a bicycle apparel store, calls that critical.

"It's one thing to throw down paint and have a lane, but cyclists and drivers need to be educated on the rules and how to use bike lanes," said Yoder.

Barlow says they hope to fund the bikeways plan mostly through federal grants and private dollars. The mayor will roll out more specifics later this month.

So far, 96 communities in 32 states have been awarded with the Bicycle Friendly designation, including Carmel and Bloomington.

yipee, about time. Most important thing is education.

wow i am on the southside this is good news. The norhtside like carmel is more bike friendly. I want to get out more on my bike just still getting the feeling where to go to. David

Greenwood has many bike trails already. I ride all over greenwood out to Mooresville. BGI has rides southeast of town on Mondays I know. I ride from about a mile from the mall to IUPUI area almost every day. Greenwood and Indianapolis are not too bad places to ride at all. Dont believe all that stuff you hear about the north side. Go up there about rush hour sometime. I like Greenwood better.

I hope that bike lanes and trails are developed other than north of Washington St. South of there has been pretty well ignored so far. While there are some recreational trails in Greenwood, like around Craig park, I don't think I'd associate much, if any of them for commuting or use other than casual recreation. There are plans for a trail along White River and Bluff is very ripe for bike lanes. We'll see what, if anything develops. Getting our driving public to recognize biking is a huge basic task.

went on a small trip the other day. Actually i was headed for bgi in greenwood but they were closed. But i headed to smithvalley raod up the trail into the park connecting at old meridian thru a neighborhood back to madison to home. i took alot of shots and drove around 12 miles. the weather is just right. Good time to be riding bikes. As much as i carry i need a touring bike lol but i have just about turned this bike into that. Would like to connect with some of you if anything sit down over some coffee. David

is anyone planning on going to mayor ballards press conference at the michigan and mass ave intersection park thing next wednesday (octo 10/15)? It starts at 9:30 am and a bunch of us are meeting up at city cafe at 8:30 for a quick breakfast before riding on over. you should come!

In case any Indy folks missed updates on other sites, houdini's msg relates to tomorrow's press conference at Mass Ave and Michigan, 9:30, LePeep catered breakfast before that, and group rides in from all over the city. Get more info here: https://bicycleindiana.org/page.cfm?pageId=237 and here: https://www.bgindy.com

https://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...cending&page=1

And there you have it. I'm a former Indianapolis resident and new cyclist. I'm thrilled with this announcement.