Indy Ranks Low in Bike Survey (Again)

Gmap bike layer near Butler University

Welcome to bicycling Indy in the post-COVID era. Most of the tens of thousands of bicycles bought by people desperate to get outside during lockdown are collecting dust in garages or buried at the bottom of Craigslist, and local bike lanes and trails are once again quiet except on sunny weekend days. It’s time to see what the good people at People for Bikes think of Indy’s commitment to two-wheel transportation in their 2022 city rankings. 

Summed up in one word? Blechh. Here’s the tale of the tape:

Final Section of Fall Creek Trail Nears Completion

New section of Fall Creek Greenway Trail, Indianapolis

About twenty years after the first asphalt was laid in the hike-and-bike trail along Indy's Fall Creek, the Indianapolis Parks Department has (almost) completed the path. In the last year, the city has re-aligned and repaved the trail from 56th Street to Binford Boulevard, and (finally) provided a way across 38th Street that did not involve the sidewalk of the roadway's bridge. As of the past few weeks, the city has also extended the trail from 25th and Meridian to the western end of Fall Creek Boulevard where it becomes Burdsall Parkway.

Indy Upgrades Illinois Street Bike Lane

Downtown Indy's new Illinois Street bike lane

I hadn't biked into downtown Indianapolis for a while, so when I turned the corner from Michigan onto northbound Illinois, I was astounded to see that the bike lane stripe at the right-hand side of the road had been scraped off, even though the "Bike Lane" signs were still up. It took a block or two before I noticed the bright green lane on the far side. Yep, Indy has (finally) moved into the '90s when it comes to bike lanes.

Is Indy a Bike-Friendly City?

Indianapolis Bike Infrastructure

In a word, no. Don’t just take my word for it, though, ask some of the national biking organizations what they think of the Circle City and you’ll find them frequently disappointed. The League of American Bicyclists says that Indy deserves a “bronze” award, which – if you ask me – is basically a participation trophy. By comparison, South Bend is a silver and Bloomington brought home a gold. What peeves this road cyclist is that Indy’s proudest accomplishments of the 21st century, according to the town's LAB report card, are the cultural trail and the bikeshare program. Big whoop. The town has a whole two staffers dedicated to bike programs; compared to Carmel, which has six for a population 1/10th that of Marion County.

What Cyclists Wish Drivers Knew #6: That White Line is not a Force Field

If you're a cyclist and you live anywhere there are on-road bike paths, you've been there, too. Let me recount: you're pedaling merrily along in the middle of a bike lane: maybe 30 to 40 inches of space next to the curb, marked by a thick white line between you and traffic moving 20 to 30 MPH faster than you are. Maybe there are arrows and icons of cyclists on the pavement, maybe there's a sign along the roadside that says something to the effect of "No motorized vehicles in bicycle lane."