Indy’s Six Most Dangerous Bike Trail Intersections: Number Six

After the untimely, senseless death of BGI mechanic Frank Radaker on the Monon Trail (October, 2021), some of the Indy bicycle community lobbied the city for changes that would make cycling in the city safer. To our uncertain knowledge, there has been a change. By “a change,” we mean just one: traffic engineers reprogrammed the pedestrian crossing lights at the Monon trail / 86th Street intersection where Radaker was killed; giving trail users a 10-second window when no motor vehicles have a green light. Now, if engineers could just reprogram those drivers who routinely ignore the “no turn on red” signs…

Indy’s Most Dangerous Bike Trail Intersections: Number Five

Following the untimely death of local bicycle icon Frank Radaker (October, 2021) at the Monon Trail where it crosses 86th Street, members of the cycling community lobbied Indy's government for changes to make cycling in the city safer. To our uncertain knowledge, there has been a change. By “a change,” we mean just the one: DPW reprogrammed the pedestrian crossing lights at site of Radaker's death; granting trail users a few seconds when no motor vehicles have a green light. Now, if they could just reprogram some drivers who routinely ignore the “no turn on red” signs…

Although it's certainly dangerous, in our opinion the intersection where Frank died is not the most dangerous intersection for Indianapolis cyclists, not even the most dangerous intersection of a trail and a street. Without further ado, here is our next nomination in our bottom six street crossings in Marion County…

Indy’s Most Dangerous Bike Trail Intersections: Number Four

After the senseless death of local cyclist Frank Radaker at Monon Trail and 86th Street (October, 2021), members of the Indy bicycle community asked Indy officials for changes to make cycling in the city safer. To our knowledge, there has been a change. By “a change,” we mean only one: traffic engineers reprogrammed the crossing lights for that one intersection; giving trail users a window of a few seconds while no motor vehicle lane has a green light. Now, if those engineers could just reprogram the drivers who ignore those highly visible “no turn on red” signs at the intersection…

Although it's certainly dangerous, in our opinion the intersection where Frank died is not the most dangerous street crossing in Indy, and not even the most dangerous intersection of a multi-use trail with a street. Without further ado, here is our next nomination for the bottom six street crossings in Marion County; the site where Radaker was killed…

Indy’s Most Dangerous Bike Trail Intersections: Number Three

After the death of a well-known local cyclist (October, 2021) where the Monon Trail crosses 86th Street, many within the cycling community called for changes to make improve the city's cycling safety. We've noticed that there's been a change, but not much of one: traffic engineers reprogrammed the pedestrian crossing lights at the intersection where he was killed to give trail users a 10-second window when no motor vehicles have a green light. Now, if engineers could just reprogram those drivers who routinely ignore the “no turn on red” signs…

Although it's certainly a dangerous crossing, in our opinion the intersection where he was killed is not the most dangerous in Indy for cyclists, not even the most dangerous intersection of a trail and a street. So without further ado, here is our next nomination within the bottom six street crossings in Marion County, number three…

Indy’s Most Dangerous Bike Trail Intersections: Number One

When a well-known local cycliest was struck and killed near the Monon Trail (October, 2021), members of the Indy bicycle community called upon the city to make changes that might make cycling in the city safer. To our uncertain knowledge, there has in fact been such a change. By “such a change,” we mean just the one: traffic engineers reprogrammed the pedestrian crossing lights at the Monon trail / 86th Street intersection where Frank Radaker was killed; allowing trail users a 10-second window when no motor vehicles have a green light. Now, if engineers could just reprogram those drivers who routinely ignore the “no turn on red” signs…

Although decidedly dangerous, in our opinion the intersection where Frank perished is not the most dangerous bike crossing in Indy, not even the most dangerous intersection of a trail and a street. Without further ado, here is our nomination for the most dangerous bike trail / street crossing in Marion County…

Indy’s Most Dangerous Bike Trail Intersections: Number Two

After the death of a well-known local cyclist near the Monon Trail crossing at 86th Street (October, 2021), local cyclists could be seen calling for changes to make cycling in the Circle City safer. As far as we know, the sole change in response to their petition was for traffic engineers reprogram the pedestrian crossing lights at that intersection, which now allows trail users a 10-second window when none of the travel lanes for motor vehicles has a green light. Now, if engineers could just reprogram the drivers who routinely ignore the “no turn on red” signs…

Although decidedly dangerous, in our opinion the intersection where the man perished isn't the most dangerous bike crossing in Indy, not even the most dangerous intersection of a trail and a street. Without further ado, here is another in our nominations for the bottom six street crossings in Marion County…

Westfield Installs Signal at Monon/161st Crossing

HAWK crossing signal for drivers

Although the city of Westfield announced plans some years ago to build a tunnel for the Monon Trail under 161st Street similar to the one under 116th Street, those plans are still in the future. While they await funding for a multi-million dollar tunnel, the city has placed a HAWK pushbutton signal at the crossing; similar to that on the Midland Trace trail at Hazel Dell Road. Trail users now have a large pushbutton mounted on the right-hand side of the trail for both approaches and a pedestrian crossing signal just like a normal street corner.

Work Continues on Fall Creek Greenway Trail

Updated June 29 (see below):

Trail users on the northeast side of town have long bemoaned the condition of the paved trail in the Fall Creek Greenway, which is supposed to (eventually) stretch from near downtown all the way to Geist Reservoir. At present, the trail starts somewhere around Fall Creek and Illinois and continues to the west entrance of Fort Harrison State Park in Lawrence Township, some ten miles interrupted by a death-trap crossing at 38th Street.

Letting it Out On the Monon

You know those “Let it Out” comments in the Indianapolis Star? Sure you do – it’s where locals submit comments too short for a letter to the editor. There are quips, jokes, and lots of bumper-sticker ideas for solving difficult problems… oh, yeah, and a lot of political statements made by people so clueless you wonder why they're allowed to vote. But enough about that: last week, someone wrote in about the “mean” cyclists on the Monon Trail. The complaints? Not warning pedestrians as you pass them and using a strobe light. “The trail ain’t a disco,” was the complaint.

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."

What Cyclists Wish Drivers Knew #5: We actually do obey traffic laws.

I haven't always lived in Indy; in fact I've spent less than half my life in Indiana even though I moved away when I was well into my twenties. I recently moved back to town after "serving a seven-year sentence" in Houston, Texas. If there's one urban legend that permeates the driving community in Houston (where, in an average year, a dozen cyclists die on the roads, most in hit-and-runs), it's that "95% of cyclists run every stop sign and red light."

Well, I must be one of the 5%, then: I'm nowhere near stupid enough to run a red light in Indy, much less in Houston! As for stop signs, well, I'll admit to "Idaho stops" when there are no moving vehicles approaching from any direction. Over the past ten or so years (more than 20K miles on the bikes, I have never had a near miss because I ran a stop sign or stop light. I've had a couple of very close calls when drivers ran stop signs, though.

Road Bike Essentials, Part 1: Comfort and Safety

So you just bought a new road bike? Well, congratulations! Now that you’ve brought that new toy home from the store, you probably think you're ready to ride. Whether you plan to ride out in the country, on neighborhood streets or on the city trails; the addition of some accessories will make your ride safer and more comfortable. So you might want to head back to the store: here are five (or so) items that are guaranteed to enhance.

Always Ride with a Helmet

I've been heard to say that cyclists can show their brains one way or another, by wearing a helmet or not. Helmets are the number one item of safety equipment for anyone on a bike. Don't be fooled, though: the number one safety rule is to ride smart.

A road helmet is lightweight and has plentiful openings that allow flow-through ventilation. A helmet with a visor isn’t suitable for road cycling, because the visor may block a rider's vision when bent over the handlebars. Because of that, some helmets have a removable visor. Either way, choose a helmet that fits well and is comfortable, one that can be adjusted so it fits over a headband in summer and a heavier skullcap when the weather turns cool.

Hydration: It’s Essential

Combine an inexpensive water bottle cage that mounts on the bike frame with a plastic water bottle, and you'll be set for short rides. For a longer ride, you may want to invest in a hydration pack such as the one shown here, manufactured by CamelBak.

Purists like to scoff at any rider wearing a hydration pack, but more often than not those same purists end up scrounging for water at convenience store prices. Hydration packs carry not only several liters of water from home (plus ice, if you like), but they also provide additional pockets for carrying cell phones, identification, cash, tools, tubes, patch kits and the like. Models designed for cyclist use like the CamelBak Lobo (right) and CamelBak M.U.L.E. are form-fitting and lie close to the back, which cuts down on wind resistance.

Gloves Provide Comfort and Protection

When you're in the proper riding position, up to one third of your weight is resting on your hands; so doesn't it make sense to put some padding between you and your handlebars?

A pair of well-fit cycling gloves is padded at several pressure points around the palm of the hand and on fingers and thumbs. The padding should let you shift your hands around in several positions on the handlebars and shifter hoods and still stay padded. Modern gloves use gel for shock absorption, which helps prevent keep your hands from falling asleep mid-ride. Road gloves for warm-weather use leave the fingertips exposed. Full-finger gloves are more common for mountain biking and/or cool weather. Good gloves come with an absorbent patch on the thumb so you can wipe sweat from your brow while riding.

The Long and Shorts of It

You may be of the opinion that those Spandex® shorts look silly, but your butt – not to mention neighboring bits – will be thankful when you wear padded bike shorts on longer rides. Tight-fitting, sleek bike shorts don’t just pad your hiney, they reduce wind resistance and the form-fitting cut reinforces quads and hamstrings on extended rides. Bike shorts come in men's and women's styles, and are intended to fit tightly -- very tightly. For your first pair, you'd be wise to visit a good local bike store to find some that fit properly and are comfortable. They're expensive, but they're worth it and they also last more than one riding season, so you can amortize the purchase over several years.

Don't wimp out and buy a pair of baggy shorts like mountain bikers: these will flap in the wind, and other road bikers will point and laugh…

Light it Up

Day or night, flashing lights will alert oncoming motorists that a cyclist is ahead (assuming the driver isn't answering an email). Battery-operated lights typically feature blinking strobes front or back and flashing red lights on the rear for daytime use, and can be changed to a steady white headlight and steady red or combination of flashing and steady tail lights at night. Many are available with rechargeable batteries and a USB charging cable. The cost of lights is a small investment to cover your rear.

copyright © 2016-2018 scmrak

Next time I'll visit some road-bike essentials for improving your ride and for taking care of the most common roadside emergency: a flat tire.