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.

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.

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.

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.