Indy Adds to its Multi-use Trails

While you probably weren’t looking, the city of Indianapolis increased total multiuse trail mileage by a little under two miles with a project on the near northside connected to the city’s newest park and one build in one of the city’s oldest parks. 

Reverend C. R. Williams Park

Click for larger image

Those who’ve ridden the Monon Trail in the past couple of months – and face it: who hasn’t? – might have noticed the ribbon of asphalt that has appeared along the north side of Sutherland Avenue. This short stretch is a spur that reaches to the newly built Reverend Charles R. Williams park at 32nd and Sutherland. Honoring the civic leader and former CEO of the Indiana Black Expo, the park has an amphitheater, playground, and other recreational areas. It also has a shelter for Monon users caught in the rain. And, like all but the largest Indy parks, it has no restroom facilities.

Click for larger image

Riverside Promenade

On the west side, the city cut the ribbon in October on about 1-1/3 miles of the Riverside Promenade, which runs along the west side of East Riverside Drive from 16th Street north before curving to follow 29th Street to the White River bridge (and, presumably, the White River-Wapahani Trail). The broad asphalt strip is punctuated at intervals by patterns painted on its surface and “nodes” with rest stops and interpretive signage. Trail users can access the Burdsall Parkway bike lanes and (sometimes) facilities at the recreation center.

Capital Avenue Bike Lane

On a similar topic, DPW continues to build a buffered bike lane along Capital from Fall Creek to 18th Street. The existing “dirty bike stripe” on the west edge of the street will be decommissioned and bikes will have a protected path on the east side. It isn’t striped yet, but appears to wide enough for a bidirectional lane similar to that on Illinois south of 18th. At the same time, a bike lane from the Monon to Capital along 22nd is taking shape, but the last blocks won’t be finished any time soon due to a giant hole created by every Indy resident’s favorite traffic hazard, DigIndy. Speaking of which, the detour on the Fall Creek Greenway trail between 32nd and 34th has been closed and the trail now follows its mapped route again. One has to wonder why, in a project that cost more than two billion dollars, the city couldn’t find an extra $25K to put some restrooms in that space.

Watch this space for more updates as the gummint infrastructure cash trickles down to reshape our streets…

copyright © 2023 scmrak

Hamilton County Opens Nickel Plate Trail from 96th Street to Noblesville

Hamilton County (Indiana) multiuse trail enthusiasts got another link in their network recently as the local government opened the southernmost section of the Nickel Plate Trail through southern Fishers. Clocking in at just over eight miles, the paved trail extends northward from a spot just north of 96th Street to Noblesville. The south end awaits construction of a safe crossing of 96th Street into Indianapolis, terminating behind a 24-hour veterinary clinic. At the north end, the trail slams head-on into the construction known as the Pleasant Street Reimagination. 

Nickel Plate Trail map (north to right)

EDITED 11/15/23: The trail now extends all the way through along 8th street, skirting roundabouts at Vine and Mulberry Streets. As of 7 November, the Midland Trace was still inaccessible; although the White River Trail was open as far south as Division Street. Construction continues. 

Fall Creek Greenway Trail Gets Bit Longer

New bridge over Fall Creek

It's common for cities to place multiuse trails alongside waterways – I rode many miles along the Platte River and its tributaries when I lived in Denver twenty-five (sigh) years ago; and even bike-hostile Houston boasts trails beside White, Bray's, and and Buffalo Bayous. Indy may be far behind cities like Minneapolis and Tucson, but (thanks to federal grants) we're catching up. In the past few years, a series of Fall Creek Greenway Trail extensions had reached the point where Fall Creek Boulevard disappears into Burdsall and the Creek bends sharply south toward its confluence with White River.

Within the past weeks, our fair city quietly finished another two or so miles of the trail, extending a paved surface (protected by a concrete curb) from where Burdsall crosses the canal to the intersection of 10th and Indiana. The construction includes a spanking new bridge across the creek near 18th Street and a crossing (with pedestrian walk light) at Aqueduct and 16th Streets.

Tried the Big 4 Rail Trail Yet?

Strava knows where the trail is!

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a line on the Google Maps "biking" layer that I'd not noticed before. If you've read this blog before, though, you know the folks at Google can't be trusted when it comes to that layer; but I figured what the heck: I'd check it out. That line ran from Lebanon to Thorntown, a distance of about ten miles. Google had even given the line a label - "Farm Heritage Trail" - and told me it was a dirt trail. FWIW, Strava knows it's there (see left)...

A little research disproved most of what GoogleMaps said: first, the trail runs from Lebanon to Colfax, an additional six miles; second, the trail is paved for (almost) all of its length; and third, the name of the trail is now the Big 4 trail. And you wondered why I didn't trust what I saw on the map...

Hamilton County to Complete its Loop

Hamilton County cities Carmel and Fishers recently released plans to build a 14-foot pedestrian/bicycle bridge across White River, filling a half-mile gap in 106th Street. The planned bridge will connect Hazel (Dell) Landing on the Carmel side to Heritage Park at White River on the opposite bank, according to a spokesperson for Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation.

Planned 106th Street Bridge, Carmel-Fishers

Bids for the project are expected to open today, July 20, 2023.  In total, the bridge is expected to be some 500 feet long and connect existing trails in the two parks. On the west side, 106th Street already has a multiuse trail alongside the roadway, ending at Hazel Dell Parkway; which is mirrored by a similar trail on the Fishers side.

I'm Not a Lawyer, but...

Update: as of August 1, 2023, the pipe and bridge have been removed.

 

...I'm going to suggest that this ramp isn't ADA-compliant.

I encountered these workers installing the ramp over an 18-inch pipe laid across the Fall Creek Greenway on June 28th. The work was going on about a quarter mile north/east of 39th Street (that's the parking lot of Pro-Strip, 4020 Millersville, in the background). I'll grant that, unlike the makeshift plywood ramps cobbled together by DigIndy contractors across the trail at sites near Central and Illinois Streets in recent years, the ramp is actually... semi-safe. It's constructed of metal mesh with handrails and doesn't have overly steep approaches.

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:

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…

Work Begins on Indy's Monon Rail Trail

Typical Monon detour

Get ready, Monon users, 'cause here it comes!

If you happened to brave the mid-March weather last week and put in a few miles on the Monon Trail, you might have noticed the signs posted at several locations along the southern portion of the trail. They mentioned that the trail would be closed for construction "on or after March 28th." They aren't kidding...

Carmel to Close Monon 10 Months for Improvements

One of the busiest stretches of multiuse trail anywhere in the Indy Metro area will close for almost a year beginning on January 17, 2022. The Monon rail trail will be blocked off from Monon Green Boulevard (just south of Carter Green, site of Carmel’s Saturday morning farmer’s market and the Christkindlmarkt) to the tunnel that runs beneath City Center Drive. Local authorities say that the project, which will feature improvements including four feet of wider trail (see artist's rendering at right), will close the trail for some ten months.

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.

Temporary Monon Detour in Carmel

south to approach City Center Dr/ tunnel

In a recent press release, Carmel-Clay recreation says that, as of about April 17, 2021, the tunnel by which the Monon Trail passes under City Center Drive / 126th Street is closed for repairs and a facelift of sorts. According to their announcement, the trail will be closed through most or all of May, but re-open in time for a conference taking place in the town in early June. Work includes washing, patches, and a mural to be painted by Carmel HS band members.

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.

Fall Creek Trail Repaving Complete

re-aligned and repaved section of
Fall Creek Trail

It took a couple of months, but the re-alignment and repaving of the eastern section of the Fall Creek Trail is finally complete (well, except for about 450 feet of top coat at the western end). Yes, fellow cyclists, you can now make the six-mile trip from the walk-through gate at Fort Harrison State Park to 38th Street with exactly one street crossing at the very beginning (Boy Scout Road).

Edco Construction stripped out the narrow, lumpy pavement along the length of the trail from Fall Creek Parkway and  Kessler to the parking area at Binford before laying all-new asphalt. It's wide and smooth now, a welcome change from the pavement that was in such poor condition that cyclists took to Fall Creek Parkway (where the pavement is in no better condition, come to think of it).

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.

Good News, Bad News on Westfield Bridge

Updated: 

Some time around Memorial Day, Westfield opened the bridge to traffic. Two things to know:

• There's a road (access to restaurants?) that crosses the south approach. I'll just say that it's "inconvenient" amd leave it at that. Southbound riders be aware.
• The surface is not particularly smooth.

Artist's conception, Westfield's Monon bridge

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.

What Cyclists Wish Drivers Knew 4: We Can’t Always Ride on that Bike Path!

If often seems to me that there are only two kinds of people in this world, or at least on the internet: there are the people who ride bicycles on the streets and there are the people who detest them. Sorry, that’s kind of a generalization… but when it comes to being vocal about cyclists and cycling on the streets, the dichotomy certainly seems to fit. All you need do is look at the comment section on any story about bicycles or cyclists, and you’ll see plenty of venting from the second group. Take, for instance, a recent post in the “Let It Out” section of the Indianapolis Star, in which the anonymous writer asked, “Why is this guy riding his bicycle in the street when our taxes paid for that nice new bike path?”

You see the word “taxes” come up a lot in discussions of bicycles on streets, since so many non-cyclists are of the (mistaken) impression that gasoline taxes and vehicle registrations pay to maintain local streets: they don’t – local property taxes pay the bulk of that cost. But that’s not my point today – my point is the question, “Why aren’t you using the bike path my money built for you, Lycra-clad loser?” The answer’s pretty simple, especially in towns that – like Indianapolis – are at best only moderately bicycle-friendly: The bike paths don’t go where I need to go; the streets do.

There’s more, of course. When people drive cars – and most adult cyclists also drive – they generally take the most efficient route. That means avoiding heavy, slow-moving traffic and streets that are in such poor repair that they slow them down. They use I-74 instead of Crawfordsville Road to get from Brownsburg to Indy, for instance. Well, on a bicycle, it’s the same: it’s inefficient to try to ride the Monon Trail when it’s filled with strollers, and it’s nearly impossible to ride the Fall Creek Trail when (and after) the creek has flooded it. I’ve seen bike trails blocked by standing water, fallen trees, official trucks (lots of times), landscaping crews’ trucks, and bridge construction; to name a few reasons I found myself riding in the street. That’s assuming, of course, that there’s a trail – and that it’s continuous. Out in Hamilton County, many a trail has been built up to the limits of the subdivision, where it then simply ends. We’ve even seen bridges to nowhere on some of our rides (see photo above). Alleged bike paths that just stop in the middle of a block dump riders out onto the streets, sometimes at seriously bad locations. Oh, and for what it’s worth? Many of those bike paths are part of the subdivision’s green space, and weren’t built with taxpayer funds…

So gimme a break, please, drivers! The reason I’m in the street instead of on the bike path is  the same reason you’re on that street: it goes where I’m trying to go!

copyright © 2017 scmrak

The Indy Cyclist’s Guide: Fall Creek Trail

If the Monon Rails to Trails project is the centerpiece of the Indianapolis cycling universe, the Fall Creek Trail is its redheaded stepsister. This trail – for the most part – sees far less traffic than the Monon; probably because the latter connects two of the Circle City’s most popular hipster havens, Broad Ripple and Mass Ave. That may also be why the Fall Creek trail is often – to be polite – less well-maintained.

The trail has an “official” length of just over 13 miles (20.9 km), beginning at… well, no one knows quite where it begins, since it’s supposed to connect to the White River Greenway near 10th Street (but doesn’t). An official map shows the trail beginning at the intersection with the Monon half a mile or so south of 38th Street, though the physical trail continues south along Fall Creek until interrupted by construction near Central Avenue. On the northeast, the map shows it ending at mile 11 (actually mile 12) near Skiles Test Park, but in reality it extends to the Boy Scout Road bridge over the creek and a back entrance to Fort Harrison State Park. I’ll be talking about the section between the Monon and Fort Harrison.

Monon Trail to Binford Boulevard

The Monon Trail crosses Fall Creek and the trail on an elevated bridge. An access ramp connecting the trails can be found on the east side of the Monon near the north end of the bridge. Warning: watch for bicycles coming up the ramp! Down on the Fall Creek trail, there’s a small rest area equipped with benches. A cement post a few yards upstream marks this as Mile 6.0 on the Fall Creek Trail. From there, a paved asphalt trail extends in both directions…

…for a while: a little under half a mile up the trail, riders come to 38th Street – near northern Indy’s busiest east-west artery. The trail continues – if you can call it that – east on the sidewalk of the 38th Street bridge over Fall Creek. The broken, poorly-patched concrete sidewalk is studded with utility poles and barely wide enough for two pedestrians to pass. In short, it’s extremely dangerous – parents thinking this would be a good place for a child with training wheels will be shocked to find this on a “hike and bike trail.” Riders turn north to cross 38th at an intersection without a signal before the paved trail picks up on the other side.

The trail briefly follows Millersville Road and the (mostly abandoned) Nickel Plate rails before diving under Keystone Avenue and winding through a small, surprisingly woody area. After crossing the creek on a pedestrian bridge parallel to Binford Boulevard, the trail reaches a parking area just east of the intersection of Binford and Fall Creek Parkway North, at approximately mile 7.5 of the trail. A side trail at 39th Street gives trail users access to the east entrance of the Fairgrounds via a historic limestone bridge and a signal-controlled crossing of Binford.

Binford Boulevard to Skiles Test Park

The 2.25 miles between the parking area and the six-way intersection of Fall Creek Parkway, Emerson, and 56th Street runs between parkway and creek. It passes under 46th, Emerson, and 56th before turning east to follow the Parkway from its intersection with Kessler Boulevard at about mile 10. Watch for a steep, slick climb northbound on a wet wooden bridge under 56th street, and beware of heavy growth of poison ivy in the adjacent underbrush. The pavement in this section is often narrow and rough, with many ridges caused by tree roots. It’s also subject to flooding and mud when the weather has been rainy. Road cyclists generally ride on the Parkway, which alternates between smooth, fresh pavement and broken, potholed asphalt. From Kessler and Fall Creek the trail again runs between the parkway and the creek. This section is wide and smoothly paved, unlike the portion of the trail west of Emerson, with a better surface than the street it parallels. It's curvy and and has lots of little rolling hills. Pullouts along the Parkway about every half mile act as parking areas for the trail, with an official trailhead near mile 12.25 where there's a side trail into Skiles Test Park. Four tenths of a mile up that trail lies another parking area, and the trail continues up a steep (for Indy) hill 0.75 miles to meet 65th street east of Johnson Road.

Skiles Test Park to Boy Scout Road

The Fall Creek Trail continues, passing underneath I-465 – watch for mud beneath the southbound lanes, which never seems to be cleaned – then alongside Fall Creek Road for 0.8 miles to the current end of the trail at Boy Scout Road. The trail crosses the intersection to the sidewalk on the north side of the bridge, at the end of which a trail continues into Fort Harrison State Park. The intersection's crosswalk is clearly marked, but still unacceptably dangerous because of heavy, high-speed traffic and the need to make a sharp right-hand turn from the pavement to the narrow sidewalk. Many cyclists prefer to ride in the traffic lanes instead of attempting the crossing.

The Bottom Line

There are no amenities along the trail beyond an occasional bench at a trailhead. There are no water fountains and no public restrooms anywhere in its length. Water and restrooms are available within Fort Harrison State Park, and there are businesses at the Fall Creek / Emerson / 56th Street intersection – including a Starbucks, a CVS, and Lincoln Square Pancake House.

Unlike the Monon, the Fall Creek Trail is usually lightly traveled. On weekdays, riders may encounter only a handful of pedestrians and cyclists on their trip. Perhaps because there’s less traffic, the trail is not as well-maintained as the Monon, overhanging branches and underbrush are common (be wary of poison ivy in the mix!) and obstructions like mud and fallen trees aren’t removed with such speed. On the other hand, you almost never run into three people walking abreast pushing strollers...

copyright © 2017-2020 scmrak

Indy's Monon Trail: Love It? or Hate It...

If you live anywhere near Indianapolis you know about the city's Monon Trail, even if you haven’t ridden a bicycle in thirty years – maybe even fifty years. It’s that rails-to-trails project that follows the abandoned Monon Railroad tracks from just east of where Mass Ave meets 10th Street downtown to a current terminus in northern Hamilton County. As of this writing, it’s officially 19-plus miles long, ending near IN 32 and US 31 in Westfield. A bit more than ten miles of the Monon are in Marion County, where the trail is generally considered the jewel of Indy’s bike paths. Some local cyclists, however, say it's a rhinestone at best.

Here are some reasons to avoid the Monon

Safety: Between the south end and where the trail crosses White River north of Broad Ripple, there are at least twenty at-grade street crossings, ranging from sleepy 17th Street to six lanes of fast-moving traffic at 38th Street. That includes a bizarre three-corner crossing of Westfield and Riviera in downtown Broad Ripple. Cyclists and pedestrians are routinely struck or just missed in many of the crossings, which are marked simply by signs saying “Pedestrian Crossing” and “Monon Trail,” plus the occasional blinking yellow light. Only Kessler Boulevard and Fairfield Avenue rate bridge crossings, which use former Monon railroad bridges. Besides the ever-present danger of car-bike accidents (there are already ghost bikes at 20th and 75th), stopping for a street every two blocks plays hell with your average speed…

There's an equally frustrating set of street crossings in downtown Carmel, with three street crossings in 1/8 mile including very heavy Main Street traffic. Amenities: Although water and bathrooms are more common in Hamilton County (starting with a  nicely-appointed rest station where the trail crosses 96th Street), trail users coming from downtown will not find water along the trail until the entrance to the Deaf School at 42nd Street (3.6 miles) and won’t find a public restroom until Canterbury Park at 56th Street (5.2 miles). A few bike repair stations are scattered along the trail (e.g., at 52nd Street and the Fall Creek bridge), but the tools and pump have often been stripped or destroyed. Emergency telephone stations can be found at regular intervals south of 38th Street.

Hanging a little over the center line, Blondie?

Traffic: It goes without saying that any cyclist hoping to make good time should avoid the trail on weekends and around lunchtime. Through SoBro and Broad Ripple the trail is crowded with pedestrians, some of whom walk in groups of four or five abreast. Children and, to a lesser extent, dogs often dart into the path of unwary cyclists. You need to be especially wary around venues like Broad Ripple Ice Cream Station, where BRICS patrons have been seen wandering blindly around the path nursing their ice cream headaches.

Some people absolutely love the trail

Long open stretches can be found, if that’s your bag. Take, for instance, the wooded trail adjoining Marott Park and the Blind School north of Broad Ripple, with only a stoplight-controlled crossing at 75th Street to break up the 2¾ miles between 65th and 86th Streets. Up in Carmel, busy street crossings are made safer by bridges (Carmel and City Center Drives) or underpasses (116th, Meridian, and 146th). There's also park access along or near the trail for much of its length (Canterbury, Broad Ripple, and Quaker Parks).

Ice cream riders really have no excuse not to stop at BRICS, and restaurants can be found at almost every street crossing between 52nd and White River, with dozens easily accessible in the Broad Ripple area – though there are far fewer in the industrial sector between 10th and 38th. Speaking of industrial areas; if you like the smell of heated wood, Wooley Lumber’s kilns at 30th Street will warm the cockles of your heart. Local art abounds in the murals on trail-side buildings between 52nd and 54th, as well as lots of unusual backyard art in trail-side homes. Jordan YMCA users enjoy an easy-access entrance to the trail at about 82nd Street.

The bottom line

Overall, the trail is well cared-for – better than the city’s streets a lot of the time. It’s so well cared-for that other trails in the city suffer greatly by comparison: ride the Fall Creek Trail some time and you’ll probably find fallen limbs and low-hanging vines, even in the sections that are passable (which rules out much of the section between 56th and Keystone). After the same storm, the Monon is quickly swept of fallen twigs and leaves like a street in Singapore.

One thing that bothers me as both a cyclist and a driver… after a “young girl” was struck by a car at the 111th Street-Monon crossing, the Indianapolis Star said,

“The intersection is marked as a crosswalk with yellow flashing lights with a pedestrian-crossing sign. Once pedestrians or bicyclists stop, determine it's safe to cross and proceed into the crosswalk, they have the right of way under state law. Traffic must yield to pedestrians in crosswalks by slowing down or stopping.”

From long experience, I’m aware that many drivers are unaware of that section of the traffic code; and a frightening few are “aggressively” ignorant. Given the popularity of this trail and the dangers to its users from inattentive drivers, why Indianapolis refuses to use traffic signs such as the one shown at right at the Monon (and other at-grade crossings) remains a mystery to me.

copyright © 2017-2019 scmrak