Trail Updates and Down-Lows

You Shall Go No Further!

There’ve been interesting developments on the local multiuse trails of late, so here’s the latest that I know about. First, the Monon Rail Trail detour around the North Split construction is no more: traffic has resumed following the original pathway beneath I-65 to 10th Street, where you can connect with the easternmost leg of the Cultural Trail. In theory, you can connect with the Pogue’s Run trail too, though when I last went through, the sidewalk was mostly blocked by construction signs between the Monon and Dorman Street. The loop that runs alongside College is closed, though you can go west from the main trail.

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 DPW to Block Motorists from Monon Trail

Preparing for new bollards at East 49th Street

In apparent response to media coverage (on WTHR television and in the Indianapolis Star) about motorists driving on local multiuse trails, Indy’s Department of Public Works has taken action. Beginning on March 22, 2023, DPW has begun the installation of bollards to block vehicular traffic on certain segments of the Monon Trail; as well as some portions of the Pennsy Trail. Similar traffic-calming devices have long been in place on trails in Hamilton County, especially the highly popular Monon Trail.

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…