It’s time for the weekly Bike News Roundup! As always, this is an open thread.
First up, here’s video of a bike facility in Indianapolis that will make your jaw drop. Also, the effort was heavily supported by the city’s Republican mayor. Change is coming to the United States…
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The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: The Next-Gen in U.S. Protected Bike Lanes from Streetfilms on Vimeo.
Pacific Northwest News
- SDOT Blog » The 2013 Walk Bike Ride Challenge Partners with Luum – Challenge is going now.
- Roy or Prospect still viable for streetcar’s last stop on Capitol Hill | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle
- BikePortland.org » Crater Lake’s Rim Drive will be carfree for first time this weekend only – So awesome. Wish I could go!
- BikePortland.org » Editorial: So much carnage on our streets, yet so little response
- The Seattle Times: Pacific Northwest Magazine – Interesting 2003 story comparing PDX, Seattle and Vancouver. How are we doing ten years later?
- West Seattle Blog… » Followup: City Council proposes full funding for long-sought 47th/Admiral traffic signal
- New trolley buses coming by 2015, City boosts county’s service on nine key Seattle lines | CHS Capitol Hill Seattle – Hooray for not-smelly trolley buses!
- Monday Jolt: Council Scuttles McGinn’s Proposed Ship Canal Bridge Study | Seattle Met – Road safety money stays, some funds move to West Seattle projects.
- Bellevue CEO placed on probation for ramming juvenile with SUV | Seattle Times – Probation…
- Group wants Tacoma women to ride bicycles | Outdoors – The News Tribune
Halftime show! And this is a long one. Here’s John Pucher’s entire two-hour talk from Tuesday evening, via Seattle Neighborhood Greenways:
National & Global News
- A view from the cycle path: Health, Wealth and Happiness. The benefits of cycling last through your life – Interesting look at what a bike-friendly suburb could be like
- Feds Investigating Alta Bicycle Share Over DC Pay Dispute – WNYC
- Citi Bike Fail Rate Drops Sharply – WNYC – Good sign.
- Cars and trucks don’t kill pedestrians and cyclists; people kill pedestrians and cyclists. : TreeHugger
- After Hollywood outcry, Spring Street bike lanes lose some paint – latimes.com – Might be the worst reason to remove a bike safety facility ever.
- Bicycling: The SAFEST Form of Transportation | Mr. Money Mustache – Because I usually get my transportation advice from Mr. Money Mustache… (he lost me about 1/4 of the way through his math)
- Foldable Bike Helmets: Will They Ever Get Off the Ground? – John Metcalfe – The Atlantic Cities
- China warns it will execute serious polluters | Grist – Execute!
Comments
12 responses to “Bike News Roundup: Get ready to be jealous of bike infrastructure in … Indianapolis?”
This story of indianapolis bike infrastructure being circulated this week keeps championing the Republican mayor of the city as though being Republican and the opinions of those who are is something to be championed, as though Our Lowly Opinion Is Finally Being Recognized By Those Who Count!
Pathetic.
That’s not at all how I see it. I think it’s great to see a Republican politician from the Midwest who has come to the same conclusion about cycling infrastructure. I’m not interested in making cycling a two-party politics issue. If both parties see the value, then that’s a great thing for cycling in the US.
Indy resident here. Mayor Ballard is a huge cycling supporter, and attends just about every major cycling event in the city. I believe he waved the green flag at the IndyCrit event, and even leads our Polar Bear Pedal ride in the dead of winter.
He actually listens to the cycling community and admits fault when needed. Just recently, a simple edge bike lane was converted to a buffered bike lane because of listening to bike commuters about being unsafe with traffic.
I’ll be happy to field any questions about Indy’s bike infrastructure!
I think his statement of having been a Marine in Iraq speaks to his stance on the future of our oil based economy more than his party affiliation. That and the recognition that he needs to build out his bicycling facilities to attract the employers and the employees his city needs to grow and sustain itself is very pragmatic.
Indianapolis – depending on philanthropy to create infrastructure – that’s a win in contemporary civic development, I guess. It’s cute but my jaw didn’t drop. I hope we can all agree that a two-way shared with pedestrians (in places), side by side senior citizens using walkers facility will not suit a lot of two-wheel users.
To me it looks like a glorified sidewalk and transportation cyclists probably shouldn’t be on the sidewalk.
The CT was not designed as a high volume “commuter” bikeway. This is a first of it’s kind bike trail in North America. It is an absolutely stunning piece of bike infrastructure. I moved to Indy 11 years ago. Indianapolis is an extremely progressive city and nothing like what I thought it was before moving here. Honestly, I can’t think of a more progressive city than Indy is now in the US. The city has very much impressed me.
As Gary mentioned, it’s not designed to be a high-speed commuter route. This is primarily designed for people to move within the 1.5 mile square of “downtown” to shop, dine, and explore.
For those, like me, who live a bit outside of downtown but commute in, it’s usually safer to stick to the streets when entering downtown as traffic doesn’t move much faster than a road bike anyways.
I lived in Indy from 2009-2011 before transplanting here to Seattle. What’s amazing about the Indy cultural trail is that they completed this project with an absolute lack of bicycle culture/community. The produced video paints a very rosy picture, but the truth in Indy is that separated bike trails are needed because drivers have a very aggressive attitude, bordering on resentment, toward bicyclists who try to bike on roads. This is an example of infrastructure preceding a strong demand for it…which is pretty great. Indy is still far from being a bicycling mecca but it’s impressive progress nonetheless.
It’s strange to now be in Seattle, where there is a huge biking community and clear demand for more infrastructure, but progress is so slow and lacking. I like the idea of leveraging local investment from companies who have a clear vested interest in making the Seattle community more attractive to potential workers. Definitely a win-win.
Michael, you are very much correct in that Indy had virtually no cycling support from the greater population until recently. However, just in the past couple of years, cycling has exploded all over town. Bike lanes are being utilized daily, I see more and more commuters joining me on my routes, and our LBS’s are seeing business boom (and service areas get very backlogged!).
Definitely stop back sometime, and I think you’ll be very pleasantly surprised! :)
“car free streets downtown” We couldn’t even keep one block car free in front of Westlake. And while the other place should be in front of the Pike Place market except for vendors to service their stores.
Also be jealous of Memphis. Mayor Wharton committed to building 15 miles of cycle track in the next two years.
http://streetsblog.net/2013/05/23/memphis-to-add-15-miles-of-protected-bike-lanes/