ATTN: CITY OF INDPLS

People still ride their bikes and walk in the winter!

Sure, it's not a lot of people, but they are still citizens who want to use the infrastructure that the city has provided for them.

The Monon Trail has been unusable for days, the bike lanes are invisible with tar from crack sealing, and our sidewalks are covered in snow from plow overflow. Cyclists and pedestrians are at serious risk because somehow motorists find it deep within themselves to drive more like assholes when the weather is at its worst. They seem to become more impatient and care less about their fellow citizens.

While I can't lay the blame all on DPW or Mayor Ballard, it's tough not to call out this so called "Snow Force." Homeowners and businesses are at fault as well, but they get away with not clearing their sidewalks because you won't enforce the existing policy that would fine them.

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. Section 431-106 (Clearing Snow And Ice From Sidewalks) of the Revised Code of the Consolidated City and County addresses this issue, stating that it is the property owner's responsibility for clearing snow and ice from the sidewalk.

This section does provide time parameters for snow removal; however, it does not address the various types of sidewalks, clear expectations for the clearing of sidewalks, and anticipates there will be times where it will not be practical or reasonable to clean the sidewalks. For example, a property owner may have cleaned a sidewalk, only to have it covered later by snow from a street snowplow. Since the property owner had previously cleared the sidewalk, the ordinance clearly states that the property owner would be in compliance with the ordinance.

Luckily for you, most will forget about this in a few days when all the snow melts away and we are back to "normal," but I won't. I won't forget seeing the countless pedestrians walking in the street and the two Indianapolis pedestrians who lost their lives due to the inclement weather or the cars buzzing me because I was taking up one of the two tire tracks in middle of the street due to street not being plowed.

On your mark, get set...rain!

My girlfriend Cheryl and I as well as 500+ citizens of Indianapolis ventured out on a dreary Saturday to take a ride with Mayor Ballard and his team of tactical bike cops! It wasn't the best day for a ride, but this being such a unique event for the city there wasn't a chance that we would miss this.

As soon as the PA announcer signaled the start of the ride it obviously started to rain. There wasn't a mass exodus nor did Mayor Ballard bail to get into the comfort of his SUV escort. We rode on... for 10 miles into the steadily increasing rain. It wasn't miserable.. hell, I think the rain lifted the spirits of some the cyclists. (maybe it was just me) it was also pretty entertaining to see Mayor Ballard with mudbutt all the way up to his neck. (In all seriousness, Mayor Ballard, MASSIVE respect for sticking this one out.)

The near East Side of Indianapolis was definitely entertained by the cyclists as well. People were on their porches and sidewalks cheering, mocking and generally in awe of the amount of cyclist that had taken over their streets... On the other hand, I don't think the motorist were very happy about the situation. This ride had basically taken shape into a city/corporate sponsored Critical Mass. There were police escorts at every intersection ensuring that cyclists got through and blocked traffic quite a bit on North/South corridors. Michigan & New York Streets were almost completely Bike Avenue for a few hours that day!

In congruence with Indiana Weather Laws, as soon as we rolled back up to the Veteran's Memorial Plaza to conclude the ride the rain stopped and the clouds even let the sun peak through. We weathered the storm and the bicycle gods were smiling on us.. you know, if you're glass half full type.

Official Indy.Gov Recap

Construction kick-off for Northeast Corridor

Indianapolis Cultural Trail to host construction kick-off for Northeast Corridor

April 8, 2009 -- The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick will host a construction kick-off event to celebrate the Northeast Corridor, part of which will be renamed the "Efroymson Fund Corridor" when construction is complete.

At the event, Mayor Greg Ballard and Cultural Trail officials will announce recent significant gifts to the project, as well as three public art projects on the Northeast Corridor.

What: Northeast Corridor celebration; donations and public art announcements

When: Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 1:30 p.m.

Where: Alley on Mass Ave behind Chatham Tap and Scholar's Inn Restaurant

This is the second of seven construction phases or corridors for the Cultural Trail. The first half-mile East Corridor was completed in June 2008. The contract to construct the one-mile Northeast Corridor was awarded to Sunesis Construction Company in October 2008 for $6.1 million. Construction recently began, restricting traffic in the following areas:

--- New Jersey Street between Walnut and North streets is one-way northbound. Parking is still available in the east curb lane.

--- Walnut Street from New Jersey Street to Park Avenue is one-way eastbound with parking on the south curb lane.

WTHR: Mayor Ballard shares vision for city bike lanes

Marion County - Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said he wants to see all parts of the city eventually connected by bike lanes. He said he wants to see cycling to work and elsewhere become "more mainstream."

The mayor shared comments during a news conference Friday morning at Michigan and Meridian in front of downtown's first continuous bike lane.

This week the city finished striping new lanes along Michigan and New York Streets. The lanes each run five and a half miles.

"More bicycle traffic on Indy streets means healthier people, cleaner air and less congestion," Ballard said.

Full Article

Register for the Mayor's Bike Ride

Bike Fright Recap

Fake blood
You scare me like the real thing
And if you were the real thing
You'd scare me more

So pour it on
Like it's the real thing
Fake blood
You rock me like the real thing, yeah

The Future is Now

It's been almost 6 months since the bike lane announcement and today is the day I can finally stop wondering when they hell the are going put the paint on the pavement. Bike lanes have been painted on Michigan St. on the east side of Indianapolis between Emerson Ave & Davidson St., and they will continue through downtown/IUPUI campus to White River Parkway.

In the slideshow, you can see I've snapped a few shots of the preparation work and the final product. Well maybe not final.. Hopefully there will be some street painted bike symbols as well.

There are still some kinks to work out near State St. with some No Parking/former travel lanes. As I rode in the lane on my way to lunch, I had a truck in front of me driving directly on top of the bike lane. I'm just glad the truck was in front of me.

I will be adding more pictures to the slideshow this evening, and for more information be sure to check out our previous bike lane post.

A Healthy Mix

To anyone who has ridden in Indianapolis before NAHBS rolled into town, it's obvious that thousands of people who love bikes have converged on the city. They are everywhere, small packs of cyclists passing through the Indy traffic. And, they are from everywhere.

Indianapolis has long been known as the crossroads of the United States, and if evidence is needed, a cross-section of this year's NAHBS attendees should do the trick. Cyclists have come in from cities all across the United States, even all across the globe. There are people in town from Lansing, Nashville, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, San Francisco, and the list stretches beyond to Toronto, Vancouver, and even Tokyo.

"It was a simple drive," says one show-goer. "Indy is simple to access by car, and those who would have flown to Portland have still flown to Indy."

With two-thirds of the United States within one day's drive, attendance has been record-setting, and positively eclectic. There are cyclists from across the spectrums, from urban single-speeders to pannier-laden commuters to carbon-gazing roadies. And Indy has presented something for all of them, whether the shenanigans of the ArtBike! party, or the simple nightlife and restaurants of downtown. NAHBS this year has truly been all things to all people, and Indy hasn't just simply welcomed NAHBS, but facilitated it to the point of embracing it.

(This was written for the NAHBS blog. Check it out for updates throughout the rest of the show.)

Bike Lanes in Indy

It's a completely foreign concept to most citizens of Indianapolis. However riding your bicycle in the street is completely legal, and in some cities they actually designate lanes for bicycles. It seems to be catching on here in Indy, and I suppose it better late than never.

On October 15, 2008 Mayor Ballard announced to the citizens of Indianapolis that bike lanes would be installed on New York St. and Michigan St. within 6 weeks. It's now February 16th and the work has been slow and seemingly non-existent.

The DPW has actually already pre-marked the bike lanes with spray paint, and there are several bike lane signs on both Michigan and New York, but no actual painted lines yet. However, I did discover bike lanes painted on Pleasant Run Parkway in Ellenberger Park. They seem to be fairly new and part of this first phase.

Excerpted this from a Indianapolis development message board:
Friday, May 15th is Bike to Work Day and Saturday the 16th is going to be the "Mayor's Bike Ride" - a special event that will be welcoming people to use the bike lanes on Michigan and New York Streets. It will be starting at Ellenberger Park and people can ride the route on Michigan into downtown, through the IUPUI campus and then back on New York to the East Side. People can ride the route any time between noon and 2:00 on that day.

It seems like the lanes will be completed before May 15th.. but probably not before the North American Handmade Bicycle Show makes it way to town (Feb 27 - Mar 1st.) With thousands of cyclists migrating to Indianapolis for the weekend, it would have been nice to have some lanes finished.

I will be updating the progress of the lanes as I ride Michigan St. and New York St. daily; my office is located on Michigan St. I have a feeling one day soon, I'll ride to work without bike lanes and leave riding between freshly painted lines.