Indiana State
Trails, Greenways and Bikeways Plan
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the
Indiana Department of Transportation are preparing a plan to guide development and
expansion of a statewide system of trails for recreation and transportation throughout
Indiana. Indiana’s goal is to provide an easily accessible trail opportunity within
7.5 miles of all Indiana residents by 2016. Details on the evolving State plan are
available here: Indiana State
Trails, Greenways and Bikeways Plan
Madison Area Bicycle Club, applauds the INDOT and Indiana DNR and other contributors
for their efforts to develop the Indiana State Trails, Greenways and Bikeways Plan.
We appreciate the thought, planning and effort that has brought the project this far
along and are grateful for the opportunity to provide public input on a project that
will bring so much benefit to the citizens of Indiana and those who visit our state.
We appreciate that the scope of this project is broader than just to provide a place
for bicyclists to ride, but outlined below, are our main thoughts for
the part of the project that deals with bicycling in Indiana.
We believe that the State of Indiana already offers tremendous scope for bicycles.
Some have said that we already have 90-95,000 miles of bikeways in Indiana: they are
called roads! We feel the most important step is to make Indiana’s roadways safe for,
and inclusive of, bicycle traffic. This is particularly important since, under Indiana
Code, Article 21, cyclists
on the roadway have all the rights and duties that are
applicable to a person who drives a vehicle, except for some special provisions
relating specifically to bicycle operation. We believe it is important to
encourage the public to
share the roadways and to help both motorists and cyclists become
knowledgeable and observant of the traffic rules for both types of vehicles.
We hope there will be funding for public service advertising to support this.
Public educational messages will have a better chance of acceptance by motorists
and cyclists where a good system of bikeways and lanes exists.
The following are some initiatives we support to create dedicated bicycle lanes
in Indiana’s roadways:
- support services to ensure lanes are free of glass and debris, and to
ensure that lanes remain structurally sound and free from hazards, such as
holes and “rumble strips” used at road edges to warn drivers who drift to
the edge of the lane.
- construction of lanes on both sides of the roadway, which flow in
the same direction as car traffic.
- continuity of lanes—elimination of sudden lapses in the course of
a lane, which force cyclists into traffic, and later resume the bike lane
where its presence is convenient.
- 3-4 feet of additional lane width for more heavily trafficked routes
and routes with higher speed limits; we recognize that this can add 25-30%
to lane costs.
- designation with prominent signage where bikes ride as part of
normal-width traffic lanes on lightly traveled roads.
A good example of dual-function routes on normal-width traffic lanes is
the old Hoosier Hills route, originally developed by the Indiana DNR as
the Hoosier Bikeway System. This route connected Indiana’s State Parks
for the recreational rider, but also provided superb routes from town to
town within the county or the general area. This route had road signs
and directional indicators on the road pavement and utilized low-volume
rural roads and streets. It was utilized by Joe and Barbara Anderson of
Bloomington, Indiana, for their summer bike tour TRIRI (The Ride in Rural Indiana). However, the Hoosier Hills
route has fallen into disuse, the pavement markers
have been paved over in many places and the signs are gone.
Bringing this network back to life would be an outstanding boost
to dual-function cycling lanes.
The subject of dedicated off-road bike lanes, such as rail corridors,
has many positive factors going for it, but currently, these trails
cannot be as comprehensive as the basic roadways of Indiana , which
reach into all communities. Cyclists are naturally concerned that
dedicated bicycle trails may cause the perception or expectation by
the motoring public that cyclists should ride only on the dedicated
trail and not on the roadways. Nonetheless, these corridors can serve
a great purpose for commuters, for family rides with children, for
fitness riders, and in the case of longer distance corridors
(such as the Katy Trail in Missouri) as a great venue for cycle touring.
Crowding is a problem on many corridors, too, and we hope there will
be traffic volume studies before deciding the appropriate width and
structure of such trails.
In the corridors described above, a major concern is the “multi-use”
trail, if the trail is not wide enough to accommodate various types
of users and does not clearly designate which type of use is permitted
in which lane of the trail. As cyclists, we have found ourselves
contending with walkers who sometimes string themselves across the
trail so they can walk abreast and talk. We’ve seen kids who dart
into a bike’s path after making a temporary escape from holding a
parent’s hand. We’ve observed dog owners with pets on long leashes
that make a considerable hazard for a bicycle even at low speed.
The other trail users probably have noted a few faults among the
cyclists, too! If a trail is to be truly and safely “multi-use”,
it must separate vehicle (bicycle) traffic from foot traffic to
avoid the risks of vehicle/pedestrian accidents.
The success of these dedicated off-road bikeways, however, is overwhelming
in many of the places where they have been constructed and we warmly welcome
future thoughtful constructions, especially in disused rail corridors that
could provide long distance fitness riding opportunities and serve to connect
communities in rural areas.
Other areas of the USA and the rest of the world accommodate bicycles readily
on roadways. Some examples include:
- Holland’s world-famous bike lanes that are part of every road
system throughout the entire country.
- Germany’s construction of bike lanes and requirements that all
new bridge and roadway construction include accommodation for non-motorized traffic.
- California’s bicycle lanes on highways. Wherever a solid white
line exists along the right side of the road, the road-space to the
right is the bike lane. Bikes are required to ride here and motorists
are expected to respect this accommodation.
- Columbus, IN with its outstanding local People Trail network of
bike lanes that stretches all over this medium-size city, parallels
Highway 46E into town, and even goes under the I-65 corridor on the
city’s west side.
In summary, we envision the Indiana State Trails, Greenways and Bikeways
Plan fostering a statewide system with connectivity between all the various
types of accommodation made for bicycle and other trail traffic. When such
a system exists and is adequately supported, it may not be necessary to
create a specific network of roads to link the scattered group of lanes
and trails we currently have. With a statewide system in place, many
local communities will see the benefits, feel the encouragement
of their citizens, and respond with community initiatives such as those that could
be funded with assistance from Local Transportation Enhancement Grants.
Again, the example of Columbus, IN springs to mind.
Anyone can observe the Monon Trail in Indianapolis on a Saturday afternoon,
and note how crowded it seems, and not just with bicyclists. The same
observer could then glance at Westfield Boulevard, running along the
Trail as it comes out of Broad Ripple, and note that no one is biking
on that roadway, even though it is beautiful, well paved and shady.
Borrowing a familiar phrase from the movies, “If you build it, they will come.”
We believe that this will hold true—and “they will come”—if INDOT
and the DNR can work with the public to create bike lanes that integrate
with existing roadways, more off-road cycle corridors, and a system for safe
shared use on the low volume rural roads.
Tom Pritchard, President
Byron Nagel, Vice-President