Bike Indianapolis Calls on City Leaders to Not Abandon Plans for Pennsylvania St Protected Bike Lane

UPDATE: 11/25/24: In response to the City’s Proposed Final Update to the Pennsylvania Street corridor, Bike Indianapolis states, "We believe the final design does not improve safety for vulnerable road users on this street. The final design requires bicyclists to leave the travel lane before reaching the intersections and then merge back into the travel lane afterward. This design will be confusing to both drivers and cyclists and creates additional points of conflict in the roadway that could endanger cyclists. The final design contradicts our vision of more people riding bicycles in central Indiana and doing so safely. The original design, which included a two-way protected bike lane, would better support this vision."

If you support Bike Indianapolis’ position, please consider contacting your elected officials and let them know.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIANAPOLIS (Nov. 1, 2024) –

Bike Indianapolis is disappointed to learn of the downgrading of safety improvements along Pennsylvania Street in the Meridian Kessler neighborhood, and calls on City leaders to reconsider. Contravening the Meridian Kessler Neighborhood Plan and District 7 Councilor John Barth’s Complete Streets Ordinance, sharrows will be installed in the roadway instead of a protected bike lane on the west side of the street.

There is now ample evidence to support sharrows being a detriment to cycling safety. The NationalAssociation of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) states that sharrows “should not be considered a substitute for bike lanes, cycle tracks, or other separation treatments where these types of facilities are otherwise warranted or space permits.” Per Indianapolis Municipal Code, the City shall “use the best and latest design standards concerning complete streets principles available in its planning, programming, design and construction of transportation improvement projects.” Bike Indianapolis believes the City of Indianapolis has failed to follow its own guidelines by using outdated practices on this corridor in the interest of preserving street parking.

“This abandonment of safety improvements goes against the City’s stated goal of eliminating traffic fatalities by 2035. If Vision Zero is to be a success in Indianapolis, it will require leadership concerned more with long term improvements than short term backlash,” said Chris Holcomb, “Sharrows may seem like a politically savvy compromise, but the end result is a maintenance of the status quo of dangerous streets where tragedies are all too common. If Indianapolis wants to get more people riding and doing so safely, we must commit to a network of safe and protected infrastructure.”

“We call upon Mayor Joe Hogsett, Councilor John Barth, and DPW Director Brandon Herget to reconsider the treatment of this roadway in consideration of vulnerable road users of all ages and abilities before the project is finalized” - Chris Holcomb, Bike Indianapolis Advocacy Committee Chair.

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Contact:

Chris Holcomb, Bike Indianapolis Advocacy Committee Chair

chris@bikeindianapolis.org