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I know we keep talking about it but this is a really important issue that affects all of us. As you will read from Eric Holt, Indy Pedestrian Safety Crisis, the numbers aren’t good and we need to make big changes to turn these numbers around. Please help us make Indianapolis safer by supporting Vision Zero. Read on to hear how you can help make sure this proposal passes! |
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TRACKING PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLIST SAFETY ISSUES IN INDY
I launched Indy Pedestrian Safety Crisis in May 2022 as a way to document the ongoing pedestrian and bicyclist safety issues we were seeing in Indianapolis. The project’s goal was simple: Bring attention to an issue that was not being acknowledged or addressed by city leaders. IndyPedCrisis does this by tracking crashes involving people walking, biking, rolling, or otherwise navigating our streets outside of a vehicle. These incidents are reported in real-time and posted to our website as well as on social media. On our website you can find statistics and trends with various charts and graphs, as well as a number of different maps to visualize the tracked incidents. |
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Unfortunately, the data we’ve tracked doesn’t lie: Indianapolis is in the midst of a worsening pedestrian and bicyclist safety crisis. So far this year we have received 441 incident reports — including 23 fatalities. This breaks down to 385 pedestrian incidents (including 21 fatalities) and 56 bicyclist incidents (including 2 fatalities). We’ve now seen 12 straight months of year-over-year increases in reported incidents. Year-to-date, we have tracked 114 more incidents than we had as of this time last year — and are currently averaging greater than 2 people struck per day.
While these numbers are indeed terrible, we know this a solvable problem. Other cities that have put serious effort into street safety have seen a decrease in both incidents and fatalities. We know what works — we just have to commit to the effort and fund these projects. The good news is that Indianapolis is on its way to creating a Vision Zero Task Force which would start us down that path. I would encourage everyone reading to contact their City-County Councilor as well as the Mayor’s Office and ask that they support not only long-term policy frameworks such as the aforementioned Vision Zero, but also funding in the 2025 city budget for short-term rapid-response traffic calming efforts that can be implemented quickly while those long-term efforts get off the ground.
Eric Holt, Indy Pedestrian Safety Crisiswww.indypedcrisis.info |
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OPPORTUNITIES TO RIDE: - Aug. 3: Le Tour de Pork, Corydon
- Aug. 3: Strassenfest Bike Ride, Jasper
- Aug. 4: Strides Against Suicide & Overdose, Valparaiso
- Aug. 9: Bike Party, Indy
- Aug. 10: !5th Annual Reid Ride, Richmond
- Aug. 10-11: 2024 Subaru CASA Cycling Challenge, Lafayette
- Aug. 14: A Promenade of Murals, Ride 2 of the Indy Parks Ride Series
- Aug. 15: Active Transportation Meetup
- Aug. 17: NRHT 2024 Bike Rides (Indy-Hancock Co.)
- Aug. 17: Hometown Nite Ride, Crown Point
- Aug 17: Damien Center One Home Ride
- Aug 17: Sizzling Century, Kokomo
- Aug 24: Hancock Flat 50, Greenfield
- Aug 24: Wabash River Ride, West Lafayette
- Aug 25: Tour de La Porte, La Porte
- Aug 31: Marshall Cty. Blueberry Festival Bicycle Cruise, Plymouth
Community and Group Weekly Rides |
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Check out July's Lunch and Learn on Bike Maintenance! |
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OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE:
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Know of an event that isn’t listed? Tell us about it or send a calendar invite with the details to: |
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The City's Vision Zero Proposal passed out of committee with a vote of 10-2! It will now go to full City Council on Monday, August 12th at 7pm in the Public Assembly Room of the City Council Building. There are several ways you can help:- Contact your own City-County Councilor and ask them to support Proposal 224.
- Contact the Mayor’s Office and ask Mayor Hogsett and his leadership team to support full implementation of Proposal 224 and to dedicate significant budgetary resources to traffic safety.
- Suggest a story or send a letter to the editor, sharing your reasons for supporting the Vision Zero ordinance, to various local media publications: Indy Star, Mirror Indy, Recorder, Indianapolis Business Journal.
A proposed bike lane (primarily cycle track) project on Washington Boulevard from 29th to 40th street has met resistance from the Historic Meridian Park Neighborhood Association for the potential loss of parking spaces on a two-block stretch. - If you live, work, or travel through the area impacted by this project, please write your councillor in support, respond to Meridian Park's survey, and/or express your support at your local neighborhood association meeting.
Questions? Please feel free to contact our Advocacy Committee Chair, Chris Holcomb at chris@bikeindianapolis.org
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Almost 200 bikes parked at Indy Crit! It was fun day at the IU Health Momentum Indy Crit on Sat. July 13. We provided Valet Bike Parking for this and you all showed up. We loved how you took advantage of this service by riding to the event. We were happy to watch your bike while you enjoyed the festivities. Thanks to all our volunteers who spent their Saturday in the hot weather helping us offer this service. |
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Hot coffee and good food at our July Transportation Meetup! We had a small but mighty group at our July Active Transportation Meetup at The Coffee Haus at Guggman. Lots to discuss with the Vision Zero proposal on the table. If you missed it, you have one more chance to join us on Aug. 15 at The Avenue Coffeehouse. Bike Indianapolis will be offering free coffee and a breakfast sandwich for all participants and we will check out the nearby Central Canal Towpath at 9 am. |
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Explore the Trails on your Bike A 3-ride series in collaboration with Indy Parks |
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We had a great start to our ride series on Wed. July 17. Our first ride took us along the Central Canal Towpath to a loop in Newfield's 100 Acre Woods. Thank you to our volunteer Ride Marshals for keeping us safe and the ride fun and to all who participated. If you missed it, join us for our next one at Riverside Park on Aug. 14th. Registration details below. |
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Indy Parks & Recreation and Bike Indianapolis invite you to the “Explore the Trails on your Bike” ride series this summer. Each event will feature a different trail. Bring your own bike and helmet or use a Pacers Bike Share bike. Just select Pacers Bike Share bike during registration to indicate that you need a bike. A Pacers Bike Share representative will be there to explain how their program works including how to check a bike out and return it. Bike Indianapolis will be providing general bike safety tips and then lead a short social ride along the neighboring trail. Limited spaces available so please register early! Event is open to ages 8 and up. Pacers Bike share bikes available to those 14 years and up. Helmets are required and available on request. Registration is required to participate. |
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Our friends at CIBA (Central Indiana Biking Association) are staffing bike parking at the Indiana State Fair. Interested in helping out? Lots of volunteer shifts available. |
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Please Support Bike Indianapolis |
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It's never too late to become a Bike Indianapolis Member. Your support allows us to provide much needed bike safety education, support our advocacy work and allows us to provide more opportunities to ride. |
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Please support our efforts to make more bike riders in Indianapolis by becoming a member or making a donation.
We can't make an impact without your financial support! |
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Keep hearing about Vision Zero? Here are some resources to help you understand what this is and how it will help Indianapolis keep all of our citizens safer. Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all.
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Vision Zero is a significant departure from the status quo in two major ways:- It recognizes that people will sometimes make mistakes so the road system and related policies should be designed to ensure those inevitable mistakes do not lead to severe injury or fatalities. This means that system designers and policymakers are expected to improve the roadway environment, policies (such as speed management), and other related systems to lessen the severity of crashes.
- It is a multidisciplinary approach bringing together diverse and necessary stakeholders to address this complex problem.
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Taking the Lead for Safe Streets
Reaching zero deaths requires the implementation of a Safe System approach, which was founded on the principles that humans make mistakes and that human bodies have limited ability to tolerate crash impacts. |
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In a Safe System, those mistakes should never lead to death. Applying the Safe System approach involves anticipating human mistakes by designing and managing road infrastructure to keep the risk of a mistake low; and when a mistake leads to a crash, the impact on the human body doesn’t result in a fatality or serious injury. Road design and management should encourage safe speeds and manipulate appropriate crash angles to reduce injury severity. Our very own Chris Holcomb, Bike Indianapolis Advocacy Committee Chair, explains how important the adoption of the Vision Zero proposal is for our city. Check it out here.
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Vision Zero Proposal: A Vision Zero ordinance is in process for the City of Indianapolis. The proposal (224, 2024). This proposal establishes the commitment of the City and County to eliminate traffic injuries and fatalities; establishes a Vision Zero Task Force; and commits to developing, adopting, and implementing a Vision Zero Action Plan. Review the full details of the proposal here. If helpful, you can learn more about this topic through Vision Zero Network and Federal Highway Administration resources. Opinion Piece by State Sen. Andrea Hunley: Vision Zero Needs Momentum: Indianapolis needs to prove it can make streets safer.CBS Sunday Morning: More than 7,500 pedestrians were killed by a vehicle in 2022, the highest number in 40 years. But experts say, more than the design of vehicles, the design of the roads themselves is to blame for the alarming rise in pedestrian fatalities. City County Councillor John Barth shares what types of infrastructure changes can help address this issue. https://cbsn.ws/3PQnsAwenue
Indianapolis highlighted in Go 'Here Not There': Travel author breaks down 5 unexpected places worth visiting. City of Indpls to extend Eagle Creek Trail: The Department of Public Works is extending the Eagle Creek Trail by 4.7 miles. The trail expansion will also connect Vandalia, B&O and P&E trails offering more connectivity.
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We have included the most recent trail updates here but make sure to check out our comprehensive "Trail Report" section on our website for all the latest trail construction and maintenance conditions. This list will be updated monthly so check back often!
INDIANAPOLIS:
Completed:
In Construction:
- Michigan and New York two-way Conversion: Project broke ground at the start of the year and is still ongoing. CEG has partnered with the city to add in lead service line replacements along the project zone. Project has seen a delay to mid-2025.
- 22nd Street Cycle track: Phase still under construction. Due to some delays, project extended with a new substantial completion date of August 30, 2024
- Eagle Creek Greenway - Phase B1: New terrain greenway from the intersection of Dandy Trail & Oceanline Drive to US 136 (Crawfordsville Rd). Bid has been accepted for the project and has formally moved into construction.
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CARMEL: - Monon Greenway Expansion: In Construction. Work on Phase 3 will be substantially complete in 2025. A detour near City Hall will go in effect on or after July 29 and will be in place until the end of 2025.
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FISHERS:
- Heritage Park Bridge: The bridge is expected to be complete in August 2025.
HANCOCK COUNTY: - Pennsy Trail: Cleared from the parking area at County Road 400 W till approximately County Road 350 W. The trail is currently a mix of mulch and stone. Sections between 600W and 300W have been funded in coordination with DNR grants, Pennsy Trails funds from donors, and Hancock County government.
HENDRICKS COUNTY:
- B & O Trail: Bids were received on the Marion county section of the B&O Trail in late June. They are being evaluating and plans are to award a bid by late September. Looking for Construction to begin this fall and will be completed by summer of 2025.
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HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT BIKE INDIANAPOLIS?
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There are lots of ways to support Bike Indianapolis and its mission to create more bike riders in central Indiana by making riding safe and fun for everyone.
You can:
Looking for a gift for your bicycle loving friend or family member? A Bike Indianapolis Membership or donation is always a great choice!
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Not a Subscriber? Sign Up Now! |
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Copyright @ 2024 Bike Indianapolis // all rights reserved
P.O. Box 44202, Indianapolis, IN, 46204, United States of America
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