Bicycling in Bloomington

 This is the third in a series about riding conditions in Bloomington. The previous posts are Riding on Bloomington Streets Part 1, Addendum to Part 1 and Part 2. Part 1 focused the on street conditions and Part 2 focuses on traffic management and their affect on bicyclist and bicycling.In Part 3, I describe the bike paths, bike routes, and bike lanes in Bloomington.

Bike Trails. Bloomington has 2 real bike paths. The major trail is the Clear Creek Trail and its partner, the Bloomington Rail Trail. The Clear Creek Trail is paved and reasonably maintained. All bicyclists can use it but during some periods, many pedestrians (runners and walkers) are on the trail. The Bloomington Rail Trail is mostly gravel and suitable for fat tire bikes only. There are plans to extend the Rail Trail into downtown Bloomington. 

The map on the bottom of the Bloomington page of Indiana Trails website shows additional Bloomington bike trails. As far as I know, these are wide sidewalks and not real trails. Most riders would not notice them as bike trails. Designating sidewalks as trails is a strategy used by Bloomington city government to promote Bloomington as bike-friendly but it’s a weak effort. One trail that parallels the railroad tracks on the east side is poorly maintained and almost dangerous. On a recent ride, I found blind spots, mud, overhanging thorn bushes, and poison ivy on the trail. Bicyclists need to be aware of the hazards and the possibility of unseen pedestrians.

Bike Routes. Bike routes in Bloomington have no apparent function. They are scattered throughout the city. The map makes them look organized. They are organized to make a nice map but not for riding.  For example, there’s a bike route on a three lane, one-way street that carries most traffic in and out of town. Not really a safe place to ride.

The streets are no different than other streets - they have the same hazards and traffic management problems as described in the earlier posts. There is no reason to use them. It’s also a part of Bloomington’s attempt to do little but promote itself as bicycling-friendly.

Bike Lanes. There are a number of bike lanes throughout the city but they do nothing to improve cycling in Bloomington and are actually dangerous to use. Two one-way north and south streets (Lincoln and Washington) have bike lanes from 7th Street to Hillside Street. The lanes are used primarily to store road debris and for traffic control. They provide nothing useful for bicyclists. At the intersections, cars turning right have to cross the bike lane. This leads both drivers and bicyclists to unsure how to approach intersection.

A very dangerous traffic pattern occurs on Lincoln St at the intersections from 3^rd to 7^th Sts. The right lane is right turn only. Cars need to cross over the bike lane to turn right. Even worse, the bicyclists have to cross the right lane into the left lane to go straight. A more stupid design is not possible.

When these bike lanes were first developed, I talked to a member of the Bloomington Bicycle and Pedestrian Safegy Commission about the problems the lanes created. He said that many things the Bloomington city government does for bicyclists are stupid but at least they recognize that they should be thinking about bicyclists.

Another dangerous bike lane is on Jordan St between 3^rd and 7^th. The traffic goes around a small island. Bicyclists in the bike lane are threatened by both cross traffic and traffic exiting from a parking garage.

A few years ago, I called the city to ask them to keep the lane clear of debris and fix the low spots that trapped water, debris, and mud. They said they didn’t exist. When the street was being repaved a few years ago, I called the city to ask them to fix the drainage and debris problems. I was told it would be done. It wasn’t. During the winter, the bike lane dams freeze creating additional hazards for bicyclists.

Overall, except for the Clear Creek Trail, the attempts by the city government to improve conditions for bicycling in Bloomington are stupid and dangerous. Bicyclists should not assume that bike lanes and bike routes are safe and in fact, should consider them somewhat dangerous to use. Fortunately, the streets are relatively safe, although dirty, and there is little need to use the bike routes and lanes.