Bicycling in Bloomington

 I spent much of this morning (Saturday) in downtown Bloomington. There was a substantial amount of biking activity. Many people were using bikes to go to farmer’s market. (Notice that the website has a picture of a bicyclist at the market.) Others were doing what appeared to be various shopping trips and errands on bicycles. A very positive sign. I hope that more people will use bicycles to replace cars when possible.

I also drove to north end of town to get a map at AAA and returned on North Walnut. Sometime recently, the bike lane on North Walnut has been widened. It now essentially takes a full driving lane. The wider designation helps drivers because previously the number of driving lanes was not clear. It could have been 2 or 3. And, it allows bicyclists to travel farther to the left of parked cars.

I can think of no good reason for a bicyclist to use the bike lane on North Walnut. It doesn’t connect any locations that bicyclists might want to go and there are better streets for bicycling parallel to North Walnut. However, the bike lane sends a message to drivers coming into Bloomington that bicyclists have a place on the streets and it makes clear the 2 driving lanes. So, overall, the bike lane serves two purposes but bicycling on it is not one of them.

I also drove further down North Walnut in the lane with the sharrows. I found that it’s harder to see and interpret them as a driver than as a bicyclist. Earlier this week, I had to travel downtown for some business, and I used a sharrows lane. I found it easy to see and understand while biking. Perhaps a sign on a post would help drivers understand the sharrows.