Then one day I noticed bike lanes on a small stretch of Ritter Avenue between Pleasant Run Parkway and 10th Street. It was included as part of a repaving project. I was surprised to see it, especially since I hadn't heard anything about it.
And this week, while traveling to Wanamaker to see some friends, I noticed that a paving project on Southeastern Avenue between Five Points and Franklin Road was completed. And it included bike lanes.
We are being invaded by bike lanes! Where will they be popping up next?
And then I was directed to the website for Sustain Indy and the plans for the future of bike lanes in Indianapolis. The hope is that in just over 10 years, the bike lane system in Indianapolis will look like this:

The lines in red are roads with bike lanes. Green are greenways and blue is the cultural trail.
That seems pretty impressive, especially for an auto-loving city like Indy. It won't happen overnight, obviously, but the website outlines several phases. Current bike lanes are listed as:
New York & Michigan Street bike lanes - 11.0 miles - Arlington Avenue to White River Parkway West Drive (2009)I've not been on 52nd and Westlane, but I'm assuming they wouldn't lie to me, right?
52nd Street - 1.0 mile - Monon Greenway to Keystone Avenue (2008)
Westlane Road - 1.41 miles - Michigan Road to Ditch Road (2008)
Ritter Avenue - 0.43 miles - East Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive to 10th Street (2009)
In next two years, they have other lanes planned, with most funded using federal funds (Allisonville) or as part of resurfacing projects. The latter two are not yet funded but they believe it will be:
Allisonville Road - 5.5 miles - Binford Boulevard to 82nd Street (late 2009/early 2010)
Illinois Street - 1.17 miles - New York Street to 16th Street (2009)
Illinois Street/Capitol Avenue - 4.63/5.63 miles - 16th Street & New York Street to Canal Towpath (2010?)
East Street - 0.72 miles - Sanders Street to Fletcher Avenue (2009)
Southeastern Avenue - 0.57 miles - South Sheridan Avenue to Hunter Road (late 2009/early 2010)
Southeastern Avenue - 1.81 miles - Franklin Road to Five Points Road (late 2009/early 2010)
Allison Pointe - 0.90 miles - 82nd Street to Dead End (2009)
Lafayette Road - 13.29 miles - County Line to West New York Street (2010?)
Broad Ripple Avenue - 1.03 miles - Monon Trail to Keystone Avenue (2010?)
There are more maps and phase descriptions on their website. It is very exciting to me and it seems like a easy and relatively inexpensive way to improve the quality of life in Indianapolis.



