Bloomington keeps ‘bike-friendly’ title

To bike, or not to bike? That is the question many Bloomington residents are asking.

Bikers are a common sight all around town. Some are cycling enthusiasts, while others bike just to get around.

As the first “Bicycle Friendly Community” in Indiana, Bloomington is among an elite group.

According to the City of Bloomington’s website, to be recognized by the League of American Bicyclists as a “Bicycle Friendly Community,” a city must demonstrate “longstanding commitments to providing safe accommodation and facilities for bicyclists, and for their efforts to encourage bicycle travel for transportation and recreation.”


SHARING THE ROADS

Part of being a bike-friendly community means bikers and motorists are allowed to share the roads, so the same rules apply to both parties. Theoretically, safety should not be a problem, assuming everyone follows the traffic laws.

“Most serious cyclists are aware of — and follow — traffic laws, because they know they are required to follow the same laws as vehicles,” said Capt. Joe
Qualters of the Bloomington Police Department in an e-mail. “They also know that this is
designed to ensure their safety.”

“Less serious and/or casual cyclists tend to be more careless about following traffic laws either because they don’t know they have to or because they see riding in town as an extension of riding on campus, where it might not be as necessary.”

In the community, motorists notice when bikers do not obey the rules of the road.

“I’m all for people biking, but I feel sometimes that bikers do not obey road rules,” Bloomington resident Regina Catz said. “Like with a stop sign — sometimes they zoom by, and you don’t know what to expect from them.”

Motorists are not the only ones frustrated when bikers don’t follow the rules.

“I get mad when I see other bikers cutting people off, because it kind of ruins it for the rest of us,” said Vince Jennings, a Jimmy John’s on-bike deliveryman.

Though bikers are more
likely to get away with breaking traffic laws than motorists, they can receive tickets for disobedience.

“The most common offenses cited would probably be disregarding a stop sign, disregarding an automatic signal or wrong way on a one-way,” Qualters said.

Sharing the roads means the motorists and bikers must work together to ensure the safety of all parties involved. Buses are among the many groups affected by Bloomington’s policy of “sharing the roads.” The impact bikers have on buses is not necessarily a positive one.

Bloomington Transit bus driver Beverly Stalcup has to deal with bikers on a daily basis.

“The bicyclists don’t realize we are on a tight schedule, and they do slow us down quite a bit,” Stalcup said. “I don’t think they realize sometimes that they can move over maybe an inch or two and that would give us plenty of room to get through. The problem is that they’re not paying attention to traffic and they tend to try to go down the middle of the road.”

Stalcup said the people of Bloomington are bicycle-friendly,
but that “sometimes we’re not tolerant enough.”


BIKERS JUST WANT TO HELP

Bikers understand the value of being in a bicycle-friendly community, and the city of Bloomington provides educational tools on the rights and responsibilities of bikers to increase the safety and efficiency of biking.

“I feel relatively safe on the roads, but am conscious about what roads I choose to ride on and try to minimize riding on those roads that might not be safe for me or the motorists who have to share the road with a bicyclist,” said Qualters, an occasional cyclist himself.

Jennings also said he actively tries to be safer on the road when making bike deliveries.

“If I see blind turns, I try to get out so I’m most visible,” Jennings said.

However, not all bikers share the mentality of Jennings.

“I try to agitate cars as much as possible,” Bloomington resident Gabe Rivera said.

Even bikers who follow the rules can be tainted by less law-abiding bikers. Side effects of rowdy biking include being yelled at by motorists. Ryan Shanahan, an employee at the Bicycle Garage, Inc., on Kirkwood Avenue, said he generally feels safe on the roads.

“Sometimes when we’re out riding, people will honk at us, lay the horn on really loud and come a little closer than they should,” Shanahan said.

Does this suggest the people of Bloomington aren’t too keen on having cyclists around — or just that they aren’t keen on having people who don’t follow the rules cluttering the streets?

The general consensus is that Bloomington is bike friendly. However, it is an entirely different story outside of town.

“People in town are more friendly because of Little 500 spirit,” Jennings said. “Once you get a mile, mile and a half out of town, it’s the other end of the spectrum. They don’t think bikes belong on the road.”

Improvements such as bike paths have been made to certain city roads, but to be completely bike-friendly, the feeling must permeate all over town.

The start of the school year is sure to bring more cyclists
into town.

“With the influx of students in the next few weeks, motorists should be aware of the increase in bicycles and motor vehicles — with many not being fully aware of where they are going or not being familiar with Bloomington’s streets,” Qualters said. “Exercising patience during this time is strongly encouraged, and use caution when driving in areas frequented by new and
returning students.”