6/29/2006
Media Contact:
Steve Hardiman, 327.2053
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City receives grant to expand alternative form of transportation and promote fitness
INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis Department of Public Works was recently awarded $503,600 in Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Transportation Enhancement (TE) funds for its Indianapolis Bicycle Facility Improvement Project.
Transportation Enhancements are transportation-related activities that strengthen the cultural, aesthetic and environmental aspects of the nation’s inter-modal transportation system.
Through this grant, the city will be able to provide:
· Paved bicycle lanes
· BikePort
· Bicycle racks
· Bike lane education
More than 20 miles of bike lanes will be added to the Michigan-New York Street corridors from Arlington Ave. to White River Pkwy., as well as along Allisonville Rd. from Binford Blvd. to 82nd St. The bike lanes will include new signage and pavement markings that will accommodate all cyclists from beginners to advanced.
The BikePort will provide a secure, continuously monitored facility that provides storage lockers accessible only to the user and bicycle racks. The BikePort, located at a yet to be determined downtown facility, will encourage cycling downtown for employment, business and recreation.
To support bicycle commuting to, through and within the downtown area, 225 bicycle racks will be added.
Finally, an education component will be developed that provides materials to educate the driving and bicycling public about the new bicycle facilities and how to use them.
“Communities that have developed bicycle facilities are recognized as places with a high quality of life,” said DPW Director Kumar Menon. “Bicycling results in reduced traffic demands, improved air quality and greater physical fitness.”
The Indianapolis Bicycle Facility Improvement Project fits well into Mayor Bart Peterson’s initiative to make Indianapolis the fittest city in the nation.
Last August, the Mayor issued a 12-month fitness challenge to Hoosiers to get up and get moving - a challenge that he committed to himself. The FitCity Challenge is designed to educate and motivate local residents to make a healthy move and shake the title of the “fourth fattest state in the nation.”
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