WISH TV’s Richard Essex wrote the original story.
INDIANAPOLIS–Riding a bicycle to work may be cheap. But, it can be dangerous. Monday night a cyclist was killed in a hit and run wreck in St. Joseph County. In Indianapolis some people who ride their bikes through the city are upset because the Dept. of Public Works has replaced some of the poles that stick up from concrete barriers, to separate car lanes from bike lanes.
Those poles are called bollards.
“It’s kind of funny that the solution to cars hitting the protection is to remove the protection, I don’t know maybe people are more expendable than bollards.” Trevor Preddy told our newsgathering partners at WISH TV. He rides his bicycle on Shelby St. in the Fountain Square area.
But, the city still has poles attached to the barriers. They are now flexible, mounted in rubber.
“As a daily rider the most dangerous thing I encounter are cars, I’m a danger to myself and that is about where it ends, but I can’t help when somebody swerves in front of me or brake checks me. I have had people get violent with me with road rage just for existing on the road” Preddy said.
The DPW said in a prepared statement that the bollards are sometimes bent when hit by cars or buses, and sometimes bent in the way of cyclists. The chunks of concrete that come up when the poles are hit can also spill into the bike lane, and the concrete barriers are expensive to fix.
“Indy DPW did not anticipate the damage that could be done to the protective curb if struck, nor the time-consuming maintenance required thereafter,” said DPW. They add that the new “flex posts” will accomplish the same thing as the bollards, being a visual barrier to let people know the concrete barrier is beneath, without causing damage when hit, and without being a danger to cyclists.
