Have you ever noticed that right-to-left turns are much more difficult than left-to-rights? That is, if you’re crossing some large ugly six-lane traffic sewer to get from one lovely back road to another, it seems much easier to me if you have to go LTR instead of RTL. […]
A few days ago I wrote about my least favorite non-links, or “missed connections” in Michiana. Now I would be remiss if I didn’t applaud the “best connections”, where some kind soul went out of her way to link neighborhoods rather than force traffic onto congested arterial “traffic sewers”. Here are my top five: 1. Wembley [...]
A few days ago I wrote about Virginia’s law outlawing cul-de-sacs, and how they’re one of the biggest challenges to route planning in Michiana and especially Granger. Here are my top five most infuriating non-links in Michiana: 1. Park to Catalpa: This is the worst in my book. Just a few more yards of pavement and [...]
Virginia now has rules that new subdivisions must have through streets that link to other through streets: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/21/AR2009032102248.html This is one of the biggest hurdles we face when trying to get around by bike in these times, especially in Granger. Mishiwaka’s Grape Road big box district has the commercial version of the cul-de-sac problem, non-linking sidewalks. [...]
http://awesome.goodmagazine.com/transparency/web/0904/livable-streets.html I can't speak personally about other Michiana cities, but the South Bend planners are actually more forward-thinking than you might suppose from the current condition of the city's infrastructure. Check out the new roundabouts on Douglas, Lincolnway, and Portage, for example (although I'm worried about the awkward banishment of cyclists from those). Maybe someday the [...]
South Bend Named a Silver Level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists for 2018