INDIANAPOLIS – Strap your helmet on and get ready explore the city - on your bike that is. Indianapolis was named No.13 on Bicycling.com’s 50 Best Bike Cities of 2016.
How exactly did Indy make it on the 2016 list with cities like Chicago and San Francisco?
The 8-mile Indianapolis Cultural Trail of course.
In 2013, the city invested $63 million into the construction of the biking and walking trail that snakes its way through the downtown area. According to a 2015 report by the Indiana University Public Policy Institute, that investment paid off with increased property values and business revenue.
To make the trail even more accessible, the Pacers Bikeshare program began with 250 bikes. In just one year, the program logged over 107,000 rides and more bike stations are planned for the downtown area this year.
RELATED | Pacers Bike Share sees 13k riders in first month
If you’re still not convinced Indianapolis is dedicated to biking, the US Department of Transportation plans to kick off the Bicycle-Pedestrian Count Technology Pilot Program in Indy and nine other cities across the country.
RELATED | New bike lanes installed in downtown Indy
“The project will fund the purchase of a limited number of automatic counters that will be used to collect counts of bicyclists and pedestrians at various locations within each Metropolitan Planning Organization planning area, and will provide limited funds to compensate some of the cost of staff time to initiate and oversee a counting program for deploying the counters, collecting counts, and analyzing the results,” according to the Federal Highway Administration.
MORE | More protected bike lanes coming to Indianapolis
Indianapolis was ranked No. 25 on the list in 2014.
Ready to ride? Find a Pacers Bikeshare station near you.
