INDIANAPOLIS — The City-County Council collected $450,000 from scooter-rental companies by earning $1 per scooter per day, to fund what they're calling "Neighborways."
The city is hoping to connect bicyclists and scooter riders on residential roads to other bike paths and trails nearby.
Alison Cole with Freewheelin' Community Bikes says the proposed project will add value to neighbors' lives. And people who live near the affected roadways agree.
"Especially with kids having that additional security and knowledge of where they're going would be really helpful," Ryan Brown, who lives near the proposed Neighborways project, said.
Infrastructure improvement, new signage, and pavement markings will direct people to the closest trails. You can see a map of where the lanes would go in the video above.
For now, the project will be concentrated in two sections of the city: the near north side and the near southeast side.
"We had been relying mostly on donations and grants, and this is just really synergistic that the city [had] these funds to help improve neighborhood streets to make them viable for kids," Cole said.
Some of that $450,000 will also go toward helping expand three bike shops and programs. Freewheelin' Community Bikes is one of them, which gives bikes to kids, teaches them how to ride and how to repair them through their 'earn a bike' program.
"Bicycles I think first and foremost give kids a sense of freedom, a sense to go travel and go explore the world," Cole said. "A bicycle is maybe one of the first opportunities that a kid comes to own and needs to learn how to take care of."
Together, they hope to connect more children with the skills and a safe path to ride.
