FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — A recent national evaluation of biking infrastructure has cast Fort Wayne in an unfavorable light. The city’s biking ease rating, released last month by PeopleForBikes, garnered a mere 11 out of 100. This score starkly contrasts with the average rating of 28 and places Fort Wayne at 32nd in Indiana, 432nd in the Midwest, and 1,879th nationwide. The ratings assess the viability of biking as a mode of transportation across various cities.
Valerie Litznerski-Eicholtz, secretary of the 3 Rivers Velo Sport cycling club, expressed that the city’s rating was somewhat harsh, given its extensive trail network. Despite acknowledging that the network is not without flaws, Litznerski-Eicholtz highlighted that while the multi-use paths are generally well-maintained and strategically placed, interruptions remain a significant concern.
The city’s rating saw a sharp decline from 29 in 2019 to 10 in 2020, a drop that has puzzled many locals. James Holm, director of community engagement for Fort Wayne Trails, found the decrease surprising, especially considering the expansion of the city’s trail network over recent years.
Rebecca Davies, City Ratings program director at PeopleForBikes, explained that the significant drop in Fort Wayne’s score in 2020 was attributed to the implementation of customized city speed limits that year. Previously, a default speed limit of 25 mph was assumed for all cities, but Fort Wayne had a default limit of 30 mph, impacting its rating.
Phil LaBrash, Fort Wayne’s traffic engineer, noted that low bike ratings are not unique to Fort Wayne but are a trend among Indiana’s major cities. For instance, Indianapolis, South Bend, and Evansville also received low ratings.
City Ratings scores are derived from data on bicycle and infrastructure from OpenStreetMap, evaluated across six categories: ‘people’ (residential access), ‘opportunity’ (access to jobs and education), ‘core services’ (access to essential services), ‘recreation’ (parks and trails), retail access, and transit hubs. Fort Wayne scored its highest, 15, in recreation and retail, but its lowest, 3, in transit.
The Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA) utilized by PeopleForBikes assesses bike networks based on metrics in the SPRINT acronym: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space, intersection treatments, network connections, and trusted data. A significant factor in Fort Wayne’s low rating is its default residential speed limit of 30 mph, which is considered “high stress” for biking. PeopleForBikes’ benchmark for safe speeds is a residential limit of 25 mph.
Davies emphasized that reducing speed limits on neighborhood streets to 25 mph could significantly improve Fort Wayne’s rating and enhance safety for cyclists. LaBrash confirmed that the city is working on lowering residential speed limits and anticipates completing this process within the next two years. However, he noted that the process is more complex than it may seem.
Litznerski-Eicholtz questioned whether lowering the speed limit would have the anticipated impact, suggesting that improved bike-specific signage might be a more effective solution. She pointed out that better signage could increase driver awareness and safety for cyclists.
LaBrash acknowledged the importance of bike safety infrastructure, including signage and educational initiatives, as part of the city’s broader strategy for enhancing biking conditions.
Davies also highlighted the positive aspects of Fort Wayne’s bike infrastructure, particularly the extensive trail network. The city boasts over 125 miles of trails, with ongoing projects such as the Pufferbelly Trail expansion and the Golden Spike trail, which will connect northern and southern Fort Wayne.
Overall, while Fort Wayne faces challenges in improving its bike rating, ongoing investments in its trail network and planned speed limit reductions offer promising avenues for progress.