Bicycling on the north side of Fort Wayne
Posted by Mike Sylvester - 8/5/08 @ 1:00 am - Filed Under Uncategorized
I purchased a bicycle a couple of months ago. I purchased the bicycle for several reasons:
1. My son Graydon (age 5) and daughter Kayla (age 7) both love to ride their bicycles and this allows me to take them for bike rides. I took them on short bike rides in my neighborhood and in the neighborhood across the street 2-3 times per week this summer.
2. I am trying to lose weight (again). I started a diet on April 13th, 2008 and my goal is to lose one pound per week for fifty two consecutive weeks. So far I am one and a half pounds ahead of schedule. I also need to get into better physical condition and most of my exercise comes from walking or biking at this point.
3. I can be somewhat “cheap.” I hate spending $60 to fill up my mid-sized Toyota Camry. By having a bicycle it has allowed me to cut out 3 short trips I otherwise would have made in my car.
4. I believe in a certain amount of conservation. For example I have recycled since I got out of the USN in 1995; as my light bulbs burn out in my home I have been replacing the burned out bulbs with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, etc.
Now we get to the real reason behind this post.
It is extremely difficult to ride a bike where I live. I live in Valley Place, a small neighborhood just north and west of Pine Valley. I live on the northwest corner of the intersection of Coldwater and Windrift Lane. I live one mile north of the intersection of Coldwater and Dupont.
I live in the area that was annexed by the City of Fort Wayne as part of the “Pine Valley” annexation of 2003.
I pay city property taxes; however, my area is lacking one of the basic amenities that one would expect if one were part of the City of Fort Wayne; namely sidewalks.
I have noticed that some areas of Fort Wayne are relatively “friendly” to pedestrians and bicyclists. For example, I grew up in Walden (6128 Vance Avenue), a neighborhood near Georgetown Square. I rode my bike everywhere when I was between the ages of 9 and 15 (Then I got a car). There were a lot of sidewalks and on those main roads with no sidewalks there was enough space where one could walk or ride a bicycle without feeling I was risking my life.
That is not the case where I live now.
I think that it should be the responsibility of the City of Fort Wayne to add a certain number of sidewalks when they annex new areas; unfortunately, that is not the case.
This cannot be blamed on our current Mayor nor can the lack of sidewalks be blamed on our new members of City Council; however, it should be blamed on several previous Mayors and some of our longer tenured City Council members and on some of our past City Council members.
It seems logical to me that there should be sidewalks that lead to and from the shopping malls located at Coldwater and Dupont. This would allow people to walk or bike to the shopping centers, to the library, etc. This would result in less fuel consumption, less use of gasoline, less automobile exhaust, less traffic congestion, and a healthier citizenry.
I have biked to my office a couple of times already. My office is located at 450 E Dupont Road. It is behind the Dupont Branch of the Allen County Library. To get to it I have to ride up Coldwater Road. Coldwater Road is a very busy street. There are no sidewalks on the side of Coldwater Road leading to the malls at Coldwater and Dupont so I have to ride on the side of this busy road. The last time I went I took a tape measure and went when there was little traffic so I could so some measuring. In some places there is as little as 3 inches of space for a bicyclist to operate on this short section of Coldwater Road.
To get to my office I ride about eight tenths of a mile up Coldwater on the west side of the road, then I turn onto the access road that runs behind Krogers, then I go through the strip mall to the light at the Casa Grill on Dupont, then I cross when the light is green and ride past the library, then I turn right at Sand Point and go to my office. The only difficult part of this bike ride is the large stretch of Coldwater Road that I have to navigate. If it were not for this section of the trip I would likely ride my bike to work at least one day per week.
While it is somewhat dangerous; I feel relatively safe since I do it when there is little traffic and I am a careful adult who observes all of the safety rules. I certainly will not let my children ride their bikes on long stretches of Coldwater Road at this point.
I certainly do not feel we should have sidewalks everywhere; I would not like paying the property taxes that would be necessary to pay for sidewalks everywhere; however, the area around my house really needs some sidewalks on Coldwater and Dupont to allow pedestrian and bicycle access to the shopping malls at the intersection of Coldwater and Dupont. These shopping malls are the hub of this area and accessibility to them is important for all residents.
I actually think City Planning is important; unfortunately, I think the rampant annexation and the fact that Developers are allowed to do about anything they want to do has really hurt Fort Wayne. We are a City of sprawl and there is currently no effort to restrain that sprawl. Our has been through annexation and there has been little planning when it comes to sidewalks in the newly annexed “Pine Valley” area.
Mike Sylvester
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16 Responses to “Bicycling on the north side of Fort Wayne”
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Mike, I sympathize with your situation and believe me, getting bike paths/sidewalks/bike lanes along Coldwater, Dupont, etc., is something that the city wants to do.
The reason for my comment is that you are leaving out an important piece of the story: throughout our city, the original sidewalks were nearly always paid for by private developers and/or homeowners. The County didn’t require this standard and so the private sector decided to save money by not installing them. Regardless of whether this resulted in more profit to the developer or lower cost to the homeowner (or both), the result is the same. The initial investment should have been made by the private sector. In areas that were already inside the city when they were built, the initial sidewalks were amenities typically paid by the developer/homeowner, not by the city.
The county’s failure (going back decades) to require sidewalks while Coldwater, for instance, was being built up, makes it very difficult and expensive to go back in and add them. We are going to try to do that because it is the right thing to do. And to be fair, the county is now doing a better job of requiring at least some sidewalks to be built as part of new development.
However, I think it is only fair that we understand the history of how we got to this situation.
I have a couple of questions.
1- As a youth, which was a long time ago we where told it was against the law to ride our bikes on the sidewalks. Inside the city is there a law on the books that says such or was it just or parents not wanting us to ride on the sidewalks?
2- Who pays for the upkeep on sidewalks?
3- I know this will start a wildfire of comment but here goes. Should bikes be required to purchase a decal here in Allen County to pay for the improvements and fixing up of the bike trail system we are developing all across the county?
Karen,
I think your point is valid; however, if the City is going to annex areas then the city should take responsibility for their infrastructure and upgrade it as needed.
I certainly think your point that sidewalks were most often originally built by homeowners and private developers is valid as well; however, the County and the City need to work together as far as planning, zoning, etc. I agree they are working better together now; however, that is not an excuse for past behavior.
After reading your comment I think it is fair to say that the County and City should share the blame for this; however, no one forced the City to annex these areas…
Mike Sylvester
Mike, when the City annexes an area it is obligated to provide the same level of service as for the rest of the city, not a higher level of service. Having the city pay for the initial sidewalk, as I pointed out, would be a higher level of service.
JQ, to respond to your questions:
1. The current local ordinance is that you are not supposed to ride on the sidewalk “in a business district.” I have talked with a lot of people about whether this should be changed and get no consensus. So, depending on where you grew up, either your parents were telling you the truth or they just wanted you off the sidewalk.
2. Sidewalk upkeep is the property owner’s responsibility, although some CEDIT money is used to cost-share improvements (40% city, 60% property owner) if petitioned by the neighborhood.
3. That is an interesting question. I remember as a kid in Omaha we had to get a bike license of some sort. That is something I will research because it would be a way of raising some revenue. (Of course, then you have to enforce it….)
Karen:
Just a thought, speaking of bike licenses (decals). Since almost all bikes AND moped have serial numbers, this would help address the situation brought up in the JG column today (Gray and the stolen moped).
Since the state doesn’t license them, why not the city/county. The small fee $1.00 or less could be used to support a number of things relating to bicycles. Example, bike trails in Hancock county (I think).
In addition, with the number of bicycles and mopeds bound to grow (gas cost), it would sure help police locate owners of recovered bikes/mopeds. Might have saved the poor guy in Grays column 300 bucks! Cheap XL data base could track owners.
(Jeff Pruitt - editor’s comment) - I removed this comment because it was directed towards person(s) that had nothing to do with the original post. As always, I ask people stay on topic…
I wouldn’t want to live in a neighborhood that lacked sidewalks. Now why are people paying 150K to 200K for north side homes that lack sidewalks when they can get a south side home with good sidewalk access for 30K to 90K?
Fear of crime is one obvious factor. But does it make financial sense to pay an extra $2000 a year on your mortgage to avoid the risk of having one $500 window broken and one $50 DVD player stolen?
The way I see it you have 3 options:
1. Spend your time and your money installing the sidewalks yourself.
2. Spend your time and other people’s money getting the city to do it for you.
3. Move to the south side. Odds are that you will get a higher price for the house you live in now than you will pay for your new home.
On the note of bike licenses:
As a college student, I am all for saving money via alternate transportation. With that in mind, I would be perfectly okay getting my bike licensed as a way to provide some cash for better sidewalks and/or bike trails.
On the note of new sidewalks:
I don’t know enough to have an opinion on who should pay for new sidewalks, but areas of Fort Wayne ARE separated by the lack of sidewalks. There really is no way to go from central Fort Wayne out north via a bike. The main roads I take are Lima, Coldwater, and Clinton and none are friendly to bikers.
For some reason - I recall having some sort of bike license in the 70’s - maybe I dreamed it up…
Also came across this link -
http://koehlingers.com/page.cfm?pageID=227
Fort Wayne City Bicycle Code
§ 74.15 LICENSE ENCOURAGED.
The City Board of Public Safety encourages residents to license their bicycles with the city. Many bicycles are stolen each year. Many of the unrecovered bicycles are auctioned off because the Police Department is unable to identify the owners. The licensing of bicycles will provide a data base that will help identify the owners of the bicycles so that they may be returned to their owner.
(Ord. G-02-99, passed 1-26-99)
§ 74.16 APPLICATION FOR LICENSE.
(A) Application for a bicycle license and license plate or decal shall be made upon a form provided by the city, shall be accompanied by reasonable proof of ownership and shall be made to the Fire or Police Departments.
(B) The fee for a bicycle license and license plate or decal shall be $2, of which $1 will be deposited in the City General Fund and $1 will be deposited in the Fort Wayne Safety Village/Survive Alive House General Trust Fund account. If the Safety Village/Survive Alive account is no longer in existence that portion shall be deposited in the City General Fund.
(’74 Code, § 17-103) (Ord. S-185-85, passed 10-8-85; Am. Ord. G-02-99, passed 1-26-99)
§ 74.17 ISSUANCE OF LICENSE; RECORDS.
(A) The Fire or Police Departments, upon receiving proper application therefor, is authorized to issue a bicycle license. If physical proof of ownership is not available, the application must indicate so.
(B) The Fire or Police Departments shall not issue a license for any bicycle when they know or have reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant is not the owner of or entitled to the possession of such bicycle.
(C) The Police Department shall keep a record of the number of each license, the date issued, the name and address of the person to whom issued and the number on the frame of the bicycle for which issued, and shall provide a copy thereof to the Chief of Police.
(’74 Code, § 17-104) (Ord. S-185-85, passed 10-8-85; Am. Ord. G-02-99, passed 1-26-99)
§ 74.18 RENEWAL OF LICENSES.
Renewal of licenses is not required. If a license is destroyed, the same may be renewed upon application for the same as the original application.
(’74 Code, § 17-106) (Ord. S-185-85, passed 10-8-85; Am. Ord. G-02-99, passed 1-26-99)
§ 74.19 TRANSFERENCE OF LICENSES.
Upon the sale or other transfer of a licensed bicycle, the licensee shall remove the license plate or decal.
(’74 Code, § 17-107) (Ord. S-185-85, passed 10-8-85)
§ 74.20 INSPECTION OF BICYCLE.
The Chief of Police, or officers of the police department assigned such responsibility by him, shall inspect each bicycle before the same is licensed; the City Police shall refuse a license for any bicycle which the Chief of Police determines is in unsafe mechanical condition or not equipped in accordance with this chapter.
(’74 Code, § 17-108) (Ord. S-185-85, passed 10-8-85)
§ 74.21 LICENSE PLATE OR DECAL TO BE ATTACHED TO BICYCLE.
(A) The Fire or Police Departments, upon issuing a bicycle license, also shall issue a license plate or decal bearing the license number assigned to the bicycle, and the name of the city.
(B) The Fire or Police Departments shall cause such license plate or decal to be attached to the bicycle in such position as to be plainly visible.
(C) No person shall remove a license plate or decal from a bicycle during the period for which issued, except upon a transfer of ownership or in the event the bicycle is dismantled and no longer operated upon any street in this city.
(’74 Code, § 17-105) (Ord. S-185-85, passed 10-8-85; Am. Ord. G-02-99, passed 1-26-99) Penalty, see § 74.99
I could see this return. With $1.00 going to a special account for the trails system within the city of Fort Wayne. The other dollar go to the line account for street repair/painting.
One would think Allen County would take part in such for their trails also.
I have no doubt the money raised will not be large enough to cover all costs of the trails but it would help maintain them in the coming years. I would also like to see that to barrow money from this fund would take a 2/3 vote of six council members to permit any transfer of funds.
With that I will shutup on this subject.
Already broke my word.
Renewal plates could be purchased over the internet.
Now I am done
Well, Penny Wise. Now that you have been amused by the fact that someone lost their property (good folks, bad folks or whatever).
Back to the point. The people in the city/county might get some good from enforcement of the above mentioned “Bicycle Code”.
Hah! I knew I wasn’t imaging bike license plates. There’s a Ft. Wayne one up on ebay (a 1973 bike license plate).
Ashley,
You can take Anthony Blvd all the way to Coliseum from central Fort Wayne.
Robert,
Yeah, that’s about where I live. It’s beyond that that poses a challenge.
RE: Penelope
The stolen moped couldn’t have happened to a nicer family.
Please don’t make comments like this if you don’t know what your talking about. My family may not be perfect but I doubt yours is either. The only Piece of truth you wrote in that comment was that I currently have two protective orders filed against me… as to the reasons behind them your statements were quite inaccurate email me if you would like to further discuss this so I can tell you the whole truth.