INDIANAPOLIS — As Indianapolis prepares for the opening of the new IndyGo Redline on September 1, drivers need to be aware of a safety alert. And it's not just drivers who have to be on alert, but bicyclists as well.
Drivers are running the bike stoplight to turn left to get onto I-65 downtown.
The problem is that the turning lane has a red light, but the bike lane signal is green. RTV6 has found that drivers see the green and assume they can go (press play on the video above).
It can be confusing as drivers try to turn onto I-65 from Illinois Street downtown. IndyGo added a designated bike lane on Illinois Street since they took one away on Capitol Avenue to make way for the new Red Line.
"I know a lot of people are freaked out by the bike lanes in addition to the red line, but I am on board for rapid transit and these alternative modes of transportation," Lisa Anderson, a bicyclist, said.
One issue RTV6 found was drivers turning when they're not supposed to. You can see three cars turning on a red arrow in the video above.
"I thought it was neat that the stoplight has a bicycle on it, but I was a little cautious and thought, 'OK, do they have a red light?'" Anderson said. "Because I saw that I had a green bicycle. But I didn't know if the traffic stopped for them."
As drivers adjust to new ways of travel on the roads, bicyclists encourage the driver to try and make eye contact with bikers.
"Try to make eye contact with each other on your commute, so you're seeing each other as people and not just objects in the way of each other," Jamey McPherson, a bicyclist, said.
IndyGo encourages all those using the road to be aware of new pavement markings and lane configurations.
