On July 1st of this year, a new Indiana state law went into effect which requires drivers to give cyclists at least three feet of clearance when passing.
Some cyclists say, so far, some drivers don’t seem to be aware of the law.
“A lot of times, you”ll have cars passing you in the lane, which is very dangerous and they get really close the bikes, that can make the bikers nervous,” Tabby Carroll, local cyclist.
Wednesday, these concerns were brought to Vigo County commissioner Brendan Kearns.
Kearns says the county will soon make efforts to make sure more drivers of aware of the law.
“One of the things we’re going to do is identify the highly traveled roads for bicyclists and we’re going to put signs out there as a reminder or just an educational tool to let people know ‘Hey, this law is in place’,” Kearns said.
Kearns says the county is also looking into improving more roads and by inviting in cyclists to share their experiences, they may be able to identify issues they did not know about otherwise.
“Bicyclists are more apt to tune in to those issues because they’re not surrounded by the cage of a vehicle necessarily,” Kearns said.
During his listening session, Kearns also entertained the idea of an interpretive park located at a lock between the Wabash-Erie Canal, in Riley.
Although there are no definite plans at this time, Kearns says the park would allow people to learn the history of that area.
Vigo County officials have also applied for a Community Crossings grant, which would go towards road projects.
Kearns says the county will know if they received this grant in October.
