City of South Bend recognized for streets project, cyclists chime in

Tonight the City of South Bend is celebrating another honor, and it's one you might not immediately recognize.

The cities Complete Streets Plan was recognized as the third best in the nation.

The idea behind the Complete Streets approach is to create an integrated transportation system whether you walk, ride, or drive.

But bicyclists are pumping the brakes.

 “I think it is changing but its changing very slowly," said Ken Glick, President of Pro Form Bike Shop in South Bend.

Glick has seen our cities landscape shift.

"In 29 years the traffic patterns have changed tremendously. I remember when Ironwood was two lane road instead of four lane," said Glick.

It's big changes to popular roads that cause two concerns for bicyclists in Michiana, safety on streets and the quality of roads traveled.

"There’s a lot more traffic, road quality about the same - never been excellent - but as a cyclist always kind of dealt with," said Glick.

South Bend says they can improve the quality fairly easily.

"Some limiters in terms of resources and dollars you can spend, but talking about signage and paint, it’s only a few thousand dollars per block," said Chris Dressel with the City of South Bend.

Dressel is an avid cyclist himself and works for the City of South Bend as a planner and bicycle coordinator.

"The road conditions are always of concern - you want to pick up on things as early as possible," said Dressel.

But teaching motorists about safety for bicyclists on streets is a harder task.

Glick says it comes down to common sense on the roads.

"It would be nice if the general public was educated. We're on 20 pound machines battling 3,000 pound weapons we'll lose every time,” said Glick.