If you'd like to discuss more please feel free to email me at rickbeilm@bloomington.in.gov or call my desk phone at 812.349.3529

Hi Eva, It sounds like you were doing everything in your power to accommodate the cyclist; and I am sorry to hear that the person on the bicycle chose to take their feelings of frustration out on you. It's not okay. The bike lanes East 7th Street are not designated solely for bicycles, they are an advisory bike lane to let people driving motor vehicles to expect pedestrians and cyclists in the area. You may have heard this spring that we will be resurfacing 7th Street and installing what is being called the E. 7th Street Greenway along this corridor. In this process we will be removing the advisory bike lanes and encouraging cyclists to use the full lanes just like a vehicle. We will be adding traffic calming, signage, and wayfinding elements to help provide the visual cues that people driving cars and pedestrians/ people biking are sharing the same space. I know that this doesn't seem to really answer your question- about best practices while the street is designed as it currently exists. This is a bit of a judgement call which depends on if there is oncoming motorvehicle traffic and if there are cyclists on the street + a multitude of other factors. If it is possible to stick to the middle of the street and give plenty of space if you need to veer to the right to accommodate an oncoming car so that people on bicycles will know to expect your maneuver- that's what I would suggest; but it's hard to tell... I think you did the best you could, and my hope is that once we redesign the space that it will feel more intuitive to all users.