The Indianapolis Business Journal has an article about a new project known as Harmoni. Possibly taking their cue from Project for Public Spaces, the group’s intent is to reclaim neighborhoods from speeding vehicles to make them more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. 3 of their first 4 proposals focus on North Meridian Street (the 4th is at 39th and Illinois). The group even has a longer term goal of adding a streetcar in the area. I’ve added their upcoming meeting to my calender if you’re looking for more information.
The Urbanophile has an in-depth take on this on his blog, and it is linked to the IBJ Property Lines blog post.
The HARMONI event listed on your calendar has already occurred. It was on Wednesday, June 18th (not Friday, July 18th).
Thanks Anon.
Some interesting comments about HARMONI on Urbanophiless blog.
There a residients in the area that claim they have never spoke with these people. They state it is just a few with deep pockets and they are being( shocking) heavey handed. Alot of people that live in the area say not only have they never even been contact they actually oppose this whole thing. Additionaly they state from what the read the NR are completely false and misleading.
I know it’s been awhile since you posted this article, but it seems the HARMONI initiative has been moving along nicely. The group produced a couple of locally run commercials to help further the branding of the area as “Midtown.” The organizations has continued to have a series of public meetings and to work very closely with the three neighborhood groups representing the target area, Butler-Tarkington, Meridian-Kessler, and Broad Ripple. All three neighborhood groups reference the HARMONI initiative in their meetings notes. Regarding, Gary’s comments about alleged resident protests over the plan, I think he is (probably unintentionally) presenting an exaggeration of the amount of dissent. I read exactly ONE comment out of dozens posted on Urbanophile’s blog, which was critical of the HARMONI initiative, and it seemed only to reflect that individual poster’s unsubstantiated opinion. I did read some criticism of the plan in some of the comments posted to the Indy Star article about it. However, almost all the critical comments appeared to be posted by individuals who didn’t live in the plan area, including many who didn’t even live in the City of Indianapolis. Also, most of the criticism seemed to be focused on the suggested 5-10 MPH speed reduction on a small portion of North Meridian Street and its potential impact on the work commute. Of course, the speed reduction suggestion is not a central element of the plan.