Recent History For most of the past 2 decades, Old City Hall was a jack-of-all trades. It was the site of the Indiana State Museum when I arrived here in 1999. Later, it became the temporary home of the Central Library, while the original one undertook an extensive renovation. After the library moved back to …
In the summer of 2018 I found myself sitting in a room with a small number of other people, making decisions about how land in Marion County should be used. I’m a computer person by trade with no background in land use planning. How did I end up here? The Impetus The Long-Range Planning …
I work on map layers for Indianapolis, and recently I’ve been updating the sidewalk layer. Something that really jumps out is a donut that’s about 6-8 miles out from the center of the city which has very few sidewalks. Aaron Renn of the Urbanophile might call this the new donut. There are some noted exceptions …
Recently, I was traveling with the family on I-70 just south of downtown. We hit a bad traffic snarl just to the west of the south split. The traffic jam allowed my wife to notice something amusing in the large “attractions” sign: I didn’t notice this quirk at all. But, sure enough, Indiana Govt Cntr …
There was a recent petition to demolish the old gymnasium building at 625 S Meridian to be replaced with…a surface parking lot, which was modified to be a “plaza”. This building is within the Regional Center, but not within an IHPC district, so it will likely be approved. Somewhat ironically, a new petition …
Recently, a spate of reasonable proposals have been shot down by the Metropolitan Development Commission due to fears of over-densification. The MDC has been using previous neighborhood land use plans to defend their repeated denials. While it may be true that the most recent land use plan called for a different type of development, that …
The Indianapolis Historic Preservation Committee has posted a proposal (page 133) to narrow a portion of Market Street right downtown. This narrowing will also extend over in front of the City County Building, taking out the un-urban car drop off point. This portion of Market Street is just outside of the IHPC Jurisdiction, and I …
Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development has a major public outreach event scheduled this Friday. I’m planning on attending. Here are the details: October 5, 2018 6PM-9PM Exhibition on City Planning (Harrison Center, 1505 N Delaware St) And here is the promotional blurb: Enjoy an evening of art, cast your vote for your favorite team in …
Yesterday, the Indy Star dropped one of the more enticing nuggets that I’ve seen in a while. A 50 mile long connected loop of a trail between the Monon, Midland Trace Trail, and Nickel Plate would at the very least help to provide an alternative to the traffic-clogged northeast corridor. I’d encourage this trail development, …
Indiana is the 12th least bicycle-friendly state in the country. The news comes from the League of American Bicyclists in the wake of a comprehensive, independent study that looked at factors ranging from government biking policies and programs to the funding and completion of bike-related infrastructure. Through its Bicycle Friendly America (BFA) program, the League …