Tag «Downtown»

Regional Transit and the Trip Not Taken

Portand MAX Light Rail at the airport (image credit: me)

The past year and some change has been an exciting time for transit in Indianapolis. I feel like we may be moving from the decades of study, study, study to something actually taking place. Proof of that is the current undertaking of the NE Corridor AA/EIS which is also accompanied by a land use study …

Indianapolis Streetcar Plan gets some press

Portland Streetcar (image credit: Curt Ailes)

Anyone see the latest IBJ has hit the stands? I will refrain from analysis of any kind at this point and simply point out a couple links for catching up on the first volley in the Indianapolis Streetcar debate. IBJ Story: http://www.ibj.com/backers-seek-support-for-2mile-streetcar-line-downtown/PARAMS/article/29171 (requires subscription) WTHR 13 Story: http://www.wthr.com/story/15351324/planners-eye-downtown-indianapolis-streetcar-route Downtown Indianapolis Streetcar Corp: http://indianapolisstreetcar.org/home.html Read up. I …

Cultural Trail parking in front of the Conrad

Escalade on Sidewalk (image credit: Kevin Kastner)

The past few weeks have been exciting regarding the completion of a short portion of the Cultural Trail along Washington Street in downtown Indianapolis. The reason for the excitement, was the expedited method with which construction was completed at the apparent request of the Conrad hotel. Many local talking heads have discussed the issue here …

The Future of Transit in Central Indiana

Could Light Rail someday look like this on Washington St?

When Indyconnect unveiled its first proposal for a long range transit plan for the Indianapolis region (February 2010), many people were happy about what had been included in the plan.Transit backers were thrilled that light rail transit was planned along Washington Street from the airport to the east side. Finally, vocal advocates (myself included) had something …

Why the Cultural Trail Rocks

The Cultural Trail is generally viewed as a successful project by downtown boosters, but it is not without some reasonable criticism.  This post is not intended to be a rebuttal to Connie Ziegler’s provocative post, but rather a reaffirmation of my own feelings towards the trail. Last Saturday I rode my bike down most of …

Georgia Street Update 2

Georgia Street 4/19/2011 (image source: me)

On March 31st, I authored the first post on the Georgia Street progress. This is the newest update and the photos were taken on April 19th. We can see that backfilling has occured against the structure in the ground. Additionally, some new concrete pieces have been placed and there is a large pile of other …

Broad Ripple to DT Lightrail Case Study

College Ave/Broad Ripple Ave at a glance

As a citizen of Indianapolis and a major supporter of mass transit, it should come as no surprise that I am always thinking about how we can pull off a successful light rail system. When I think about the key components that would create the best first step, there are many things to consider. First …

Georgia Street Update 1

Georgia St, March 29th (image source: me)

The Georgia Street project in downtown Indianapolis is pushing full steam ahead right now! I figured that since we cover the mundane and complain about the smallest of things that we should also be celebrating projects that stand on their own as great projects. To that end, I intend to try and keep pace with …