New York/Michigan Street Protected Bike Lanes
Posted by Joe Smoker in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian on Feb 25th, 2015 | 29 comments
The City of Indianapolis has a brief, but rapidly expanding relationship with on-street bike lanes. From as little as a few total miles of bike lanes as recently as 2008 to over 100 miles in 2014. Through this process, the City has learned a great deal about the construction, maintenance and planning involved in creating a truly sustainable and connected system where users feel safe.
Recently, the City announced plans to rework some of the first bike lanes developed along East New York and East Michigan Street. Originally white painted lines adjacent to vehicle traffic lanes, these bike lanes have...
Proposed Meijer at 56th and Keystone
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods on Feb 24th, 2015 | 40 comments
It appears to be only a matter of time before a new Meijer store is constructed at the southwest corner of 56th Street and Keystone Avenue. The most recent site plan is linked below. Fortunately, it appears that the proposed gas station on the property has been dropped:
To put the size of this store in perspective, the affected parcels are outlined in light blue here:
In addition to replacing the car dealerships (which is fine by me), this will also remove two nice sized plots of forest. The president of the North Kessler Park Neighborhood Committee, Kassandra Green, has contacted me to express...
Circle City Industrial Complex: Key Cog in the Other Mass Ave
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian on Feb 16th, 2015 | 5 comments
The massive Circle City Industrial Complex, located at Massachusetts and 10th Street, is under new ownership, which is looking to breathe life into both the building and the surrounding neighborhood. They have release a pdf, which explains the proposal in detail. Â The project will open up a portion of the currently vacant southern third for studios and a possible restaurant, which this portion of Massachusetts Avenue lacks.
A broad view of the neighborhood can be seen below. Notice that there appears to be a call to redevelop much of the industrial portion of Mass Ave, as well as needed attention to...
Farewell, Market Square Arena Parking Lots
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods, New Development on Feb 12th, 2015 | 3 comments
The buzz behind the 2 major projects on the former Market Square Arena parking lots has built to a point to where the only question appears to be the date for groundbreaking. Thus, it is appropriate to bid a farewell to some of the worst parking lots in Indy. These projects will get us closer to the achievable goal of ridding the mile square of massive lots.
I’ve walked down Market Street on a too-narrow sidewalk almost every day for these past 15 years, wondering if the time would ever come that it would be anything other than asphalt. I believe the sidewalk will be widened, and Market...
Southside Indy Receives Revitalization Grant
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods, New Development on Feb 6th, 2015 | 2 comments
A large portion of the Southside has received a grant from Local Initiatives Support Coalition. A map of the region is posted below, as it is bounded by Meridian, Raymond, I-65, and I-465:
Notice there are 2 large community assets in this neighborhood: Garfield Park and University of Indianapolis. Garfield Park is set to receive some new interactive sculptures, courtesy of Big Car:
As for the University of Indianapolis, they’re setting their sites on a large redevelopment plan of their own, centered around the proposed Health Services Center:
There are also many challenges in the area,...
