The Cultural Trail in front of Conrad Hotel: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, Pedestrian, Transit on Sep 16th, 2016 | 35 comments
The crown jewel in our city’s livable infrastructure, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail has been cited in almost every publication or promotional piece. Most recently, it was mentioned in The Vogue magazine. But there is one half of a block where it basically stops in deference to a hotel’s valet parking zone. The Conrad has insisted that it is trying to be a good neighbor, but that it has no choice but to use this zone for vehicles. A few weeks ago, this was the hilariously sad scene:
After seeing this photo, I tweeted out a joke that they might as well host a tailgate party on the remaining...
Cultural Trail parking in front of the Conrad
Posted by Curt Ailes in Bicycling, Pedestrian on Aug 16th, 2011 | 19 comments
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 as well as the Skyscraper City Indianapolis Development forum. Some local property managers and owners whom have been affected have even weighed in on the issue which highlights just how touchy people have become about this portion of trail. Not only that, the...
Will parking be allowed on the Cultural Trail in front of the Conrad?
Posted by Curt Ailes in Bicycling, Pedestrian on Aug 8th, 2011 | 21 comments
An interesting debate has been raging over on the Skyscraper City Indianapolis Development forum for about 4 weeks now. The debate has centered upon the design of the Cultural Trail’s Central Corridor as it passes in front of the Conrad hotel. For the uninformed, the Conrad has been using the sidewalk along Washington Street and in front of it’s hotel for years now as a staging spot for valet parking. It’s common to see a high end automobile sitting on the sidewalk at any point in time.
With the arrival of the Cultural Trail came the notion that perhaps the Conrad would be moving...
Guest Post by Anonymous: Scooters are not the Problem
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods, New Development on Jul 15th, 2018 | 13 comments
Editor’s note: this article does not necessarily reflect my personal opinion. I welcome a counterpoint article, which I would also post anonymously. This post was written before the scooters were removed from the streets.
Scooters Are Not the Problem
Recently, Indianapolis has been taken over by a new form of transportation: scooters! These little objects are a new form of micromobility for the city; a means of getting around without a single-occupancy vehicles. They’re nimble, easily accessible, and take up very little space. But first, a little clarity; what is micromobility and how does...
Improving Indy’s Cultural Trail
Posted by Jim Hodapp in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, Pedestrian on Aug 25th, 2015 | 27 comments
Indy’s Cultural Trail is now two years old and is a huge success in so many significant ways. It continues to receive wide acclaim throughout the country as being a model of success for what proper biking and pedestrian infrastructure can do when done in a smart way instead of only going by the engineer’s guide book without thinking. So why then does the Cultural Trail need some improvement? Most areas are already functioning well and are fairly well optimized, but there is at least one area that needs some rethinking. Here’s where I’m referring to, do you recognize...
