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Urban Indy » Entries tagged with "Light Rail"

A peak into the future at Indy BRT (updated)

A peak into the future at Indy BRT (updated)

  I reported a couple of weeks ago that Indianapolis had received a grant from the FTA to study “bus rapid transit” on the central corridors comprised of Washington Street east/west and some combination of streets north/south from Carmel, through downtown to the University of Indianapolis on the south side. This post attempts to explore the possible routes a bit more and to add some context.  A look at the Indyconnect site (as of November 1st, 2011) tells us that … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

Battle over I-69 in SW Indiana heating up

Battle over I-69 in SW Indiana heating up

As a resident of the Hoosier state at this point in time you would have to be living in a 60′s era air raid bunker if you have not heard about the I-69 project in southwest Indiana. If you have been in a bunker, let me briefly recap. The State of Indiana is constructing a freeway between Evansville and the SW side of Indianapolis. The majority of this cuts through rural farmlands and otherwise, ultra-low … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, New Development, Transit

FTA Awards $2 Million to Indy for BRT Planning

FTA Awards $2 Million to Indy for BRT Planning

  On October 17th, 2011, the FTA awarded Indianapolis $2 million to conduct an alternatives analysis on what is termed, “Central Corridors”. (click here for the official FTA press release in .PDF format) This is direct from last year’s adopted Indyconnect plan that laid out future BRT lines along Washington Street east & west as well as BRT from Carmel to the southside of Indy along Keystone, College & Madison Avenues. Although the text is not … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

Regional Transit and the Trip Not Taken

Regional Transit and the Trip Not Taken

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 which will not only strengthen Indianapolis’ bid to get federal funding for the project but also lay out a plan for … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Pedestrian, Transit

IURC approves water lease; $425m for infrastructure

IURC approves water lease; $425m for infrastructure

On July 13th, 2011, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the lease of the water utility to Citizen’s Energy. While this has been debated vigorously over the past year and a half locally, what it means is that when it goes through, over $425 million will become available to put towards Rebuild Indy; a program that I have given praise to as well as been highly critical of. The crux of why I have been critical, … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

Join the Central Indiana Transit Movement

Join the Central Indiana Transit Movement

Last week, CIRTA went public with it’s message focused on building a coalition of transit supporters. The effort includes a spot on their website to sign your name to a petition as well as a means of organizations crafting a resolution of support for dedicated transit funding in the upcoming 2012 Legislative Session. As I posted about a couple weeks back, Urban Indy passed the resolution on April 12th, far ahead of the public roll-out … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

A ride on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line

A ride on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line

My recent summer vacation took my family to Myrtle Beach, SC. By virtue of good fortune, and a wife who is accepting of my psychotic civic activism, we were able to spend a morning in Charlotte, NC to take a ride on the Lynx light rail line. The Lynx (or Blue Line) is a modern light rail system that opened in 2007 and operates daily on low overheads. At this point in my advocacy, I consider … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

The Future of Transit in Central Indiana

The Future of Transit in Central Indiana

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 to look forward in terms of getting real urban rail here in Indianapolis. This plan was rolled out to the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

Broad Ripple to DT Lightrail Case Study

Broad Ripple to DT Lightrail Case Study

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 off, we must define the key characteristics of a transit line that will make it succeed: Convenient Connects activity centers Rapid Frequent service Be on … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

State lawmakers scuttling transit projects

State lawmakers scuttling transit projects

What started as a squeak in November has turned into a low roar. What is this low roar? The dying gasp of transit projects across the nation. In case you have not noticed, there is a bit of political turmoil going on here in America. It seems that no one is immune to the affects of the recent election. Regarding transportation, the problems started when NJ Governor cancelled the ARC project that would have increased commuter train … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, Transit

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