New Poll Shows Support for Mass Transit Referendum in Marion County
Posted by Kevin Kastner in New Development, Transit on Aug 14th, 2016 | 32 comments
Indy’s Congregation Action Network commissioned a poll for the upcoming Mass Transit referendum. The results are encouraging to supporters, however I’m going to take this with a grain of salt. This is an organization that supports transit, and not an independent media source. Still, I figured it would be good to link it here in case anyone was curious to see a potential reading of the November electorate. Without some independent polls, though, we can’t average out the results to find a better gauge.
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Guest Post from Nick Ison: Sustainability and Connectivity: Values that move us
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods, Transit on Jul 23rd, 2016 | 15 comments
This is the 3rd post in a series of guest posts in support of increased transit access in Indianapolis. The first 2 can be read here and here.
In 2005, I moved from Indiana to attend college in Boston. Next came Philadelphia and Princeton to pursue a job and a masters degree respectively. When I returned to live at College and Kessler in 2014 though, I was anxious. Big east coast cities have a lot to offer a young professional, and I was worried that Indianapolis wouldn’t stack up.
What I quickly found, however, was just the opposite: when friends from New York would call and complain about...
How Indy Could Invest In Itself
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian, Transit on Oct 26th, 2015 | 24 comments
This the follow-up post from the one I wrote on October 22nd.
Indianapolis doesn’t have a lot of money to throw around at our various issues, and that money may be dwindling as I type. My number one money saving idea is simple: No more widened roads in the name of “improvement“. The phrase “If you’re in a hole, the first step is to stop digging” comes to mind here. But, consider that a widened city road:
Costs more to maintain than it did previously. One mile of 2 lane road costs $312,000 just to be resurfaced.
Places land into the public Right-of-Way which can no...
Meridian Kessler’s Updated Zoning Plan
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Bicycling, Neighborhoods, New Development, Pedestrian, Transit on May 19th, 2015 | 18 comments
The Meridian Kessler neighborhood is currently updating its zoning guidelines for the first time since the late 1970s. This plan has been released for initial review, and can be viewed on this webpage. I’ve also uploaded a copy here.
The main focus for this plan that is of interest to Urban Indy is to discuss the future of the commercial nodes within the neighborhood. This included possible traffic calming measures, which are discussed in detail on Appendix C. The plan map also included the neighborhood’s first potential park, located at 42nd Street and the Monon Trail. Public comments on...
Encourage Transit for Better Development Proposals
Posted by Kevin Kastner in Neighborhoods, New Development, Transit on Feb 21st, 2014 | 7 comments
Recently, a proposal to knock down 2 houses on College Avenue just north of Kessler Boulevard in Broad Ripple was denied by the Metropolitan Development Commission. This denial happened after the Planning Department had encouraged the petitioners to go back to the drawing board a few months ago. Here is a look at the site plan of the initial proposal:
This was to be a single-use office building, and the new curb cut was needed because unfortunately the owners of the property to the south did not allow the developers to borrow their parking lot entrance. This portion of College Avenue also does not...
