Battle over I-69 in SW Indiana heating up
Posted by Curt Ailes in New Development, Transit on Oct 27th, 2011 | 9 comments
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 population centers. The state is funding most of the projects bid to this point, from money gleened from the Major Moves program; the lease of the toll road in Northern Indiana over 5 years...
Report from DC/Railvolution 2011
Posted by Curt Ailes in Bicycling, Pedestrian, Transit on Oct 21st, 2011 | 19 comments
This year, I had the privilege of speaking at Railvolution in Washington DC. I was selected to a panel that included David Alpert & Matt Johnson of Greater Greater Washington and was moderated by Jeff Wood better known on the web & in blogging circles as, The Overhead Wire. For me, it was an honor to be sitting at the same table as these folks considering that they have all been at it longer than me and are generally who I have looked up to when it came to forming my blogging voice.
I was only able to attend the conference the day that I was speaking. The rest of my stay was spent playing...
FTA Awards $2 Million to Indy for BRT Planning
Posted by Curt Ailes in Transit on Oct 20th, 2011 | 5 comments
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 particularly constricting, nor is it confining to the technology being BRT, what it DOES do is open the door to starting the...
Regional Transit and the Trip Not Taken
Posted by Curt Ailes in Pedestrian, Transit on Oct 12th, 2011 | 29 comments
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 what we would like the areas around the stations to look and feel like.
As of late, both the Republican and Democratic mayoral candidates have been supportive of improved mass...
Take Indy Commuter Express on Colts Gameday
Posted by Curt Ailes in Neighborhoods, Transit on Sep 20th, 2011 | 1 comment
According to a press release last week, Miller Trailways in partnership with CIRTA will be offering Colts gameday services from the normal weekday park & ride lots in Carmel & Fishers. This will provide a new way for people in the north suburbs to get to the Colts game without having to fight traffic & pay for parking. This is a step in the right direction towards providing alternative options for people to get downtown in what are normally, very congested conditions for Colts games. I encourage anyone who lives in the burbs who reads this blog to try it out for your next Colts game. It...
