City spending $4.5M on pedestrian upgrades at these south-side intersections near Red Line
Indianapolis officials announced a wave of pedestrian-focused intersection improvements in the southern part of the city this summer, continuing to chip away at its overwhelming lack of infrastructure that exists for non-car users.
In a program called Safe Routes to Transit, the Department of Public Works is spending $4.5 million on upgrades at 61 intersections within half a mile of the Red Line, each with a combination of sidewalk, curb, ramp or signal improvements.
Some have already been completed, such as a flashing beacon signal and ADA-compliant curbs and crosswalks along Prospect Street.
In total, the city will install 152 new ADA ramps, 109 new crosswalks, nearly a mile of new curbs, just over half a mile of rehabilitated sidewalk, and 12 new flashing beacons at locations selected based on crash data and site inspections. The locations also address a particular need: making safer the "last mile," or the first or final leg of a transit journey, often on foot or bike.
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"The last mile is of particular importance to transit riders, especially those with mobility issues," City-County Council President Vop Osili said Friday.
The scale of the overall issue is immense. So far this year, there have been 141 crashes in the city involving pedestrians, 15 fatal, including one this week.
Pedestrians have been dying at increasingly high rates over the last decade on Indianapolis streets, with 73 people dying in 2020 and 2021 alone, according to state crash data.
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The money for Safe Routes to Transit comes from competitive federal dollars that require a 20% local match.
"Despite a historic level of infrastructure funding in the city budget this year, these improvements would not have been possible with city dollars alone," Mayor Joe Hogsett said. "That's why we continue to tap every funding resource available."
Indianapolis does not have a dedicated local funding source for infrastructure like sidewalks. Parking meter profits can be used for sidewalks, but only in areas that have parking meters, DPW Director Dan Parker said. The state gas tax funds can be used on sidewalks, but given the extremely limited amount of money available, DPW sees the most efficient method as rehabilitating existing sidewalks alongside planned road projects.
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Most often, pedestrian-oriented infrastructure gets built by leveraging federal dollars. Since the passage of President Joe Biden's infrastructure law, a major influx is imminent.
"And we're going to be really aggressive going after it," Parker said.
Through a variety of funding initiatives in addition to Safe Routes to Transit — including the Indianapolis Neighborhood Infrastructure Partnership program and the Circle City Forward initiative — the city in 2022 will install:
1,450 upgrades to ADA-compliant ramps.
500 upgrades to crosswalks, 66 of which are new.
Nearly 20 miles of new or rehabilitated curbs.
Nearly 38 miles of new or rehabilitated sidewalks.
More than 10 new or upgraded trails and greenways.
While this year's Safe Routes to Transit program focuses on the southern corridor of the Red Line, the initial round of the program in 2021 dedicated $6.6 million toward upgrades at about 60 locations along the northern Red Line corridor, generally north of 21st Street.
Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pedestrian upgrades coming to Indianapolis' south side near Red Line
