(INDIANAPOLIS) – Indy is pouring $11 million into pedestrian safety along IndyGo’s Red Line.
Indy is building or repairing more than 100 crosswalks and more than 500 wheelchair ramps within half a mile of the bus line. The city is also installing a dozen traffic signals, and repairing nearly a mile of curbs and half a mile of sidewalks.
IndyGo included sidewalk and crosswalk improvements in the Red Line’s construction, but federal grant money is paying for more improvements on either side of the route so people can get to and from the bus stop. Public Works director Dan Parker says the city flagged 61 areas with high rates of pedestrian accidents for improvements.
Parker says an ordinance adopted last month will refine that process. A five-person fatal crash review panel will look over each accident once police have completed their review, and assess whether traffic signals or other improvements would have made a difference, or if the crash is purely a result of driver or pedestrian error.
The city completed a little more than half the work last year, on sections of the Red Line north of 21st Street. This year’s work addresses areas from downtown south to UIndy.
Department of Transportation grants cover 80-percent of the cost. Parker says the city will seek more grant money for similar improvements when as IndyGo’s Purple and Blue Lines are finished.
