More on Rails to Trails

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If I were to design an NFL organization I would (begrudgingly) look at the Patriots or the Steelers for organizational inspiration. Why? Because they have had sustained success. You know who I would not pay any attention to? The Browns. The Bills. The Raiders.

Similarly, when we are attempting to renew Speedway, we should be looking at communities that have been successful. Locally, that means looking at Carmel, Broad Ripple, Zionsville, Mass Ave., etc. Is Speedway a perfect fit for everything that these places have done? Absolutely not (thank God!). However, we can learn from the success of others.

It is in that context that I read a great article in the Indianapolis Business Journal recently. A few snippets:

The city of Carmel on Tuesday announced a $23 million plan to expand the Monon Greenway through the heart of the city.

The project will transform what is now a 12-foot-wide path into a 140-foot-wide area from City Center Drive northward to 1st Street Southwest—a stretch of roughly a half-mile.

The newly named Monon Boulevard will include dedicated lanes for bicyclists, buffer zones, sidewalks, green spaces, one-way streets with parking on both sides of the trail, and a plaza near the Allied Solutions LLC headquarters in Midtown.

Carmel is willing to put up $23m to expand the Monon. I know that there was discussion about whether people want to live near a bike path, but when the most successful community in this state over the past 20 years is willing to bet $23m on an increased bike path right through the heart of its downtown, it tends to grab the eye.

The city estimates that as many as 15,000 people travel that section of the Monon on a busy day, and it is considered the most congested part of the trail. An average of 300,000 people run, walk or bike the area from Main Street to the Palladium annually.

This is not hippy-dippy stuff. This is dollars and cents (and sense). Imagine the opportunities that would follow if Speedway had a trail from Main Street to Victory Field. Perhaps they could do some play on Victory Lane to Victory Field, or something. I'm sure that the marketing people of the world are more creative at coming up with slogans than me.

“This investment of public dollars is another major step toward establishing Carmel’s reputation as a city that embraces the culture of cycling,” City Council member Bruce Kimball said. “This is an important distinction to have as we compete against others for corporate headquarters and high-paying jobs.”

Rubber, meet road.

Rubber, meet road.