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Update (7/13/25):
For several months now, our Tactical Urbanism project has been providing a safe space for pedestrians and cyclists traversing from Fountain Square to Fletcher Place. Our 60 water barriers have been standing strong on Calvary St. since our volunteers set them up on April 12th. Along with the barriers, we partnered with Fletcher Place Neighborhood Association, North Square Neighborhood Association, and Fountain Fletcher District Association to commission local artists to paint both the median on Calvary, and several bumpouts on McCarty St.
Our long-term goal is for these installations to become permanent. We want to replace the temporary water barriers with something more durable and to make every painted bumpout a grassy, curbed bumpout. But until then, we need your help to maintain these community spaces! If you notice any of these spaces needing attention, please reach out to indyFSTU@gmail.com.
Would you like to see these projects expanded? We are eyeing potential expansions throughout the neighborhoods. Please leave us your thoughts in the survey linked below!
How can I help?
Please complete our community survey and leave your thoughts on this project!
What is Tactical Urbanism?
Tactical Urbanism refers to a citizen-led approach to improving our neighborhood using short-term, low-cost, and scalable interventions to catalyze long-term change. This method has been used across the country to create temporary changes to roadways with the intention of sparking long-term intervention from the local government. You can read more about Tactical Urbanism and examples of how this was used to create greater change here.
What is the Tactical Urbanism proposal for Fountain Square?
Our proposal is to close the southernmost lane of Calvary St. between Virginia Ave. and Fletcher Ave. to vehicles to create a larger lane dedicated to pedestrian or bicyclist usage. We intend to use water barriers to create separation between vehicles and users of the pedestrianized space.
What is the problem that this Tactical Urbanism proposal hopes to address?
The interstate presents a barrier that makes it difficult for neighbors and visitors who are walking or biking to travel between the neighborhoods and businesses of Fletcher Place and Fountain Square. There are only 3 bridges connecting the neighborhoods, two of which only have 5’ sidewalks. The speed of vehicle traffic directly next to the sidewalk makes pedestrians and bicyclists uneasy with traveling on this crucial connection from the businesses to the neighborhood. Our proposal would widen the lane so that there is more protected pedestrianized space.
The two primary metrics we will measure the project’s effectiveness will be vehicle speed and pedestrian/bicyclist volume. We also want to record your perceptions of the project!
When would this go into effect?
The project will be in place from mid April to Mid October of 2025! We would maintain the pedestrianized space during this time and conduct traffic surveys to measure the effectiveness of this Tactical Urbanism project.
In the News:
https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/new-tactical-urbanism-projects-targets-three-indy-neighborhoods
https://fox59.com/news/city-of-indianapolis-seeks-public-input-on-tactical-urbanism-projects/
Thank you to our partners:
Fletcher Place Neighborhood Association
Fountain Fletcher District Association
For more information, please contact:
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