U.S. DOT awards $20.5 million to Indianapolis Cultural Trail

Last month, Congressman Andre Carson (see photo), Mayor Gregory Ballard and CICF President Brian Payne announced a $20.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The funding came from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
With $1.5 billion to invest across the U.S., it sought projects that fit the following criteria:

Primary Selection Criteria:
• State of Good Repair -- projects that will have a significant impact for the nation, a metro area, or region... and improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems.
• Economic Competitiveness -- projects that contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness.
• Livability -- projects that improve the quality of living and working environments and the experience for people in communities across the U.S.
• Sustainability -- projects that improve energy efficiency, reducing dependence on oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and benefiting the environment.
• Safety -- projects that improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and systems.
• Job Creation & Economic Stimulus -- projects that quickly create and preserve jobs and stimulate rapid increases in economic activity.

Secondary Selection Criteria:
• Innovation -- projects that use innovative strategies to pursue the long-term outcomes.
• Partnership -- projects that demonstrate strong collaboration among a broad range of participants and/or integration of transportation with other public service efforts.

USDOT reported receiving 1,400 applications totaling $57 billion.

Read the full release on our Web site.

See all TIGER projects awarded.  The Cultural Trail is under the Central section, slide 13, "Indianapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Network."

View the video submitted with the grant application. (Thanks to WFYI.)

There isn't enough room to thank all the people who have made and continue to make this project possible. We especially thank Congressman Carson and his staff; Mayor Ballard and his Office of Sustainability and Department for Public Works; our team at R.W. Armstrong, Rundell Ernstberger Associates, Art Strategies and The Goods.

Thank you to ALL donors who believe in this project. Your investment showed the federal government how committed Indy is to the Cultural Trail and to these types of projects.

To our future donors: We still need you. Maintaining this beautiful trail will take significant investment. Thanks to this grant, your gifts can support the trail's long term maintenance. We also still plan to commit $1 million to a bike and shuttle bus program that will provide additional alternatives for getting to and from the Cultural Districts.

Green with envy

They say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, so color us flattered that the "For the Love of Dayton" blog posted this article last month "The Indianapolis Cultural Trail's Implications for Dayton." 

With the Indianapolis Cultural Trail video, photos and map it asks "If you were to connect Dayton's great neighborhoods with an innovative, beautiful, truly urban trail, what would the map look like?"

Thanks Dayton! Visit soon!

Next brown bag meeting tomorrow, Mar. 16

Bring your lunch, questions and curiosity to the next brown bag lunch meeting:
Tomorrow, Tues., March 16, 12 to 1 p.m.
Efroymson Board Room, 1st floor of the English Foundation Building
615 N. Alabama St. (corner of North and Alabama streets) 

Brown bag lunch meetings are open to the public and held the third Tuesday of each month to provide the latest updates on the Cultural Trail project.

Construction update

Now that the weather is getting warmer, construction will increase. Here's what's planned for the remainder of March:

North Corridor
(see map - Alabama St. and North St. west to Indiana Ave. and Blackford St.)

• laying asphalt then pavers at corner of Ft. Wayne St., Pennsylvania St. and North St.
• laying asphalt then pavers on Walnut St. west of Senate Ave. and west side of Canal (see photo of Trail along the Canal)
• utilities will continue work moving lines on St. Clair St. from Indiana Ave. to Canal
• landscaping installation will begin toward the end of March and into April

Northeast Corridor
(see map - Alabama St. and North St. northeast to 10th St. and the Monon Trail)

On Mass Ave. from College Ave. to 10th St., drainage pipe and structures installation continues

In the alley behind Scholar's Inn:

• finishing sub-grade work and adding concrete paver base
• installing foundations for light canopy
• installing vault for "Chatham Passage" public art installation

Poets and poems to be announced

We received more than 100 entries for the "Moving Forward" public art poetry contest.  Three poets and their poems will be announced later this month and each poet will receive $1,000.  Designed by local architect Donna Sink, three bus shelters will each feature a different poem.  The bus shelters will be located on the south side of Virginia Ave. near Lexington St., McCarty St. and Woodlawn Ave. along IndyGo bus routes 12, 14 and 22.