Image A / The intersection of North Pennsylvania Street and 49th is circled on the map.
Incidents
Once again, we've pivoted this week. This isn't an incident heavy corridor, but I have included a map of incidents since 2025 below. I think it's important to note that it seems likely that the changes being recommended would have prevented both pedestrian incidents, or at worst reduced the severity of the incidents.
Image B / Map of Incidents on Pennsylvania between 38th and Westfield
What does Councilor Barth say?
The reason for our pivot this week is because the leader of the Vision Zero Taskforce, John Barth, acted unilaterally to modify a project for this corridor in a way that does not adhere to Vision Zero principles. A vocal minority of neighbors and businesses around the 49th and Penn area complained about the loss of some free parking spots. It's unclear why or how Councilor Barth has the power to act unilaterally to modify DPW projects, but Councilor Barth's Compromise is explained in the image below.
Image C / Barth's Compromise. Current configuration in the purple box. Planned configuration in green. Barth's compromise in red.
First, I would encourage you to take a drive down Pennsylvania Street in Google Street View to see how important street parking is for this corridor. I took that drive myself and counted 112 cars parked on Pennsylvania Street, which sounds like a lot until you do the math...
Length of Penn from 38th to Westfield | 2.5 miles |
2.5 miles converted to feet | 13,200 feet |
Multiplied by two because parking is currently allowed on both sides of the street. | 26,400 feet |
Reduce that by 5% to account for driveways and daylighting | about 25,000 feet |
Length of a typical parallel parking space in the United States | 23 feet |
Estimated total street parking space currently (25k / 23) | 1,000 spaces |
Estimated total street parking after adding a cycle track | 500 spaces |
I think it's safe to say that the 112 people parked on Penn the day the Google Street View car strolled through would still be able to find a place to store their vehicle for free if we added a bike lane. Now that we've established these facts, let's get back to Vision Zero.
There are many reasons why street parking and Vision Zero don't mix well, but that doesn't mean they can't mix. Let's start with why they don't mix by looking at Barth's compromise from Image C, above. The three arrows with a cyclist on top symbol is what advocates refer to as a Sharrow, a combination of the words Shared and Arrow. A sharrow is placed to communicate to both drivers and cyclists that cyclists should be riding in the center of the lane. You may also see sharrows paired with street signage like "Share the Road" or "Bike May Use Full Lane." It's estimated that sharrows cost $400 - $600 EACH, to install. And the general consensus of studies and advocates is that they accomplish nothing, at best.
My opinion on this project is that it should continue as designed, but is there a compromise that adheres to Vision Zero principles? That's what I want to explore in this post.
Long Term Changes
We'll get to immediate term changes at the end. First, I want to start with what an actual compromise would look like for this corridor.
THE PLAN!
Create Median Barriers at 46th, 49th, and 52nd Streets to eliminate through traffic and create a safe place for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers to coexist.
Install 20 mph speed tables throughout this controlled access area.
Maintain free street parking for both sides of the street on North Pennsylvania between 46th and 52nd.
Keep DPW's current plan, as shown in the green box in Image C, for the other two segments of the corridor (38th to 46th and 52nd to Westfield). The west side of Penn would become a cycle track and free street parking would remain on the east side of Penn.
Hate this idea? Stay with me until the end!
This segment of Pennsylvania Street includes dead ends in both directions. Penn dead ends at Westfield to the north and Fall Creek to the South. This is not an essential arterial to anywhere, so it's time to design it like a neighborhood street.
We'll start with the median barriers. Median barriers at 46th, 49th, and 52nd will accomplish a couple of different things:
No more through traffic on Pennsylvania Street. If you want to go North or South, you will be diverted to College, Central, or Meridian. These three roads are all parallel to Penn and do not dead-end, like this segment of Penn.
No more left turns onto Penn from these three streets. This will improve flow and possibly eliminate the need for stop signs or traffic lights at these locations for those traveling east/west.
The pink bars are the locations of 20 mph speed tables. We've been told this is an essential business district that is in need of 100s of free street parking spaces within a few blocks of 49th. Forcing drivers to a 20 mph speed limit accepts that premise and creates an area much safer for parallel parking, folks getting in/out of their vehicles, and folks walking to their final destinations.
20 mph speeds and no through traffic will also makes this area pretty safe for cyclists. It would also be very easy to finish the cycle lane at any point if the folks in the area changed their minds.
Will this configuration be confusing to drivers? Absolutely! But their confusion will make them more cautious, and we've been told that maintaining parking on both sides of the street is of critical importance to the folks in this area. We shouldn't be afraid to ask a driver to circle the block in the interest of safety.
Once navigation apps figure out this new configuration, drivers will automatically be routed to the correct route to reach their intended destination.
How drivers would circulate in this newly created configuration is shown in Image D, below.
Image D / How to maintain parking and navigate this new configuration as a driver.
The next image shows us how this all shakes out in the middle of the block.
Lots of free parking!
Proper daylighting with landscaped infrastructure at our T intersections (47th/48th/50th/51st/Beverly). Daylighting is already the law in Indianapolis and is meant to prevent parked vehicles from blocking sightlines for those turning left or right.
Landscaped lane control at our speed tables. The main purpose of this piece of infrastructure is to keep people from using the parking lane as a travel lane. Probably not necessary during the day when this area is inundated with 100s of parked vehicles (allegedly), but it will be necessary at night after our hard-working local business owners have closed their doors for the night and all of the drivers have returned their precious vehicles home and tucked them safely in their garages.
Image E / Mid-Block Layout
Lastly, let's zoom in on the bustling business hub of 49th and Pennsylvania.
In dark orange, you can see your median barrier preventing left turns and through traffic on Pennsylvania.
The median barrier would break in two locations to allow pedestrians and cyclists to cross the street.
This would likely be a four-way stop, but it's possible it would only be necessary for Penn to have stop signs (two-way stop).
The light orange is a sidewalk expansion to squeeze the existing roadway. These would be rolled curbs instead of hard curbs to allow passage of delivery trucks. Bollards could also be placed strategically here.
A few free parking spaces were eliminated to widen the sidewalk and clear the sightlines around the intersection.
Free street parking is still available on both sides of 49th Street AND both sides of Pennsylvania (shown in blue). You may also notice that there is a LOT of off-street parking.
Image F / 49th and North Pennsylvania Street
That's my proposal for a compromise that maintains street parking and adheres to Vision Zero principles. We're not done though. If you hate this plan, the next section is for you.
Immediate Term Changes
The purpose of the Vision Zero Taskforce is to lead us to a future where zero of our neighbors are killed by drivers (that includes protecting drivers from themselves). If you're a member of the taskforce, you will have to bear the brunt of decisions that may initially be perceived as unpopular.
Unfortunately, the taskforce immediately failed the very first test they were presented. A vocal minority complained about this project. Instead of holding their ground or offering a legitimate compromise, the head of the task force abandoned Vision Zero principles.
What should they have done instead? I've come up with a few approaches.
APPROACH ONE: Stand your ground
The easiest approach. We've already invested in this project. It's funded. It's ready to happen. Let the vocal minority know that their concerns have been heard and you will follow-up with them six-months after the project to make sure their worst fears have not occurred.
APPROACH TWO: Pilot Period
The project has been designed and funded, so let's spend a little bit more to do a pilot period. This is very easy to accomplish with jersey barriers and could be done in an afternoon. We already know from the recent Taylor Swift show (Image G) that DPW is able to do this quickly and has the materials. Studies show that folks don't actually miss the parking that's lost for these projects and a pilot period would show that. The only problem with this approach is you probably shouldn't do it until the spring.
APPROACH THREE: Offer the compromise
There's nothing a vocal minority hates more than the tide being turned against them, which is why this project was pretty much entirely killed on background. The project we've just finished outlining would adhere to Vision Zero principles; would they stick with the original project if the choices presented were different? Let the vocal minority know that you hear them by presenting this alternative project and tell them that it's this alternative or the original. Status quo is not an option.
APPROACH FOUR: The double pilot period
Do a pilot period for BOTH alternatives. Make sure everybody knows that these pilot periods are being done at the request of vocal minority. I would lead with the much more obtrusive and confusing project that restricts traffic flow. People will hate it and maybe the second pilot won't even be necessary. All that work when you could have gone with approach one and stood your ground from the start.
APPROACH FIVE: Limited One-Way Conversion
This approach is simple and boring. Use the same street layout that's shown in image E, but remove one of the travel lanes to make room for a protected bike lane. This is BASICALLY the same layout of the original project, except you maintain two lanes for free parking instead of having two travel lanes (five miles of pavement for free storage of private property). You would only convert to a one-way between 46th and 52nd. The rest would follow the design of the original project.
Image G / Jersey barriers being used on Meridian to protect pedestrians during Taylor Swift's shows at the stadium in 2025.
In conclusion, I hope that I've overwhelmed you with ways to approach this situation that could have led to an acceptable outcome for everybody. There is no need for projects like this to die in the shadows. It's only because of other advocates that we even discovered that this project was drastically modified.
Is there an argument that Penn isn't the best spot for a protected bike lane in this area? Maybe! But if that's the case, give us the new project that parallels this route and the reasons for the change. Don't just rip out the rug.
And lastly, if this area is an essential area for businesses that requires 100s of readily available free parking, as we've been told - than there is ZERO argument that connecting this area with bike infrastructure isn't also critical. How can we ever reduce congestion if we don't create multiple mode options to access our most popular locations??? We have to stop thinking about every single piece of ped/bike infrastructure individually and start focusing on the entire network.
Council District
District 7 is just north of 38th Street and includes Broad Ripple to the north. It doesn't include the fairgrounds and is bound by Keystone and the White River. John Barth has been on the council since 2019 and will serve until 2028.
Contact John Barth: 200 E. Washington St., Suite T441 Indianapolis, IN 46204 317.902.1453 |  |
Other Involved Districts
No additional districts involved this week, but feel free to reach out to the Mayor of 46th Street.