Oct 31, 20247 min read

Southeastern Avenue and Miller Drive

The intersection of Southeastern Avenue and Miller Drive is circled on the map.

Incidents

NOV 28, 2023 / Pedestrian Death (FCRB Reviewed / Master Record: 904404968)
JUN 15, 2019 / Pedestrian Death (Not reviewed / pre-dates FCRB)
Ten other fatal incidents not involving pedestrians. Driver vs. driver or solo driver.
Southeastern Avenue is the first corridor we're looking at that is not part of the High Injury Network.

What does the Fatal Crash Review Board say?

Only one incident from Southeastern Avenue has been reviewed by the FCRB and I'm going to quote their full recommendation:

"None."

The pedestrian killed during this incident (external link to WTHR story) was struck by two different drivers and they had to use a DNA test to identify the teen victim. Sidewalks and crosswalks don't exist where the incident happened. The bike lane was unprotected. No recommendations. It's very clearly that they consider the pedestrian completely at fault, and themselves blame-less.

Immediate Term Changes

Skipping immediate term changes this week. The issues this corridor faces would be best addressed during a resurfacing project in most cases. The area between Emerson and Washington Street would also be an excellent place to experiment with Speed Tables, like the High School Road corridor we talked about last week.

Long Term Changes

Southeastern Avenue from Thompson Road to Washington Street is about nine miles. The reason I'm extending this all the way to Thompson is because Thompson and Southeastern is very close to one of Indy's best parks, Southeastway Park. Protected bike infrastructure to this park (someday) would be an amazing amenity.

THE PLAN!

Standardize the two-lane sections of the corridor (about 70% of the corridor) and establish a quick-build protected pedestrian/cycle lane on the north side of the road.
Properly terminate I74 and create a safe way for ped/bike crossings.
Reconfigure the area between the termination of I74 and Raymond Street to make it safer, slower, and more efficient for all users.
Reconfigure the recently completed project at Southeastern and English to adhere to Vision Zero principles and connect the rest of the corridor to the protected bike land that is nearing completion (and the project on Rural that is getting ready to begin).
Unfortunately, there is currently some free street parking in Wanamaker, so this entire project could be undone if a single business owner complains.

First, I want to revisit the idea of Tiered Development. You can read more about my thoughts on how a tier is determined in the Resources section of this site. I bring this topic back up because this project will cover all three tiers. I've created a graphic below to show what the different investment levels would look like on this specific project. Also, note that all of the graphics this week have a map across the top that will show where we're currently located in the corridor.

Image B / Tiered Development on Southeastern Avenue. Note that the most common current configuration is on the far right of the image.

Our problem intersection is next. Image C is the location of the pedestrian death that was discussed above. There isn't currently any pedestrian infrastructure at this location. Combining the bike lane gutters into a single cycle track gives us a versatile space that can be protected from drivers in a few different ways, as explained above in Image B. Almost the entire corridor has the space to accommodate this layout. At the squeeze points, the size of the bike lane can be reduced, or additional right of way can be acquired.

Image C / The intersection of Southeastern Avenue and Miller Drive. The pink dotted lane shows the outline of the existing corridor.

The termination of I74 is our next location on this journey, as we head northwest towards downtown. This area would be the most significant investment recommended in this post, and I believe is under the purview of INDOT. Image D shows you the current configuration if you're unfamiliar. I74 is the right side of the image, Southeastern comes in from the bottom and continues to the left as the two roads become Southeastern. There's no way to cross this safely on a bike or on foot, even though there is currently a painted bike lane. A roundabout is the safest option.

Image D / Current termination point of I74. Note the pink dotted lines, which are also in place on Image E to show the shape of the current corridor.

Our new roundabout is below in Image E. You can see pretty clearly that this is a drastic improvement for all users. Drivers now get a clear signal that the interstate is over. Pedestrians and bikes get protection from folks disobeying traffic signals and clear sightlines at all conflict points. The equipment company even gets to maintain their massive right turn slip lane at the top right corner of the image.

Image E / The reconfigured termination point of I74. The pink dotted lines highlight the outline of the current corridor. The orange-ish color is a truck apron with a raised and rounded curb. The circles are bollards to protect peds/bikes. As this is an entry point to the city, the three large bollards could even have flag poles for the city, state, and American flags.

After the I74 termination point, we have two key intersections that need some slight adjustments. These adjustments are shown in Image F, and explained below.

At Arlington we're basically just modernizing the intersection.

The right turn slip lanes are eliminated, because they're dangerous.
Lane widths are squeezed to create room for our protected bike lane.
The left turn lane from NE on Southeastern to South on Arlington gets a big extension, as backups usually occur because it's too short.

At Raymond, we see some more significant changes to make the intersection safer and more efficient.

The bike lane remains on the north side of the street here, which is the safest place for it to be at this location.
The bike lane takes a small jog here for maximum protection and gets some bollards to protect folks waiting for the light to change.
Folks going Northwest on Southeastern now have a single through lane at the light instead of the dangerous drag race merge strip that occurs after the light in the current configuration.
Going from Northeast on Southeastern to East on Raymond also becomes easier since we converted our single left turn lane to a double. There's already plenty of room for this setup and it makes sense to add it.
If you're traveling Southeast on Southeastern, we've moved the transition from one lane to two to after the light. You lose some throughput on the light, but it's worth the sacrifice for what we gain on the other side of the intersection. Also, this side of the intersection is only busy for about 30 minutes each day. Promise that we don't have to design every intersection for peak usage.

Image F / Proposed changes between Arlington and Raymond. The two intersections are each enlarged to better show some details.

Our final area is the site of an extensive project that just completed in 2024. This project streamlined the flow of traffic through this area and has provided a greatly improved experience for drivers. However, a few choices they made that don't align with Vision Zero principles have made this area less safe for other users. You can see the current configuration in Image F and my reconfiguration recommendations right below that in Image G. I'll explain the adjustments after the images.

Image F / The current configuration at Pleasant Run Parkway

Image G / Recommended reconfiguration at Pleasant Run Parkway

Rural to Pleasant Run reconfiguration recommendations:

First, I want to address how pedestrians are actually using this area. There is a grocery store in the massive parking lot at the bottom center of the image. All of the folks that live in the area on the top side of the image are taking the shortest path possible to the grocery and crossing mid-block where I have placed a raised crosswalk that doesn't currently exist.
At the Pleasant Run intersection, the crossings are too long. I've made an effort to shorten the crossing distance for all four crosswalks, with the Pleasant Run Trail crosswalk now becoming the most ideal crosswalk instead of the worst.
The Pleasant Run trail was a total afterthought in this project and the Community Justice Center project. I've given the trail a proper raised crossing and think it's time to properly reconnect it on the other side of the CJC campus (not shown). There is plenty of space and numerous options for reconnecting the trail.
For drivers, I've removed a lot of pavement that is confusing and unnecessary. I really encourage you to take a trip through this area and see all of the painted "infrastructure" (which will fade and make things more confusing). I'm recommending it all be hardened.
Drivers heading Northwest from the single travel lane on Southeastern will now be met by a single travel lane on the other side of the Pleasant Run intersection instead of two. This minor change discourages the drag race to the roundabout that currently occurs AND makes our mid-block pedestrian crossing MUCH safer.
Drivers heading Southeast on Southeastern from the roundabout will now be forced to merge into a single lane before choosing to continue straight, left, or right at the intersection. Another slight change, that discourages the drag race to the light AND makes our mid-block pedestrian crossing MUCH safer.
There have been pedestrians injured at this mid-block crossing location that I'm recommending, but no deaths have occurred since construction completed. A pedestrian death at this location is inevitable unless changes are made.

That's the Southeastern corridor! Like these ideas? Contact your councilor and the councilors below. I've noted which section is under each councilor's purview.

Council District

Southeastern and Miller Drive is located in City Council District 20 and Michael-Paul Hart is your councilor. District 20 is oddly shaped but is mostly East of Emerson, South of Washington Street and North of Thompson. Michael-Paul joined the council in 2019 and his current term ends in 2028.

Contact Michael-Paul Hart:

200 E. Washington St., Suite T441

Indianapolis, IN 46204 317.327.4242

michael-paul.hart@indy.gov