A bus lane elimination bill targets IndyGo Blue Line project

We, a group of Irvington business and commercial property owners, write this letter to implore you to reconsider the lane restrictions with the current design of the Indy Go Blue Line.

We understand the importance of public transportation in our city with the #8 bus route being the busiest route coming down our street for many, many years. We support mass transit, welcome additional investments into the community, and understand the city is fortunate to have the federal funds to invest in the blue line implementation. When the city was unable to provide funding, the community personally funded a streetscape improvement to assist in the revitalization of East Washington Street through the Irvington community over the last 10 years. The demolition of our community funded streetscape and limitations on traffic flow required to run the line through East Washington Street will have a lasting impact on not only our businesses, but our community.

We have asked the IndyGo team several times if there has been another street with the high volume of traffic that east Washington Street sees thorough the entire day of personal vehicles, trucks, and semis. The representatives reference north Meridian Street just north of 16^th street however have not provided firm comparisons of the traffic counts. The North Meridian corridor is not a similar comparison of the retail, neighborhood community and only sees high traffic volumes in the morning and evening commutes during weekdays. In addition, we have asked some of the contacts if they have personally spent a couple of hours in the Irvington area on East Washington St observing the traffic concern we have brought forward and the answer was no. Also, we have communicated the concern of the very limited width of the traffic lanes being approximately 9 ½ feet between two curbs and the elimination of left turn lanes will affect numerous businesses and receive the response to look at the available studies on the website and everyone will need to adjust. In addition, we are aware the federal funds allow for a percentage of shared lanes in the appropriate areas of the project. When asked for the details of the percentage and where the shared lanes have been used in the design, we do not receive a firm answer. However, just last week we were surprised to understand some of the shared lanes will be utilized at the end of the line in the Cumberland area which has six lanes of traffic. This is an area not requiring shared lanes. The communication on the project has been poor through the process and even the community group designated to be the community’s consultant party was not aware of having this designation or responsibility. The answer we continue to receive is the design is at 90% and they will not make any modifications.

Over the last 20 years, we have struggled to revive the business corridor, investing our time and resources back into the neighborhood. Now our small businesses, which have survived the installation of the streetscape, economic changes, and a pandemic, face years long road closures and redirections, permanent limited access to our establishments due to lane restrictions, and more congestion along an already busy throughfare with the reduction of travel lanes and the ability to access our establishments.

We are a family friendly, pet friendly, walking neighborhood with an active community. With multiple schools in the area, we feel the added congestion, especially near the school zones with the additional traffic of school buses and pick up vehicles, is a safety issue.

Our livelihoods and future are at risk. We have all made a commitment to our historic neighborhood, investing more than just our financial resources. We are your neighbors, your school and community organization sponsors, and your friends. Please consider supporting a change to the current route.

We Are 4 Mass Transit
We Are 4 Safety
We Are 4 Historic US 40

Dedicated bus lanes are critical safety features of bus rapid transit (BRT) projects to not only improve bus travel times and reliability, but also greatly reduce impacts caused by congestion or traffic incidents and improve safety for all modes of transportation by calming traffic. They also allow a dedicated lane for emergency vehicles to utilize. 

Without dedicated lanes, the Blue Line does not move forward and would mean the devastating loss of millions of dollars in traffic calming and safety features, along with significant drainage and infrastructure improvements, including sidewalks, street paving, and ADA curb ramps along Washington Street that otherwise would not be realized along a corridor that desperately needs it. It would also mean the waste of more than $185 million spent to build the Purple Line project that was intended to connect downtown Indianapolis to Lawrence through BRT, utilizing dedicated bus lanes. 


Since the passage of the referendum in 2016 where 60% of voters approved the Red, Purple and Blue BRT lines, more than $1 billion have been invested along the lines. Nearly $400 million of that is happening specifically along the Blue Line before ground has even been broken in anticipation of the completion of the project. 


Many people rely on public transportation, including several schools and essential workers. Ridership continues to increase, especially on the Red Line, and the Purple Line will replace our highest ridership route. Halting the advancement of public transportation will also halt riders’ ability to get where they need to go efficiently and safely.