INDIANAPOLIS— Monday morning, Randy Shirrell is waiting for the bus on Madison Avenue. It's a walk he takes every day and knows he needs to be careful.
"That's why I walk across right here cause it's not that wide," said Shirrell.
On her morning commute, Jennifer Hulett always tries to get on a residential street as quickly as possible. They both know being a pedestrian on Madison Avenue on the south side is not always a safe choice. They say drivers go too fast and sidewalks aren't up to par.
"There's sidewalk bumps to dodge, there's people to dodge and suddenly the sidewalks will just stop," said Hulett.
"I was standing right here waiting for a bus one day and a car came and knocked the telephone pole down right there," said Shirrell.
The city of Indianapolis is now working on a fix. The Madison Avenue Road Diet is a “Complete Streets” project that aims to improve road safety for all users by introducing traffic calming measures along the corridor.
WATCH | Neighbors say speeding is a major problem on Madison Avenue
"This budget year we're putting our money where our mouth is," said Brandon Hergert, the director of DPW.
The Madison Avenue project will take three years and 47 million dollars. The money comes from city and federal funding. It will remove two lanes on what is now a five lane road, sixteen miles of street will be repaved and new curbs and sidewalks will be added. It will also introduce the Interurban Trail.
City officials say the big priority is getting traffic to slow down.
"They're trying to get to downtown or going from downtown to get back home and they're going way too fast," said Councilor Kristin Jones who represents District 18.
The project will be done in three phases:
Phase 1:
- Timeline: Spring 2025 – Winter 2026
- Segment: Ray Street to Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive
- Awarded $10.4M from IMPO in 2022
Phase 2:
- Timeline: Spring 2026 – Spring 2027
- Segment: Martin Street to Hanna Avenue
- Awarded $3.8M from IMPO in 2023
Phase 3:
- Timeline: Winter 2027 – Winter 2028
- Segment: Pleasant Run Parkway North Drive to Martin Street
- Awarded $11.7M from IMPO in 2024
