INDIANAPOLIS — If you're trying to turn into one of those lunch spots or businesses along Meridian Street, you might find yourself having to drive down several blocks before you're actually able to turn in. Because of the new IndyGo Red Line, you can see there's a median that separates the lanes of traffic, but some people — whether on purpose or not — are ignoring it.
It's been a hectic few months for people like Sarah Gerkin who live at the Marrott Apartments near Meridian Street and Fall Creek Boulevard while the new IndyGo Red Line was being built.
"It's just been kind of chaotic honestly," Gerkin said. "It's just been loud, lots of lights and lots of construction, hard to get in and out of the apartment."
Now that it's here she says it's even more challenging to get into her apartment with the new median in the way.
"I actually talked to a police officer who said he wasn't really sure if we could go over it or not," Gerkin told RTV6. "He said if that's your way to get home you got to go left over it I would say yes?"
But as RTV6 found out — that's not correct.
IndyGo says they've been working with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to monitor the traffic and take note of which areas need more enforcement. But you are not supposed to drive over the medians to cross traffic.
"We've been working with our emergency services partners since the beginning," Lauren Day, an IndyGo spokesperson, said. "They helped write some of the standard operating procedures both how are the buses interacting with the emergency vehicles, but also when you make a change to the travel ordinance it goes through a process with city-county council and adoption there."
Most Red Line stations are a quarter or half-mile apart, so the furthest you'd have to drive before being able to turn is five blocks.
IndyGo and the Department of Public Works added U-turns to help people turn around.
As drivers get used to the rules of the road, IndyGo says police will focus on educating the public instead of enforcing through tickets or violations.
As of right now, IndyGo does not plan on adding signage to tell drivers not to drive over the medians. However, they are continuously monitoring timing, traffic, and issues like these to update in the future.
READ | Everything you need to know about using IndyGo's Red Line |
