INDIANAPOLIS — Community Health Network leaders, Mayor Greg Ballard and several east side community leaders stood together on May 20 to cut the ribbon on a project that significantly improves a busy Emerson Avenue from 16th Street to 21st Street on the city’s east side. The $2.1 million initiative was funded in part by Community Health Network, the City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana.
“Our city is filled with strong, vibrant neighborhoods, because residents, businesses and local government agencies come together to improve the quality of life for all who call Indianapolis home,” said Mayor Ballard. “The new Emerson Avenue streetscape is a terrific example of how thoughtful investment by community partners can transform a neighborhood, and I thank Community Health Network for their commitment to this area.”
Enhancements to Emerson Avenue include:
• Improved medians with new plantings and irrigation
• Upgraded signals at 16th and 21st Streets
• New signal at 19th Street
• Special pavements at crosswalks at 16th, 19th and 21st Streets
• Resurfaced roadway from 16th and 21st Streets
• New six foot wide sidewalk along the west side of Emerson Avenue
• Three neighborhood gateway markers
• 34 street trees, 35 ornamental trees, 133 shrubs, 7,000 square foot lawns, 24,000 square foot landscape beds, 1,000 square foot of storm water planters
• 2,600 foot long multi-use trail
“This is another way Community Health Network is showing its neighbors that it is committed to the east side and is here to stay,” said Community Health Network East Region President Scott Teffeteller. “This project also shows the value of public-private partnerships. We had a team of people from our network, the Mayor’s Office and neighborhood groups who helped design a landscape that stays true to the history of this area. The people of the east side of Indianapolis are well-known for how they come together to address issues and solve problems.”
The Emerson Street Corridor Gateway Project received input from a number of neighborhood groups, including Community Heights Neighborhood Association, Little Flower Neighborhood Association, Emerson Heights Community Organization, and the Irvington Development Association.
