Irvington business leaders and a few residents met on October 10 to discuss IndyGo’s plans for the Blue Line. The Blue Line is IndyGo’s third proposed dedicated-lane rapid transit project, running west to east primarily along Washington Street. The 24.5 mile project would run through the business district of Irvington along East Washington St. to Cumberland. Several business leaders expressed concerns about the upheaval the construction would create, as well as pointing out difficulties in present plans to construct a station in the middle of East Washington at Ritter Ave.
Many Irvington business leaders, lead by Irvington Business Association president Lisa Bennett (Black Sheep Gifts), expressed major concerns with the plans especially about changes in the historic district, noting that new raised medians would interfere with left turns off side streets and for funeral processions from the two funeral homes on the street. Several business owners noted that deliveries would be almost impossible to their establishments as there was no way for large vehicle to make turns onto Johnson Ave. or some other streets. The Ritter/Washington intersection was of particular concern due to the school zones and the historic Irving Theatre building on the corner. They also voiced worries that the construction would significantly disrupt business, as it did during construction of the Red Line along College Ave., and the Purple Line along East 38th St.
In a letter to IndyGo, business leaders asked IndyGo to reconsider plans to run through the historic Irvington neighborhood. “Over the past 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 of long road closures and redirections, pemanent limited access to our establishments due to lane restriction, and more congestion along an already busy thoroughfare with the reduction of travel lanes, elimination of parking, and the ability to access our establishments.”
Officials from IndyGo stated that the Blue Line would connect the east side directly to the airport, and help improve access to 114,000 jobs along the corridor. As proposed, there are 30 stations along the route, including stops at Sherman, Ritter, Arlington, and Post before terminating in Cumberland just east of the Wal-Mart. Currently, IndyGo has designed about 60% of the route, and is working on notifying property owners about right-of-way acquisition. They expect to get to 90% design sometime this fall, and if all goes according to plan, construction would begin in late 2024 and run through 2026. IndyGo anticipates the line will be ready for service in 2027. The Blue Line would serve about 48,000 commuters and reduce their commuting time an estimated 25-35 percent. The total cost of the project is about $390 million.
According to plans as they are at present, Washington Street will have one lane for traffic and one bus lane in each direction. Protected left turn lanes will be provided at certain location. No existing parking spaces along Washington will be removed. However, they couldn’t give a guarantee that the Irvington streetscape would be untouched, although they have no current plans to alter the median. Lesley Gordon, IndyGo’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, said that they would try their best, but if changes to the streetscape were necessary, IndyGo would keep the community informed of the changes.
Officials also assured business leaders that Washington Street could still be used for the Halloween Festival Street Fair and buses would be rerouted as they are right now for the day. In addition to the bus lane, the Blue Line project will replace or build sidewalks, upgrade ADA curb ramps, resurface existing lanes, upgrade crosswalks, and more.
IndyGo has not yet completed designs on the segment of the Blue Line on the near-eastside to Irvington. They will be scheduling informational meetings for residents about the Blue Line before finalization. Visit www.indygo.net/blue-line for a map of the project and updated timeline.
