Indy Pedestrian Plan Gets Underway

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indy’s downtown gets rave reviews for its sidewalks, bike paths and trails. But outside the city center needs a lot of work.

If it’s adopted, Indy Pedestrian Plan will be the first comprehensive plan focused on creating more walkable ways across the city.  Health by Design is a coalition that advocates healthy living through more walking and less driving. Executive Director Kim Irwin says they’ll be doing a lot of outreach.

"We expect to be talking to people at bus stops, we expect to be talking to people at events, looking at a variety of stakeholders, people who walk now routinely and people who never walk and maybe we can understand why that is," said Irwin.

Irwin’s organization, along with the Marion County Public Health Department and the City of Indianapolis, will use the plan to determine how to spend available funding.

"Part of what we're setting up through this project overall are systmes and partnerships that will allow for this plan to move forward." explained Irwin. 

The American Planning Association is funding the process, which should be finished next spring.