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DECODING INDIANAPOLIS’S TACTICAL URBANISM PERMIT APPLICATION

INRC Neighbor Power Indy

Leslie Schulte

chnoindy@gmail.com

March 9 2024

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Traffic calming is permanent

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Trees for Life Oregon (Bump outs), SMATS Traffic Solutions (Traffic Circle, Chicanes), Go Active Long Beach (Bike Lane), Traffic Logix (Speed Table), Atlanta Department of City Planning (Parklet)

BUMP OUTS

CHICANES

TRAFFIC CIRCLE

PROTECTED BIKE LANE

SPEED TABLE

PARKLET

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Tactical urbanism is temporary, but can be used to inform permanent changes

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Go Active Long Beach (Bike Lane), Big Car Collective (Temporary Bike Lane)

PROTECTED BIKE LANE

TEST OF PROTECTED BIKE LANE

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Tactical urbanism is temporary, but can be used to inform permanent changes

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TEST OF TRAFFIC CIRCLE*

TRAFFIC CIRCLE

*Trees must be watered every day. The streetscape is 20-30F hotter than the reported temperature.

Other Ideas:

Tactical Urbanist's Guide

AARP Liveable Communities Library

SMATS Traffic Solutions (Traffic Circle), Tactical Urbanist’s Guide (Temporary Traffic Circle)

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Sidebar: Art-in-the-ROW is an easier permit to secure, however, it isn’t explicitly going to lead to permanent changes

No data collection component
Murals spanning the lane of traffic slow drivers only slightly
No crosswalks, as of Summer 2023

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Anna Brochhausen Elementary, 5801 E 16^th St, Indianapolis (bee), the Neighborhood DesignCenter (rainbows)

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Community Heights is a suburban, east-side neighborhood, with many car-free road users

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21^st St

10^th St

16^th St

Ritter

Arlington

Emerson

Census Track 360900

Data from savi.org

Community Heights is an east side neighborhood. It is a mile by mile square, between 10^th to 21^st and Emerson to Arlington Ave. It is about a ½ miles form I-70 and about 2 miles from 465. While Community Heights is a suburban neighborhood with many single family homes, there are also large and small apartment complexes. There are also multi-family homes and 55+ housing. Many of our challenges are related to infrastructure that is designed for moving cars as quickly as possible out of the neighborhood. Three of four of our boundaries (Emerson, 10th and Arlington) are fast roads and not dignified to walk to bike along. There are left and right turn lanes at intersections, so where there are crosswalks, the crosswalks are at the widest portion of the road.��While our roads are designed to move drivers out of the neighborhood as quickly as possible, one in four neighbors in community heights does not own a private vehicle. Some of this is because we have a higher than average number of seniors who are living with a disability, some of this is because of poverty, half of families with children are low wage workers, and some of this is by choice.

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10^th St looks like a drag strip

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Neighbors got together with a city engineer to envision a different streetscape. In January 2022, 4 independent groups of neighbors designed a 10^th St with a middle turn lane with street trees and a curb protecting the bike lanes and sidewalk

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In July 2023, bike lane protections and center turn lane street trees were installed

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With the barriers, the majority of drivers went the speed limit on 10^th St. The 85^th percentile speed dropped to 36-37 mph, close to the speed limit 35 mph

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Number of Vehicles - West Bound				Speed (MPH)	Number of Vehicles - East Bound
20	15	10	5	Speed (MPH)	5	10	15	20
				50-51
				48-49
				46-47
				44-45
				42-43
				40-41
				38-39
				36-37
				34-35
				32-33
				30-31
				28-29
				26-27
				24-25

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Before the installation, most neighbors felt unsafe on 10^th St

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After the barriers were installed, �most neighbors felt safe on 10^th St

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Neighbors report center turn lane passing has been eliminated

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Neighbors report drivers are following the speed limit more often

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With the barriers, there were 73% fewer crashes on 10^th between Emerson and Arlington Ave

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In order to inform permanent changes, tactical urbanism must collect data

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- Speed data

- Survey Public Perception*

- IMPD crash data

- Count of drivers (Traffic Tally)

- Count of cyclists and/or pedestrians

- Decibel Level (Phone App Decibel X – Pro Sound Meter)

BEFORE DATA

- Speed data

- Survey Public Perception*

- IMPD crash data

- Count of drivers

- Count of cyclists and/or pedestrians

- Decibel Level

AFTER DATA

* Collect name, address, and email. Bots are a problem.

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A speed study is a tool engineers use to set speed limits. Neighbors can use a speed study to determine if a road design is appropriate.

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Number of Vehicles - West Bound				Speed (MPH)	Number of Vehicles - East Bound
20	15	10	5	Speed (MPH)	5	10	15	20
				50-51
				48-49
				46-47
				44-45
				42-43
				40-41
				38-39
				36-37
				34-35
				32-33
				30-31
				28-29
				26-27
				24-25

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The first step is to build a team…

Team members

Lead
Day-of 2^nd in Command
Person with some computer skills

Advertising events and results – Canva
Surveys – Google Forms
Figures in permits – Powerpoint + screenshots + shapes
Graphs and data processing - Excel

Optional team members

Press contact (x2-3) – when talking with the press have 1-2 talking points and ALWAYS BE POSITIVE
Social media person
Grant writer
Translator
Partner coordinator

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…and identify a location

IMPO Central Indiana Incapacitating & Fatality Crashes
IMPO Traffic Safety Risk Score

Click on the road (it’s fiddly, make sure you’ve got the road and not the background map). Check the AADT (Average Annual Daily Traffic): Less than 10,000, you’re good.

On minor arterials, the only materials that can be installed are traffic control devices and they can’t be bolted to the road surface
On roads with less traffic, the materials you can use are likely to be more expansive

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Department of Public Works (DPW) Tactical Urbanism Policy

DPW Tactical Urbanism Policy Link

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Key permit sections – Existing conditions

Pictures of the road + caption of where the picture was taken and in what direction

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Figure 10. Photo of the roadway immediately north of the school. Photo was taken from the south side of the street, looking west.

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Key permit sections – Description of elements and plan

Demonstration (<30 days) or Pilot (31+ days)
Materials – Size, Manufacturer, Color, Shape, How they will be arranged

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Key permit sections - Goals

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Key permit sections – Schematic of the plan

Use a screenshot of google maps + shapes in powerpoint to arrange materials

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Key permit sections – Installation plan

Dates – Installations are allowed from April 1st – October 31st
Temporary Traffic Control Pattern

Screenshot of google maps + shapes for signs, cones, flaggers, vests for volunteers
Note on cones: Grabber cones are easier than barrels
Must have one for installation, maintenance, and removal. You can say “Same as installation”

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Key permit sections – Temporary Traffic Control

Temporary Traffic Control Pattern

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Key permit sections – Temporary Traffic Control

Temporary Traffic Control Pattern – Example #1

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Key permit sections – Temporary Traffic Control

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Key permit sections – Maintenance Plan

Maintenance Plan

Forseeable maintenance activity

Trash, watering trees/plants (arborists recommend every day)), wear and tear on elements like reflective tape

Proposed frequency

Daily, weekly, as needed

Unforseeable maintenance activity

Crashes, graffiti

Removal

Installations must be removed before November

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Key permit sections – Outreach plan

Neighborhood Outreach (Public Input)

Meetings
Advertising surveys
Canvassing
List partners and funding sources
Get letters of support from neighborhood organizations, Indianapolis Public Schools, City-County Councillor, IMPD district commander, Marion County Health Department, Department of Public Works, Indianapolis Fire Department, After-school programs

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Key permit sections – Neighborhood Outreach cont.

Neighborhood Outreach (Public Input)

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Key permit sections – Data collected

Data Collection

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Key permit sections – Nice to have, but not necessary

Optional Appendices

Cutsheets or manuals of materials, Survey you’re putting out, Promotional materials (Flyers, yard signs, etc)

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EVERY PERMIT APPLICATION IS A NEGOIATION

Items I hope we get a “Yes” for someday

Attaching traffic control devices to the road surface (bollards, parking lot stops)
Removing installations after Halloween
Crosswalks, provided they are ADA Accessible
Big, fast, dangerous roads

Emerson, Shadeland, Keystone, Raymond, Crawfordsville

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Liability

The applicant is fully responsible for anything that happens while the tactical urbanism installation is in place

Get a general liability policy with directors and officer’s (D&O) add-on

Irvington Insurance helped us. I was not able to secure it without an agent’s help.

At events, have volunteers sign in with some language around the organization is not liable

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Materials we know get approved

Traffic Control Devices – Cable Ties and More, others

Reflective Tape – 3M Conspicuity Marking – Grainger, others

Coatings – Color Safe Resin – Transpo Industries, others

Tom Donnelly is easy to work with tdonnelly@transpo.com

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Materials Community Heights has that you can borrow, rent, or buy

Traffic Control Devices - Water walls

Cones, traffic safety vests, stop-slow signs, roll up signs and bases

If you need more or different materials, Indiana Sign and Barricade super easy to work with

Speed gun

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BARBIE

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Lessons learned - Advertising

No matter how much advertising you do, people will say, “I didn’t know”

Distribute flyers during the planning process, and 30 days before the installation, to each house and business bordering the installation
Visit neighborhoods around the installation
Advertise meetings on facebook, nextdoor, a website, email list, and in your city-county councillor’s newsletter
Put up yard signs
Translate advertisements into Spanish (or Tagalog! or Burmese!)

Get a professional photographer + permission to distribute and send the nice photos to news organizations

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Lessons learned – Answering questions after the fact

Release a one-page summary of the project on social media a week or so ahead of time
Have website with Q&A ready to publish

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Funding

Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center

$1,500 for completing Indianapolis Community Building Institute
Indy Arts Council

Indiana Department of Health Tactical Urbanism

Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF)

League of American Bicyclist’ Community Spark Grant

AARP Community Challenge

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Less Competitive

More Competitive

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Thank you to our sponsors who made this citizen-scientist project possible

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Special thanks our partners

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Together, we can advocate for safer streets and a better future

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