Main Street Master Plan Is Not Done

The target date for the Speed Zone Master Plan's public unveiling is May 21.

The plan's current status would be classified as "fluid" with a lot of details to be worked out with stakeholders, business owners, local town officials and Indianapolis officials that include Indy Go, City-County Council and Department of Metropolitan Development.

American Structure Point Consultant Shane Burkhardt said, "we are lot farther along than when we started last June, but the plan is still very fluid."

Burkhardt explained that he was somewhat relunctant to make public announcement at this point in case some part of the plan becomes derailed that would prevent achieving the target date. The implementation part of the plan would definitely not be completed until June.

The Speedway Redevelopment Commission hired American Consulting Engineers to develop a Main Street Master Plan. Since then, ACE has changed its name to American Structure Point so some of the plans are labeled ACE.

Burkhardt explained the public comment session is over and now it is time to get to the nitty-gritty of developing the future look of Main Street. "Main Street is definitely a big piece of the plan, and it will require more detail," he said.

There still a number of Main Street stakeholders that Burkhardt wants to involve in the process. The Old Speedway City Neighborhood Association is considered one of the important stakeholders. OSCNA organized the effort for Main Street to become a national historic district

He noted the streetscape could not be developed until the gateways, street alignments and road structure to access Main Street have been identified first. It is not an easy process because the plan involves so many entities' approval before the plan could be implemented. The SRC is definitely in the driver's seat, but it is not the only one with authority.

"It takes a lot of coordination to involve everyone," he said.