Bus Shelters Coming to Route 34

(posted July 2)

Within ten weeks, bus shelters should be sprouting up along Indy Go Bus Route 34, also known as Michigan Road. Crooked Creek Northwest Community Development Executive Director Alicia Chadwick teamed with two Brebuf students, Zach Richardson and Laura Appelt, to implement plan.

Alicia Chadwick said Richardson often took the bus to school and became disgusted when standing out in the pouring rain. Chadwick explained that Brebuf has a community service curriculum, so Zach talked to his school advisor about the need for bus shelters. In the mean time, Chadwick was talking to the Pike Township Residents Association about improving Crooked Creek. She noted that bus shelters were one of the needs listed. Richardson's father just happened to be in the audience, so he thought it would be best for the Brebuf students and CCNCD to team up.

The plans are always involving. At the June 19 CCNCD meeting, draft plans were made to sponsor a bus shelter to help Indy Go with maintenance. The sponsor would be responsible for picking up trash, cleaning the shelter windows and beautifying the shelter.

She also noted a two dimensional public art contest has been proposed for secondary and post secondary students at Pike Township High School, Brebuf and the Indianapolis Art Institute. The eligibility requirements are living or working in Crooked Creek. She said it can be literary or graphic art design. She noted the CDC was able to receive a $5,000 grant from GINI to market the public art competition.

INDY Go PIO Ronnetta Spalding said the adopt the shelter endeavor would be a pilot program with Crooked Creek. She commended "Alicia and her group for having an ability to see beyond the their immediate neighborhood but the foresight to examine a problem three miles down the road. They have a great interest in the neighborhood. They look out for the young and old. They look outside the box.

Spalding said federal grant money is covering the five to six shelters at $4,000 a piece. Indy go is reassessing the bus routes and installing new signs that are more explanatory than the green metro signs. About 1,400 new signs have been installed including the Lafayette Square Area.

Chadwick explained that installing shelters is not an easy task because of ADA compliance. She noted some areas had to be rejected for shelters because they lack sidewalks as required for ADA compliance. She also noted they are trying to move the bus stop from Westlane by Lo-Bills to Michigan Road by the KFC because there is not enough space to build a shelter at the current spot.

She said the physician at the Phillip and Vivan Pecar Health Center recently talked with the CDC about adding a bus stop at 6940 Michigan Road to serve the clinic's patients. The center even requested a bus turnaround in the parking lot so the patients have less of a walking distance. The clinic sets ¼ mile back from the road. There are no sidewalks or traffic lights. The clinic's primary function is to serve low income pregnant women. The physician told Chadwick that many of these pregnant women walk along Michigan Road with children and push strollers to get to the clinic.