New Year, New Construction

This new year brings plans to build nearly four miles of the eight total miles of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick. (Photo: One of 50 new trees planted along Alabama St. in 2008) Here's a quick update on what's ahead:

Northeast Corridor - Sunesis Construction will begin construction this spring on the next mile, which connects North St. and Alabama St. to the Monon Trail at 10th St. A more specific timeline will be announced at a later date.

North Corridor - Similar to the Northeast Corridor, the North Corridor, connecting North St. and Alabama St. to Indiana Ave., will utilize federal transportation funding and be awarded by the Indiana Department of Transportation later this spring.

Capitol Ave. Corridor - The half-mile from Maryland St. to South St. on Capitol Ave. is paid for and will be built as part of the Indiana Convention Center project this summer. To connect this corridor to the Cultural Trail, one block, from Maryland St. to Washington St., will be paid for and built by the Cultural Trail at the same time.

Southeast Corridor - This 1.3 miles connecting Alabama St. and Market St. to the Fountain in Fountain Square will be paid for by private donations and bid through the City of Indianapolis this fall.

We will continue to provide updates in Trail Talk and on our Web site throughout the year. For more information, see our construction schedule or call 317.713.3333.

Cultural Trail May Be Used As National Case Study

Just before Christmas, Santa gave an early gift to the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. Brad Ball, a landscape architect and planner with Toole Design Group (TDG), LLC in Washington, DC, visited the Cultural Trail December 23 and spoke with lead designer Kevin Osburn of Rundell Ernstberger Associates and trail project manager Mark Zwoyer of RW Armstrong. This visit was part of TDG’s ongoing research and analysis of bicycle and pedestrian facilities and policy for the 2009 edition of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Design Guidelines for Bicycle Facilities and the new edition of its complimentary publication for Pedestrian Facilities. (See photo from left: Brad, Kevin and Mark review Cultural Trail plans.)

“What’s the gift?” you ask? All designers, architects and engineers must follow the lengthy list of AASHTO Design Guidelines for building public works projects. Just imagine how it must feel to have the people who write the guidelines ask to use YOUR project as a case study for all of your colleagues to follow and reference all across the country!

It’s not confirmed that the Indianapolis Cultural Trail will make the final print guidelines, but Brad was pretty impressed: “I learned a lot from the work you have done, and I'm excited to see the progress over the next few years!”

Kudos to our fabulous team who continues to knock this project out of the park on so many levels.

Be a Trail Blazer!

THANK YOU to everyone who has given generous contributions to support the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. We are excited to welcome several members to our new Indianapolis Cultural Trail Blazers giving group who have made gifts of $100 or more in the past and just recently. Trail Blazers will receive a special t-shirt and invitations to members-only events throughout the year. (Photo: Artwork on t-shirts, which come in blue for women and dark green for men.)

This project cannot be realized without help from ALL of our friends and supporters. It's now easy for you to make a gift today through our new online donation form. There are also many other ways you can support the Cultural Trail. Visit www.indyculturaltrail.org/support for more information.

Become a Trail Blazer and friend of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail today. Let's build this Indianapolis legacy together.

2009 Brown Bag Lunch Schedule

In 2009, the monthly brown bag lunch schedule will move to quarterly meetings that will continue to provide the latest updates on all aspects of the Cultural Trail project as it develops.

The next Brown Bag lunch meeting will be Tuesday, March 24 at the English Foundation Building, 615 N. Alabama St. from 12 noon to 1 p.m.

For more information between meetings, read your Trail Talk monthly e-newsletter, visit IndyCulturalTrail.org or contact Gail Payne for more information or to schedule a presentation: Gail@IndyCulturalTrail.org or 317.713.3333.

ArtBike! Coming in February

The 5th Annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) will be in Indianapolis February 27 through March 1, 2009, bringing thousands of bike enthusiasts to Indianapolis. NAHBS, founded by Indianapolis resident, Don Walker, will also feature ArtBike!, a street art/sculpture/installation art exhibition, that is open to all and brings creative progressive people together through community, bikes and art.  ArtBike! will be in Mass Ave and Fountain Square art galleries beginning with first Friday, February 6. Each participating gallery will receive one handmade, custom painted bicycle from a North American Handmade Bicycle Show exhibitor.  All art has to have a cycling theme.  At the show in the Indiana Convention Center, there will be a 20' x 20' display area for selected contributing artists to show their art to show participants.

For more information, visit www.handmadebicycleshow.com.