Indianapolis Cultural Trail

by Brian Payne, President, Central Indiana Community Foundation

The first questions most people ask me about the Cultural Trail are:
“Where did the idea come from? How did it start?”

In 2001, the Cultural Development Commission was formed and Mayor Peterson appointed me as one of nine commissioners. Our charge was to develop ways to position Indianapolis nationally and globally as a cultural destination city, as well as to make Indianapolis a city of choice for the world’s best talent when looking for a place to live and work.

Our first strategy established the six cultural districts: Mass Ave, Indiana Ave., the Canal and White River State Park, the Wholesale District, Fountain Square and Broad Ripple Village. The Cultural District program promotes walkable areas of town that feature several arts, cultural, heritage, sports and entertainment venues. These areas or districts offer both residents and visitors the opportunity to experience places and neighborhoods versus singular venues. While promoting this idea, I kept hearing from my colleagues, donors to the foundation and board members that the districts needed to be connected somehow to really work.

That spring, I joined thousands of walkers, joggers, roller-bladers, strollers and cyclists on one of the first beautiful days in April on the Monon Trail. As I strolled my young son along the trail, I thought: “Why couldn’t we build an urban version of the Monon downtown to connect the Cultural Districts?”

The more I thought about it, the more excited I became. The more I talked to young people and families moving to Indianapolis, the more I heard that the Monon Trail was one of their most valued assets in Indianapolis. Over time, after literally hundreds of conversations and generous financial support, it has become a reality. I’ll admit: it is so much more than I ever initially envisioned. As the Cultural Trail vision has grown due to the involvement and creativity of hundreds of partners and supporters, so too have our ambitions.  We now know that the Cultural Trail will not only change the landscape of a city, but also the values of its people.

The real lesson from this story is that the idea of the Cultural Trail was inspired by something we already have and that already works well – the Monon Trail and our greenway trail system.

It begs the question: What else do we value so highly, already works well and could be leveraged into the next big idea for Indianapolis?  Send us your thoughts.

by Brian Payne, President, Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF)

In early November, I attended the CEOs for Cities national meeting in Chicago, Ill. CEOs for Cities is a national organization that works with a cross-sector network of urban leaders to create next generation cities that excel in talent, connections, innovation and distinctiveness and are therefore able to best address the challenges of the day.

The meeting discussed the findings of a new study, City Dividends by Joe Cortright, an economist from Portland, Oregon, which “calculates the monetary gains the top 51 metros could realize if they increase their college attainment by one percentage point (The Talent Dividend), reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by one mile per person per day (The Green Dividend) and reduce the number of people in poverty (The Opportunity Dividend) by one percentage point.” (from www.ceosforcities.org)

The study reports that our metro area could gain an additional $1.3 billion by realizing the Talent Dividend; $305 million through the Green Dividend; and $138 million in one year from the Opportunity Dividend.

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick addresses the Talent Dividend by helping attract and retain more highly educated, creative talent to Indianapolis who want to live in a more walkable urban, vibrant and connected place. It also helps address the Green Dividend by providing a safe and beautiful pathway for walking or biking that connects you directly to every major arts, cultural, heritage, sports, and entertainment venues and within a few blocks of the largest employers in the downtown area. 

According to this study, one could deduce that the Cultural Trail will help Indianapolis realize and redirect an additional $1.6 Billion per year toward more positive economic development.

The Green Dividend requires walkable, sustainable cities. Yet, people need a reason to walk. They need to be conveniently connected to places and the journey needs to be interesting as well (i.e. other people need to be there, too). They also need to feel safe and comfortable walking (i.e. parallel parking can provide a comfortable buffer and provide a safer walking environment).  The Cultural Trail provides the connectivity, safety and inspiring environment that will draw more people, creating a vibrant urban experience.

Another speaker and a renowned leading environmentalist with Serrafix, Douglas Foy said “Cities are for people, not for cars.”  He offered five related key messages/strategies for cities:
1. Cities that are greener are inherently more efficient.
2. Cities that focus on pedestrians will have a competitive advantage.
3. Zoning of the past 100 years has been a huge mistake.
4. Cities must maintain transit systems and make them better.
5. Cities should use conjestion pricing tools and other incentives to get people out of cars, such as shared cars, shared bikes and shared parking.

Lastly, the meeting noted five characteristics of great cities:
1. Great neighborhoods
2. Urban density for effective transit
3. Not-for-profits leading and creating intellectual property
4. Water that is celebrated
5. Green energy

None of this is shocking or necessarily new information. However, it is helpful to show the monetary benefits associated with making incremental improvements, such as increasing our college educated population by ten percent or reducing our VMT by one mile per day. It’s also helpful to have outside sources giving us a very clear roadmap for success based on research, trends and examples.

Indianapolis is a great city that keeps getting better. We still have our work cut out for us to remain competitive for talented, highly educated employees and residents who can live anywhere in the world. This study is one more important source showing that the Cultural Trail offers very tangible and economic benefits that the City of Indianapolis will reap for decades to come.

Last week, there were three completely different but very important examples of how the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick is already inspiring creativity, conversation, collaboration, recreation and neighborhood rejuvenation.

Example #1: Inspiring Neighborhood Rejuvenation
In the Monday, October 27, 2008, issue of The Indianapolis Star, the article “Fletcher Place’s new look,” described plans for a new $2 million residential and office building called Fletcher Place Terrace that will be located on South College Avenue. Jeff Miller, a board member and spokesman for the Fletcher Place Neighborhood Association said: “The neighborhood is counting on the coming leg of the Cultural Trail to link [Fletcher Place] more directly with downtown.”

Example #2: Community Collaboration
On Wednesday, October 29, the Indianapolis Colts gave away 50 free bicycles to kindergartners and first-graders at the Center for Inquiry IPS School #2. Why that school? Because it’s located on the Cultural Trail and it is planning a bicycle program for its students that will teach bicycle safety and maintenance.

Example #3: Creative Conversation
On Friday, October 31, as the first public art installation, “Ann Dancing,” by Julian Opie, was re-installed after some repair and restoration on the corner of Mass Ave, Alabama St. and Vermont St., a new public art installation just north of “Ann” was discovered on the Cultural Trail just outside Marsh the Marketplace.  Small rocks painted bright yellow carried the message in black repeated one message three times: “We are going to be okay.”  The artist? Unknown.  Read full story.

All three examples are early signs of what is to come as the Cultural Trail is completed. With only one-half mile done and 7.5 miles to go, this project is demonstrating the power of what can happen with better connectivity and creativity.

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick is different from most downtown development projects for many reasons. One of the biggest differentiators is the Cultural Trail’s funding sources. Most of the funding, approximately $35 million of the $50 million budget, will come from charitable contributions. We are also using $15 million in federal transportation funds, but no local funding.

To date, we have raised $27 million in charitable contributions from individuals, like Gene & Marilyn Glick, who gave $15 million in 2006 to help launch the project into reality. Local charitable foundations and a few businesses have made generous pledges or gifts as well. (See a partial donor list.)

Yet, we still need to raise $8 million to complete the plans we have started on time and on budget. It’s not fun to think about but the fact is: Without this funding, the Cultural Trail will not be completed.

People give donations for many reasons. Maybe you give to honor someone’s anniversary or wedding. Or maybe you give in memory of someone you loved. Maybe you give because it’s something you believe in and it connects with your core personal values.

Individuals, foundations, and businesses have supported the Cultural Trail for many different reasons. Many of them have given because it is an opportunity to show their support for something that will transform our hometown. They understand that one gift to the Cultural Trail is an investment in our city’s future.  

A gift to the Cultural Trail is an investment in making Indianapolis: 
– more environmentally friendly through 500 new trees, plantings and storm-water planters 
– more healthy through access to bicycling, running or walking
– more connected to neighborhoods, cultural districts and greenways
– more artistically diverse through $2 million in new public art 

If you believe that this project is important, for these reasons or your own, please consider making a gift. We cannot do this without you. Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) manages the Cultural Trail’s charitable donations, so your gift is also tax deductible. CICF can take gifts of cash, check, credit card or even stock, real estate, and estate planning gifts.

For more information on giving, please contact Gail Payne, 317.713.3333 or Gail@IndyCulturalTrail.org.

p.s. Thank you to ALL of our donors who have helped this project become a reality.

Now that the first half-mile is complete, we are creating a plan to maintain this as a world-class facility for decades to come. The Cultural Trail’s $50.35 million budget includes a $5 million maintenance endowment* that will provide some funding for maintenance long-term. We also plan to build a team from our partnership with the City of Indianapolis and bring in new players to help, like Indianapolis Downtown, Inc., which already provides maintenance management for much of the downtown area.

We need your help, too. The Cultural Trail provides trash receptacles, among other site furnishings (lighting, bike racks, bollards, benches) that we felt would most enhance the trail’s experience and help maintain it as a world-class amenity.

If you see trash, pick it up and place it in the trash receptacles.

If you see glass on the Trail, call us (317.713.3333). We will have it cleared as soon as possible.

If you see people vandalizing the Trail with stickers or paint or skateboards, call them names and then call us. We will make sure it is reported.

If you’re smoking on the Trail, please put out your cigar or cigarette safely in an appropriate container. The butts are trash, too. They don’t belong on the ground.

And, if you’re chewing gum, whatever you do, do not throw it on the trail or the in the plant bed or anywhere on the ground. Let’s just say that Brian Payne may personally come after you if you do!

We need to work together to keep our city clean and beautiful. Thank you for your help and cooperation!

*The Margot L. and Robert S. Eccles Charitable Fund, a CICF Fund, will match your gifts to the Cultural Trail maintenance endowment! For example, every $2 you give, it will chip in $1. Contact Gail Payne today to make a gift: 317.713.3333 or Gail@IndyCulturalTrail.org

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick is known mostly for being a bicycle and pedestrian path. It’s also adding significant greenspace in the downtown area. Along the first half-mile alone (Alabama Street from North Street to Market Street), 60 new trees, and 16,000 square feet in new shrubs, perennials and other plantings have replaced concrete and asphalt.  But did you know that many of the planting areas are specifically designed to reduce and clean stormwater runoff from the street? Typically, all stormwater on the street runs into a storm sewer and from there into our rivers and streams. These planters are dramatically reducing the amount of runoff and associated sediments and pollutants that eventually flow into the storm sewer system. These are the first stormwater planters in the city!  (Maybe even the state. We’re not sure.)

It’s great that we can learn from other cities and apply best practices to this dynamic project. The stormwater planters were inspired by Portland, Oregon, which uses them extensively throughout its neighborhoods and urban areas. Next time you’re in Portland, check out the Stormwater Walking Tour presented by Portland State University: or if you just want to learn more, check out Portland’s Sustainable Stormwater Management Program.

When you consider the overall impact of the stormwater and other planters planned along the eight mile Cultural Trail, that’s a LOT of water saved from our sewer system. The plantings will also make downtown more beautiful, green and create better air quality.

Learn more about the stormwater planters along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: http://www.indyculturaltrail.org/east.html

Our first permanent public art installation, “Ann Dancing” by Julian Opie is “taking five” for a little “repair and renovation.”

One of four sides of the LED display was not working properly and needed to be repaired at Atlas Signs of Indianapolis.

We hope she’ll be back soon, ready to rock out in the Mass Ave Cultural District on the corner of Vermont St., Alabama St., and Mass Ave.

Learn more about the new, permanent public art that will be along the Cultural Trail on our Web site: http://www.indyculturaltrail.org/publicart.html