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The Indiana University People Mover was built at a cost of $44 million in 2003 to shuttle people between Indiana University hospitals. Under it are fiber-optic cables and pneumatic tubes, still functioning today, that connect the hospitals. But the People Mover’s original purpose is now fulfilled by a fleet of shuttle buses. So, there it sits, abandoned and forlorn.
But what if an entity buys or leases the People Mover, then adds lightweight concrete decking, siderails and lighting, converting it to an elevated trail for bicycles and people? It is about 8 feet wide, built to hold multiple-ton trains.
I propose naming it The Indiana Black Heritage Trail, with all the sections dedicated exclusively to the many leaders in Indiana’s Black community in all fields of endeavor: the arts, entertainment, business, sports, politics, education and science.
A few names that come to mind include Sam Jones, Wes Montgomery, Cleo Blackburn, Julia Carson, Madame C.J. Walker, Major Taylor, Oscar Robertson, Wilma Rudolph, Lucy Higgs Nichols, Billie Breaux, Ray Crowe, Michael Jackson and Dr. Joseph Ward—all of whom have added so much to Indiana’s history and progress. The 1.4-mile length could readily support many dozens of permanent dedicated sections, as well as rotating dedicated sections, all with appropriate signage. The scope of the inductees should be statewide.
The trail would be for biking, walking and rollerblading, lighted in the early evening hours. Perhaps there could be a connection to the Cultural Trail. And perhaps a connection to the Crispus Attucks Museum, which the trail passes right by.
Urban elevated trails have had significant use, as, for example, the High Line in Manhattan, a public linear park 1.45 miles in length.
To pay for the heritage trail’s construction, I think many individuals, companies and endowments could have sections permanently dedicated to their sponsorship. The approximately 7,400 feet could be divided into 100 sections, each about 74 feet in length, for sponsorship purposes.
On an annual basis, an individual, company or endowment could sponsor one section, or more. A portion of the sponsorship fee would go to an endowment for maintenance of the trail, just as with the Cultural Trail, thus relieving IU Health of this burden.
The current national reflection on racial inequities will spur national and local action, with new initiatives such as the Central Indiana Community Foundation’s Inclusive City 2020.
The Indiana Black Heritage Trail would literally “rise above” Indianapolis and be a tangible symbol of institutional memory in support of Indiana’s Black leaders.
There would be nothing like it in the United States.•
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Keller is a retired downtown real estate developer and former member of the Indianapolis City-County Council.
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Great idea!
As much as I’d love to see the people mover expanded and made more useful, I love this idea! No matter what, they definitely shouldn’t be allowed to tear it down without public discussion.
This seems like an smart way to make lemonade out of lemons, and it wouldn’t be contrived in the least, since the People Mover goes (or went) through what have been some of Indianapolis’s oldest and most significant African-American neighborhoods.
I love this idea! It could also be used by the many Hospital employees who bike commute to work to get back and forth from north to south campus. The shuttle busses are not always reliable. How can we make this a reality?