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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIn a January legislative compromise, Indianapolis city officials agreed to “reevaluate” and eventually remove no-turn-on-red restrictions at three downtown intersections near an Indiana Statehouse parking lot.
The compromise between Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett’s administration and Statehouse Republicans required that Sen. Aaron Freeman (R-Indianapolis) withdraw legislation that would force Indianapolis traffic leaders to remove all of the no-turn-on-red signs installed in downtown Indianapolis under a 2023 ordinance.
In addition, the compromise included a one-year moratorium on the installation of more signs and, as IBJ recently learned, the reevaluation of some intersections based on the recommendation of state lawmakers.
“In order to protect the city’s ability to implement future traffic safety measures in the places where our residents and traffic safety engineers believe they are most needed, the city agreed to pause on mass installations of new No Turn On Red signage to allow for the study period, and to also re-evaluate certain intersections at the request of state legislators,” Department of Public Works spokesman Kyle Bloyd told IBJ in an email.
The three “reevaluated” intersections are just north of a parking lot that state legislators use during the annual General Assembly. The lots are all along Ohio Street, at the intersections of Senate Avenue, Capitol Avenue and West Street.
Bloyd said in an email that no other signs were taken down as part of the compromise. Signs were placed at those intersections as part of the initial 97 restrictions that were announced via the city’s website. Notice of plans to install no-turn-on-red signs at intersections are required by the ordinance to be posted 90 days prior an installation.
The ordinance was intended to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety after the city said it saw a record 40 pedestrian deaths in 2022. At a press conference announcing the measure last year, city leaders cited a five-year study conducted by Department of Public Works engineers that found 56.7% of vehicle-pedestrian collisions in the downtown area were at stoplights where drivers failed to yield. Outside of downtown, that percentage is just 25%.
There were no recent instances in which drivers crashed into pedestrians or cyclists at the three intersections, according to a database of these incidents managed by activist Eric Holt. The database goes back nearly two years.
He told IBJ that the compromise is emblematic of the Republican-led Statehouse.
“Legislators don’t want No Turn on Red signs in their own front yard, while failing to grasp the fact that in their back yard we are in the midst of a nationwide crisis that Indianapolis is disproportionally affected by, due to our aging infrastructure that prioritizes cars over people,” Holt said in a written statement. “It also sets a very poor standard that we must have documentation of incidents at a specific location to warrant any type of preventative initiatives. This is about preventing injuries and death.”
Freeman did not respond to a call seeking comment. Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray declined to comment through a spokesperson.
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Preferential treatment for state legislators? I think George Orwell said it well: some pigs are more equal than others.
I hate to equate this to mask wearing, but like wearing a mask you are less likely to injure those around you. It’s the same “Freedom to Injure those around you” all over again.
Good quote from Eric Holt.
yeah, but who cares about those citizens and pedestrians!
These state legislatures only care about their comped IU tickets and getting in and out of work as quickly as possible
So the State is running so perfectly that the state legislators have the time to continuously meddle in local traffic rules? What next, no lemonade stands in Ft. Wayne, remove all no passing zones in Terre Haute and definitely no to everything in Gary becaue they have Democrats as their mayors. This is the problem with a “super-majority”, too much meddling when there are bigger issues which need to be addressed: lack of funds for foster child care, lack of funds for care of special needs children and adults, lack of public health funding, etc.
This….is why we need to bust up the Republican supermajorities. Petty nonsense.
What’s your plan to do that, Rick? You are a democrat living in a an overwhelmingly republican state. Just get used to it or move to California.
The state is about 53% Rep, 47% Dem, the supermajority is the result of pretty extreme gerrymandering. If this was fixed, we’d get voters interested in races because either party could win. We get compromises in the statehouse because each side would really have a voice.
Troy, Indiana isn’t “overwhelmingly” Republican. The supermajority is fabricated through partisan gerrymandering. Republicans have never once received a supermajority of votes in Indiana.
I don’t blame Troy for thinking we are an overwhelmingly republican state but it is simply not true. As has been said below gerrymandering is the reason we have repeated super majorities. Members of both parties should recognize that repeated supermajorites of either party are not healthy for our state. These majorities, without any checks, tend to get a bit drunk with power and start legislating ridiculous things and poking around in areas they should stay out of.
This is so absurd that it could serve as a plot in an episode of South Park. The IN GOP is embarrassing.
Freeman is more concerned that he may need to wait 15 seconds, than the FIVE times a car hit someone within 1/4 mile of these locations within the last month. That figures.
He’s genuinely one of the most selfish, insufferable people I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting.
He’s the smartest person in any room he ever walks into. Just ask him.
What a bunch of clowns. I’m so glad they spent so much time, money, and effort regulating local control for the purposes of being able to turn out of their parking lots 2 seconds faster during the two months out of the year they are actually here.
End partisan gerrymandering so we can get these fools out of here.
Yep!
In the last week we had kids shooting it out in front of the downtown mall, the shooter in a Castleton mall shooting get a whooping 3 year sentence, and Democrat feces Mark Stoner give a cop killer a sentence of 3 years time served.
Not a word or headline from IBJ employees. No riots, no protests, no coverage at all, other than your mayor announcing a curfew (gasp!)
Instead we get “street signs Bad!” And “black caucus”.
Your occupation and publication are a grotesque joke
Joke? Then you won’t miss reading it when you un-subscribe, huh? smh
It is the Indianapolis “Business” Journal, not the “Indianapolis Crime Journal” or the “Indianapolis MAGA Network”. If you want to see non-stop stories about crime and shootings, you can tune into any of the local television stations. You can also head over to Indy Star. All they report on is crime and sports.
Oh no! Not a caucus that has existed for decades going out into communities to ensure that people are heard! Whatever shall you do?!
+1
The foolishness of any politician needs to be exposed regardless of
their political affiliation.
We already know that our legislators are bad stewards of Indianapolis through the huge surface lots they maintain near campus. They create a black hole in the middle of Downtown. They’re not even really needed; The Legislature got by just fine this year with hundreds of parking spots blocked due to construction of the archives building.
They may change their mind after one of them gets hit crossing the street. Not sure why they think they are so special.