Businesses divided on Circle park

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18 thoughts on “Businesses divided on Circle park

    1. JJ Frankie J. that’s not a bad question to ask considering all the construction that’s going on downtown, one would pause to think if the Washington st entrance is still an option. No need to be condescending with your response. We all love the city and like to share thoughts and ideals on how to improve it and make it more inclusive and friendly. Lets not be rude

    2. Haven’t been to the Circle Theatre since 2016. Only been there maybe 3-4 times, ever.

      I think I went to Champps more times than anything offered down at the Circle Theatre.

      My response to the concerns of the ISO would be “tell the folks who want to valet to do it off Washington”.

      But with the Columbia Club being down there it would be political suicide to close the Circle. Freeman would honor the memory of Jack Sandlin and pass a bill making it illegal …

      “I’m thinking you’ve never been downtown”

      The only time I avoid downtown is when I know there’s a massive event and it’s not worth the hassle. Like next weekend with FFA? Yeah, pass.

      But it’s not a hard pass for me like a lot of others here who freak out at the sight of a homeless person.

    1. That doesn’t make it any less important to the businesses there who need customer access, nor to the customers who want to go there.

      Probably most residential streets in Indianapolis “aren’t a useful conduit of traffic and any time of the day” either. But that doesn’t mean they should be permanently closed to cars.

  1. Here’s the meat of it:

    “She said Spark has been a success and serves as a “proof of concept.” What makes the park different from other public spaces is that it feels constantly active, Schaffer said.

    In order to make any public spaces after Spark feel the same, they need the same level of programming, cleaning and policing, she added.”

    We have tons of EXISTING public spaces within just a couple blocks of the Circle that could be programmed, cleaned, and policed at the level Spark has been: Bicentennial Plaza at the Fieldhouse; Georgia Street; University Park; American Legion Mall; South Lawn of the Statehouse; Hudnut Commons (south of Simon building); Lugar Plaza (south side of the City County Building); City Market Plaza (and Market St. between there and the CCB would be a good candidate for closure!); the Cummins Building lawn; outdoor spaces at the Julia Carson Transit Center; the plaza in front of the (closed) Scotty’s at Virginia & Penn; Robert D. Orr Plaza, Bicentennial Fountain, and the Canal Basin in the State Government Complex; the rest of the Canal north to 10th St.; the front lawn at The Eiteljorg; Union Station overpass over Meridian St….

  2. I agree with Chris B. There’s already plenty of parks downtown to do these things in, we don’t need another one. Making streets pedestrian only is a prescription for disaster for the businesses on those streets. When it was tried during the Pandemic on Mass Ave it was a complete failure. If you want to walk and play in the street get used to walking by vacant storefronts.

    The express street grid designed to get lots of people in and out of downtown has been completely dismantled in the past couple of years and now we have grid lock even though there not nearly as many people downtown. I hear from many suburban friends that they just don’t want to come downtown anymore- not because its not safe but because its such a hassle. Many of us worked very hard for the past 40 years to make our downtown the envy of many midwestern cities, and it all seems to have been undone in the past couple years.

    1. It’s not that hard to come downtown on interstate and throw the car in a Circle Center garage. Not like anyone is at the mall. Now, if you want to talk about how parking rates have doubled, maybe you’ve got a point. But it’s 11 blocks from I-70 down to the Mall. You need that to be a one-way expressway?

      It’s kind of a catch-22 … it’s very hard to have a downtown that people want to live at, while at the same time prioritizing people who don’t live downtown and only want to dip in everyone once and a while.

  3. That Stephenson, who has basically opposed anything proposed by a Dem, says not only has Spark been a benefit but he’d even up for closing HALF of the Circle for traffic just shows how much of a benefit this program has been.

  4. I work right by the circle, SPARK offers a great place to get outside and enjoy the city during lunch. The thing that needs to come along with it is assisting cleaning up the homelessness that is right next to it or even in the actual area. I’d love to bring my kids down to enjoy it but the amount of bodily fluids I see or step over on a daily basis isn’t something I want to expose my kids to. Close to a million dollar project can be enjoyed by more by helping clean up the streets. I have seen people overdose on the circle, use the restroom in public view, or even seeing folks actually doing drugs needs to be addressed. If they can clean the streets up during large events in town, like Indy 500, means they can do it on a regular basis. Create a clean and safe environment again!!

    1. The city tried to get money for the low barrier shelter from the State. The bill never got a hearing.

    2. @Joe B. The city will get ~ $22million from the state for the Downtown Enhancement District(includes funding for low barrier shelter) once they submit a plan of action approved through the CCC and presented to the legislature for 2024 budget session. The CCC is reluctant to do this until the election is over because it will necessarily involve a tax increase for local residents. Russ McQuaid has documented this saga for the last several months.

  5. Hogsett: “once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of downtown”. Well, Joe, we’re experiencing your ‘vision’. It’s lifeless, inaccessible, boarded up and less of a destination. If cafe’s and outdoor seating is the goal, then encourage it with actual restaurants and cafes, Downtown’s lifeblood and heart if you will, has always been the Monument Circle. It was greatest when busses, cars, cabs delivering people back and forth was at its peak from the 20’s-50’s. At present, it’s on ‘life support’. If the area continues on its current path, it will only make the adjacent streets and businesses less viable.. European capitols like Brussels, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin aren’t considering putting in some astroturf and cornhole to increase foot traffic.

    1. Europe has outstanding mass transit. Indy remains the epitome of the American car culture.

  6. Joe B Not if you live in Nora or Carmel and I am sure many other places that aren’t close to the interstate spokes. Luckily Madison Ave hasn’t been screwed with yet for the southsiders, Ha

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