INDIANAPOLIS — Richard Sullivan takes a lot of pride in his 1903 historic home, near the intersection of 9th Street and College Avenue.
“I fixed it up myself," the Chatham Arch Neighborhood resident said.
Sullivan has lived here since 1988, but says the past few years he’s dealt with something he calls the “Bottleworks Bump.”
“It causes my house to shake hundreds of times a day. Every truck, hauling gravel with a loose back gate, just makes a huge ka-thump," Sullivan said.
The intersection in front of his home has a speed table — a traffic calming device with a long, flat top, designed to slow vehicles down more gradually than a speed hump.
The speed limit in this area is 15 mph.
But Sullivan says cars often go double that.
“It hasn’t slowed traffic at all, which is supposedly the goal," he said.
Cicely Mays used to live off College Avenue and has experienced the dangerous traffic firsthand.
“I definitely feel that pain because I tried crossing there a couple of times, especially when there was construction. Now I’m just like, 'Nah, I’m good,'" Mays said.
She avoids the area entirely now and is concerned for others walking around Bottleworks.
“There are a lot of people here. People who have dogs, families. Not everybody can park in this area, so they may have to park further and walk," she said.
The Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association voted unanimously in 2022 to request its removal.
However, the speed table remains.
“It’s nobody taking responsibility, and we neighbors in the historic neighborhood are having a permanently ruined quality of life and can’t sleep in our beds," Sullivan said.
WRTV reached out to the Indianapolis Department of Public Works about the intersection.
A spokesperson tells us this is a high foot traffic area, and the speed table was an important addition because of the rapid development of the Bottleworks District.
Indy DPW added that the speed table was constructed by Hendricks Commercial Properties, and therefore, the department is not currently responsible.
WRTV reached out to Hendricks multiple times but has yet to hear back.
“We want them to take responsibility and remove this awful mistake. They’ve made a thousand good design decisions. This bad one, if they would just make it go away, that would be great," Sullivan said.
