SOBRO — A project aimed at improving safety at one intersection along the Monon Trail is now gone. The month-long tactical urbanism project was meant to see how certain features would make the intersection of 52nd Street and the Monon Trail safer for drivers, bikers and pedestrians.
“It did feel a lot better, and a lot safer, as a walker and a biker," Audrey Broaddus, who lives close to the intersection, said.
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“I feel less safe crossing that trail now that the project has been taken out," Elizabeth Vos, who lives nearby, stated.
Residents across SoBro have known about the issues at the intersection for a long time.
“If I’m sitting on my porch, I can hear the sound of a cyclist getting hit at this intersection," Vos explained. "And I’ve been worried about it."
“When riding my bike through here, it’s always kind of sketchy to ride through 52nd," Broaddus said.
That's why, for the past month, if you drove past the intersection, you saw things like big orange barriers, traffic cones and bright paint on the bike lanes. That was all part of a tactical urbanism project created by Vos, in partnership with the City of Indianapolis, to see if they could make the intersection safer.
So, what did they find?
“I had never seen so many cars preemptively stop or slow down just to check if anybody was coming before they crossed," Vos said.
She and other residents collected data while the installation was up.
They found a 10% increase in the number of cars yielding at the stop and saw a decrease in vehicle speed; the average speed dropped from 28 mph to 24 mph.
“The feedback I’ve gotten, not only from people who worked on this project but from drivers and from residents of the area, is that this project worked out really great," John Barth, City-County Councilor for District 7, said. "It did exactly what it was intended to do. It brought visibility to the area. It yielded results, and folks would like to see it continue in some form.”
“I would love to see a more permanent installation," Broaddus said. "I think it’s important at these types of crossings, just for the safety of everybody.”
“I’m happy that it happened. I’m sad that it’s over. And I’m hopeful that we can figure out something in the meantime to make this intersection safer," Vos said.
Barth told WRTV the next steps involve him, and other project leaders, bringing their data to the Department of Public Works.
“That’s a discussion that will happen with DPW over the coming months, and then hopefully we can see changes that are more long-lasting coming next year," he stated.
DPW said the barriers had to be taken down on November 1 for snowplow training. There is no plan to put in another installation for the time being.
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Casey Zanowic is the In Your Community reporter for North Side Indy. She joined WRTV in July of 2025. Casey has a passion for storytelling and is ready to showcase impactful stories that make a difference in her community. Share your story ideas and important issues with Casey by emailing her at casey.zanowic@wrtv.com.
