INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Roughly 29,000 vehicles travel on Central Avenue in Indianapolis on any given day. With the construction of the IndyGo Red Line on College Avenue set to begin in the near future, the Department of Public Works anticipates that number to increase by at least 2,000 vehicles.
DPW has planned to start a $2.5-million project for Central Avenue between 38th Street and Westfield Boulevard to allow for the increase in traffic.
Right now, DPW is working on base repairs along Central Avenue between 38th Street and Westfield Boulevard, to prepare for one major aspect of this project: resurfacing. This resurfacing is being done before the Red Line project begins and changes are made, to allow for a smoother drive and ease that heavier traffic.
During the resurfacing part of the project, Central Avenue will remain open; Lanes will just be restricted and shifted during the work.
Once that resurfacing is complete and the Red Line work begins on College Avenue, temporary traffic signals will be added to various intersections on Central Avenue (including the intersections of 42nd Street, 49th Street, 52nd Street, 54th Street, and 57th Street).
At the same time, some stop signs will be removed going north and south on Central Avenue at the intersections of 40th Street, 56th Street, and 58th Street. This move is very concerning to some neighbors on the street.
Reinhard Pollach has lived on the corner of Central Avenue and 56th Street since 2002. He said the removal of the stop signs, even just temporarily, has left him on edge.
"Before we got the stop sign, I don't remember if it was 8 or 10 years ago, it was a race track," Pollach said. "People would go flying down the street. And then once we got the stop sign, it changed everything.
"The number of accidents went down, we would have three or four a year. Some really severe. People can cross the road without being afraid somebody's coming up the hill that they couldn't anticipate."
Pollach said the removal of the stop signs is a recipe for disaster.
"I think once the road is back in a smooth condition, which is something we've all been hoping for, for the last 24 years, to be honest with you, I think it’s going to be a very well-traveled road and people are going to take advantage of that,” Pollach said.
DPW said they will be taking measures to slow people down around the intersections by inserting temporary speed tables on the roads around those intersections in which the stop signs are being removed.
The locations of those speed tables will be around the intersections of 40th Street, 44th Street, 50th Street, 56th Street, and 58th Street.
Pollach said he’s thrilled about other aspects of the project, especially the resurfacing, and said the temporary lane restrictions tied in with resurfacing is just the price for progress—but the removal of those stop signs might not be that great of a plan. He said other neighbors share the same sentiments.
"I hope they look at that very responsibly and carefully and get input from the people that live in the immediate neighborhood," said Pollach.
Warren Stokes with DPW said DPW is working with IMPD and other departments to make sure they keep a good eye on the increase of traffic on Central Avenue during these changes.
He said if they see that traffic is changing, in a bad way, they will adjust accordingly.
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