The Indianapolis Cultural Trail, officially the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick, is an urban

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

and

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and shorelines. Examples of linear p ...

located in the vicinity of

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. The trail is often compared to other popular bicycle and pedestrian paths across the U.S. and has inspired similar projects throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Description

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is an urban

multi-use trail A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

. The trail is identifiable with tinted concrete pavers, providing visual continuity. Street furniture, trash receptacles, signage, and lighting are also consistent throughout the trail's route.

Route

Indianapolis Cultural Trail signage by Riley Towers

The Indianapolis Cultural Trail is composed of a downtown loop and three spurs. The northeastern spur follows Massachusetts Ave., terminating at its connection to the

Monon Trail The Monon Trail (known as the Monon Greenway in Carmel) is a rail trail located entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon Railroad was a popular railroad line connecting the cities of Chicago and Indianapolis, with stops at major settlemen ...

near 10th and Bellefontaine streets. The southeastern spur follows Virginia Ave., terminating at its intersection with Prospect and Shelby streets in the

Fountain Square A fountain square is a park or plaza in a city that features a fountain. It may stand alone or as part of a larger public park. In the United States, there are numerous fountain squares, many of which are actually called "fountain square." Ther ...

neighborhood. A two-way

cycle track A cycle track, separated bike lane or protected bike lane (sometimes historically referred to as a sidepath) is an exclusive bikeway that has elements of a separated path and on-road bike lane. A cycle track is located within or next to the ro ...

along Shelby St. links the trail with the

Pleasant Run Greenway The Pleasant Run Greenway, also known as the Pleasant Run Trail, is a shared-use path in Indianapolis, Indiana. It runs for from Ellenberger Park, through Christian Park, to Garfield Park. It follows the general course of Pleasant Run Creek as ...

. A short southern spur follows Capitol Ave., connecting the

Indiana Convention Center The Indiana Convention Center is a major convention center located in Downtown Indianapolis, Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The original structure was completed in 1972 and has undergone five expansions. In total, there are 71 meeting rooms, 11 ...

and

Lucas Oil Stadium Lucas Oil Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It replaced the RCA Dome as the home field of the National Football League (NFL)'s Indianapolis Colts and opened on August 16, 2008. The stadium was ...

, terminating at South St. In 2020 plans started for a two-mile extension to the trail which bring areas of Indiana Avenue and South Street in closer proximity to the city center. The trail intersects with the Canal Walk, a pedestrian loop flanking the former

Indiana Central Canal The Indiana Central Canal was a canal intended to connect the Wabash and Erie Canal to the Ohio River. It was funded by the Mammoth Internal Improvement Act, Indiana's attempt to take part in the canal-building craze started by the Erie Canal. ...

Glick Peace Walk

The walk can be accessed at W Walnut St. between N Meridian St. and N Capitol Ave.

Attractions

Indianapolis has seven designated cultural districts, first established in 1999. The purpose of these designations was to capitalize on cultural institutions within historically significant neighborhoods unique to the city's heritage for economic development and revitalization. Six of the seven districts are located along the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: *

Canal and White River State Park White River State Park is an urban park in downtown Indianapolis, downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Situated along the eastern and western banks of its namesake White River (Indiana), White River, the park covers . The park is home to numerous att ...

Indiana Avenue Indiana Avenue is a historic area in downtown and is one of seven designated cultural districts in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indiana Avenue was, during its glory days, an African American cultural center of the area. The Indiana Avenue Historic Dis ...

* Market East * Mass Ave * Wholesale District The seventh district,

Broad Ripple Village Broad Ripple Village is one of seven areas designated as cultural districts in Indianapolis, Indiana. Located in Washington Township, Marion County, Indiana, about north of downtown Indianapolis, the title of a poem titled "Broad Ripple" b ...

(about north), is connected to the trail via the

Public art

, there are nine commissioned art installations along the trail: * ''

Ann Dancing ''Ann Dancing'' is an artwork created in 2007 by Julian Opie (born 1958, London) an English artist and former trustee of the Tate. The electronic sculpture is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was removed from its base on August 20, 2008, fo ...

'' (

Julian Opie Julian Opie (; born 1958) is a visual artist of the New British Sculpture movement. Life and education Opie was born in London in 1958 and raised in the city of Oxford. He attended The Dragon School and then Magdalen College School, Oxfor ...

) * ''Care/Don’t Care'' (Jamie Pawlus) * ''Chatham Passage'' (Sean Derry) * ''Looking Through Windows'' (Michael Kuschnir) * ''Moving Forward'' (Donna Sink) * ''Poet’s Place'' * ''Prairie Modules 1 & 2'' ( M12) * ''Swarm Street'' (Acconci Studio) * ''Talking Wall'' (Bernard Williams) In addition to commissioned art, the Arts Council of Indianapolis's "Indy Arts Guide" lists 61 pieces of public art along or near the trail . In August 2018, Citizens Energy Group partnered with the

Harrison Center Harrison Center is a community-based arts nonprofit based in the Old Northside Historic District of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The center hosts 36 artists in 24/7 studios, eight galleries, and serves 93,000 annually. History Buildin ...

to install 20 artist-designed

manhole cover A manhole cover or maintenance hole cover is a removable plate forming the lid over the opening of a manhole, an opening large enough for a person to pass through that is used as an access point for an underground vault or pipe. It is designed to ...

s along the trail. The initiative sought to bring public attention to Indianapolis waterways and the $1.9 billion DigIndy project to address the city's combined sewer overflows (CSOs) by 2025.

History

After 12 years of planning and six years of construction, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene & Marilyn Glick officially opened in 2013. The $62.5 million public-private partnership, spurred by an initial donation of $15 million by philanthropists Gene B. Glick and Marilyn Glick, resulted in of urban bike and pedestrian corridors linking the city's cultural districts with neighborhoods, IUPUI, and every significant arts, cultural, heritage, sports and entertainment venue downtown.

Indiana Pacers Bikeshare

Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Inc. operates, maintains, and promotes the city's public

bicycle-sharing system A bicycle-sharing system, bike share program, public bicycle scheme, or public bike share (PBS) scheme, is a shared transport service where bicycles are available for shared use by individuals at low cost. The programmes themselves include bot ...

Indiana Pacers Bikeshare Indiana Pacers Bikeshare, also known as Pacers Bikeshare, is a public bicycle-sharing system in Indianapolis, Indiana. The service is operated by BCycle, a public bicycle-sharing company owned by Trek Bicycle Corporation. The system launched in ...

, consisting of 50 stations and 525 bicycles. The Cultural Trail, in partnership with

BCycle BCycle is a public bicycle sharing company owned by Trek Bicycle and is based in Waterloo, Wisconsin, United States. It has 47 local systems operating in cities across the United States. However, in several cities it operates under a name other ...

and the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, launched Pacers Bikeshare on April 22, 2014 with an initial 29 stations and 251 bicycles. An expansion was completed on September 5, 2019, nearly doubling available bikes and docking stations. About half of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail's annual $1 million budget is allocated to managing the program, which is self-sustaining through bike rental fees, annual memberships, grants, and sponsorships.

Impact

According to the ''Indianapolis Business Journal'', early grant applications predicted $863 million in development generated within a radius of the trail. An

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

Public Policy Institute report released in March 2015 found that assessed value of properties within of the trail increased by $1 billion from 2008 to 2014. Other key finds from the report: * Trail usage along the trail exceeds that of most other Indianapolis trails and greenways * Users feel safe on the trail * Exercise and recreation is the primary reason for use * Businesses located on the trail have hired additional employees * Property values have increased along and near the trail * Users reported spending and economic impact tied to trail usage The trail has also been considered a boon for convention business and inspired interest from cities throughout the U.S. and Europe.

References

External links

*
Streetfilms "The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: The Next-Gen in U.S. Protected Bike Lanes"
{{Parks in Indianapolis Parks in Indianapolis Transportation in Indianapolis Tourist attractions in Indianapolis Bike paths in Indiana Linear parks 2008 establishments in Indiana Non-profit organizations based in Indianapolis