New Bus Rapid Transit Line Expected To Revitalize Indianapolis Neighborhoods

Indianapolis city officials hope a new bus rapid transit line will bring economic development to a historically underserved neighborhood, reports Deon J. Hampton. "The Indianapolis Public Transit Corporation’s $188 million Purple Line, a 15-mile bus rapid transit, or BRT, system will eventually run from downtown to the neighboring city of Lawrence, providing access to jobs and healthcare for those who mainly depend on mass transit."

According to the article, the city wants to see new retail space and affordable housing developed along an eight-mile corridor along the new bus route. "In Indianapolis, many low-income residents on East 38th Street, especially those between College Avenue and Post Road in the northeast section of town, support the upcoming project, which would bring new infrastructure improvements such as new drainage and curbs."

However, some critics of the project express concern that the bus line will reduce access to some businesses and put transit farther from some residents by removing some existing bus stops. But proponents of BRT say the line will help low-income residents reach jobs and amenities. According to Scarlett Andrews, director of the city’s Department of Metropolitan Development in Indianapolis, "the city has modified its zoning code specifically for transit oriented development along the bus route in preparation of economic growth and connectivity along East 38th Street, a section of which has underutilized strip malls, declining housing developments and has turned into a center for public safety issues."