The Community Heights Neighborhood Association is inviting neighbors to eat tacos and talk traffic barriers.
The group will host a community meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at the Lutherwood Chapel, 1525 N. Ritter Ave. Tacos (with all the fixings) will be served at 6:30 p.m., and a presentation on last year’s traffic calming project will begin at 7 p.m. The presentation will also be livestreamed on Facebook.
Anyone who drove through the neighborhood likely saw the temporary barriers installed on East 10th and 16th streets from last June to November. The purpose of the barriers was to slow traffic and increase safety along two busy corridors.
Leslie Schulte, former president of the Community Heights Neighborhood Organization and a leader on the project, said increasing safety along the roads became essential for a neighborhood where one in four residents doesn’t have access to a personal vehicle.
“Moms were reporting they would drive their kids across 10th Street to the park. They would love to walk there but didn’t feel like they could,” she said.
The city’s Department of Public Works greenlit the project through its tactical urbanism program, which allows residents to apply for permits to install temporary structures to slow traffic and increase safety.
The neighborhood organization conducted a speed study on 10th Street to better determine how well the barriers would work. Prior to their installation, the 85th percentile speed — a way to measure the speed at which most drivers feel comfortable — was more than 40 mph, and one vehicle was clocked going more than 50 mph.
With the barriers, the 85th percentile speed dropped to around 37 mph — just above the posted speed limit of 35 mph
Mirror Indy reporter Emily Hopkins uses data to write stories about people. Contact them at 317-790-5268 or emily.hopkins@mirrorindy.org. Follow them on most social media @indyemapolis.
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