A clean, attractive Downtown pleases visitors and residents, spurs economic development, improves the quality of life and enhances customer perceptions of safety. Indianapolis takes pride in its Downtown landscape. Businesses and volunteers have joined forces with Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. (IDI) and the City of Indianapolis to keep Downtown clean and beautiful. Downtown is a gateway for our visitors and its beauty and cleanliness are dependent on private sector cooperation.
Keeping Downtown beautiful has included a number of projects from planting trees and gardens to forming cleaning committees, recruiting volunteers and raising funds. Since 1994, 2,351 trees have been planted and 92,078 volunteer hours for beautification efforts have been recorded.
Indianapolis has been recognized as having one of the cleanest Downtown’s in the U.S. In 2008, 81 percent of Central Indiana residents surveyed indicated that Downtown is clean, according to the Indianapolis Downtown, Inc. Downtown Biennial Perception Survey.
In partnership with the City’s Departments of Parks and Recreation and Public Works, IDI plants two seasons of flowers in Downtown’s 206 planters, three seasons in the Wholesale District. A “Beautification Calendar” that lists key events, timelines and flower colors is distributed to more than 1,000 Downtown businesses for a coordinated look. Nine planters filled with topiary hibiscus, coleus and annuals were added on Pennsylvania Street to create a beautiful corridor identity for the Penn/Market district.
In the past 15 years, numerous corridor improvements have been made to enhance streets and revitalize Downtown.
- Washington Streetscape features trees surrounded by beds of daffodils, daylilies and ornamental railing from Delaware Street to Capitol Avenue.
- Jackson Place, between Union Station and the Omni Severin Hotel, is a Victorian perennial garden with a 10-foot wide granite and Indiana limestone urn.
- Infrastructure improvements include repaved streets, new sidewalks, historic street lights, 238 shade trees, thousands of colorful perennial flowers, new trash receptacles, storm sewer upgrades and improved traffic signalization.
- In 1997, Well Point, Inc. and OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. invested $40,000 to create a major gateway into Downtown at I-70 and Illinois Street.
- Continuing the tree planting efforts, the Downtown Kiwanis Club has planted 302 trees throughout Downtown.
West Street, a major traffic corridor between I-65 and I-70 in Downtown, has a fresh look due to efforts that were completed in 1999. The 2.3-mile stretch features more than 1,000 trees, 120 shrubs and 750 perennials and bulbs.
The West Street Landscaping Project improvements were made possible through an extensive public-private partnership totaling $764,370 including a $280,000 ISTEA grant from the federal government. The City of Indianapolis, IPALCO Enterprises, Lewis & Wagner, Rotary International, IUPUI and IDI were also actively involved in the project.
This is the largest tree planting of its kind in the state and was unprecedented in the Midwest because maintenance funding was included in the construction budget. Phase II of the project earned three awards: 1998 Monumental Affairs Award, National Arbor Day Award and the Indiana Urban Forest Council’s Project of the Year Award.
Since 1993, IDI has transformed 18 neglected urban eyesores into gateway gardens.
There are nine Gateways and Gardens maintained by IDI:
- Garden at 10th & Central streets (1994)
- Garden at Alabama & St. Clair streets (1994)
- Washington Streetscape (1995 - from Alabama Street to Capitol Avenue)
- Jackson Place (1995 – between Omni Severin Hotel and Union Station)
- Pathways to Peace Garden (1995 – SE corner of Indiana and Senate avenues)
- Courtyard Garden at Presidential Place (1990 – SE corner of Alabama and Washington streets)
- I-70/Illinois Street Gateway to Merrill (1997 & 2001)
- Rotary Greenway (Phase II of West Street Landscaping Project) (1998 – median between St. Clair and 10th streets)
- Capitol Gateway (2006 & 2007 – between McCarty Street & I-70)
Gateways developed in part by IDI, but maintained by others:
- Ohio Street & College Avenue (1995)
- West Street median between Indiana Convention Center /RCA Dome and Victory Field (Phase I of West Street Landscaping Project)(1994)
- Kiwanis’ planting near Marion County Jail (1998)
- Kiwanis’ planting at White River State Park (1999, 2002)
- West Street Landscaping Project Phase III (1999, 2004)
- I-70/ McCarty St. Gateway (developed by the City of Indianapolis and Eli Lilly) (2001)
- Kiwanis’ plantings at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (2003, 2005)
- Kiwanis’ planting at 16th Street & Fall Creek Park (2004)
The IDI Cleaning Partnership was formed in 1997 as a coordinated cleanliness effort of the public and private sectors. It consists of 193 members representing more than 688 Downtown properties. An Advisory Committee, which helps guide the Partnership, has established cleaning standards for Downtown, improved cleanup after major events and advocated improved cleaning of bus shelters. Additionally, the Partnership has improved sidewalk pressure washing, increased mowing and cleaning on interstates and encouraged owners of vacant properties to clean their areas.
Partners regularly step outside their property boundaries to help keep Downtown clean. They remove litter, gum and graffiti from their buildings, parking lots, loading docks, sidewalks and alleys up to four times a day. In doing so, they increase property values, improve property appearance, enhance perceptions of public safety and increase the economic vibrancy of Downtown.
In Fall 2006, The IDI Graffiti Task Force began to address graffiti issues in Downtown Indianapolis and nearby Cultural Districts. The task force is comprised of IMPD, Mayors office, Marion County Prosecutors Office, DPW and IDI representatives. Since its inception, IMPD has made 11 arrests of “taggers” Downtown. More than 1,000 Downtown, Broad Ripple and surrounding area businesses have received information on ways to handle this challenging issue.
To clean up the proliferation of cigarette butts, Monument Circle businesses and the City installed 54 ash urns in 1999. Since then, cigarette butt litter has been reduced by 95 percent. In 2000, a coordinated sidewalk pressure-washing plan was implemented to make Downtown even cleaner. In 2003, the sidewalk evaluation area was expanded to include the Mile Square. In April 2009, 91 percent of the sidewalks were rated “clean.”
Since 1994, Downtown has benefited from more than 92,078 volunteer hours from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 481, Neighborhoods, local schools and colleges, Master Gardeners, Tree Stewards, Kiwanis Rotary Clubs and Downtown friends and neighbors. The City of Indianapolis and community service workers also help with routine maintenance.
The Downtown Beautification Committee, comprised of 15 community-minded volunteers, created the Marge Tarplee Downtown Beautification Fund, named after long-time beautification visionary and advocate Marge Tarplee, chairman of the committee. To date, a $350,000 endowment has been raised to support plant material, maintenance, holiday decor, lights and electricity. Memorials to honor family or friends are also welcome.
During the holidays, IDI works with its partners to install more than 770,000 twinkle lights on 200 Downtown trees to create a magical, festive environment. Four IBEW-NECA/Quality Connection member companies maintain year-round lighting on 75 trees around Monument Circle. Volunteer IBEW Local 481 union workers and the contractors of Quality Connection also install the holiday lights that decorate the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Monument Circle known as: Circle of Lights® presented by the Contractors of Quality Connection and Electrical Workers of IBEW 481.
Updated 7/09 |
