On October 20 IndyGo held a virtual meeting to explain the details of the proposed charging station to be built at the former KeyBank location at 64th and College Avenue, [D2 on map].

The facility will be used for charging the Red Line (Route 90) electric buses and for restroom and lounge use for bus drivers. The charging is needed at the north end of the Red Line route because the capacity of the bus batteries is not as reliable as was promised by the manufacturer. The manufacturer is paying for the charging equipment.

The buses will travel north to the 66th Street platform, then on the return trip will turn right on 64th and then north into the charging facility lot, continue to the north side of the building, and stop over the charging pad. The charging will take approximately ten minutes. Then the bus pulls out onto College Avenue, turning right to continue on the southbound route.

The lot will also be used as a turn-around location for new smaller buses that will serve as circulators for the 901 route from 66th to 96th. After stopping at the 66th Street bus stop (coming from 96th), those buses continue south on College and then turn into the north entrance of the lot, drive to the 64th Street exit and turn left onto 64th and then left again on College to return to the northbound route back to 96th Street.

A secondary use of the building will be made available to one or two tenants, such as a public service organization. Except for scheduling small public meetings in the building through a tenant, the facilities will not be open to the public.

Modifications to the existing lot will be minimal. The curb cuts to 64th and College streets will be widened, the parking will be reconfigured to the south end of the lot, a transformer will be added near the south entrance, and a charging control box will be added on the west side of the building. The dumpster is also planned to be moved to be next to that charging control box. The northwest corner of the 64th and College intersection will be changed with a larger radius to allow for easier bus turns. The sidewalks and crosswalks will be reconfigured there.

IndyGo arranged for a traffic study of the 64th and College intersection. The study considered the current conditions and also several other scenarios accounting for the former bank use and pre-COVID traffic levels. The results varied from level A to level C. It was explained that level C is what the City of Indianapolis designs for when configuring traffic control systems. It was concluded that the new charging station will have about the same impact as the bank did, at worst case, a C level of flow. If traffic issues arise, IndyGo said it will work with the Department of Public Works (DPW) to address those issues. A follow-up Red Line traffic study is set to be performed after COVID effects on traffic have eased.

More information can be discussed in person at the charging station location on October 27th during the drop-by office hours. You can sign up at www.indygo.net/charge