The Department of Public Works (DPW) held a public meeting on September 8, 2021, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 6050 Meridian Street [JJ20], to show the current plans to improve Broad Ripple Avenue for stormwater control and walkability. Around 75 attended the presentation.

The DPW plan is to improve the flooding that occurs along Broad Ripple Avenue by adding new storm sewers that can handle both the volume of water and the debris. The Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) had been planning a River Walk path along Broad Ripple Avenue, so DPW changed the project to include the beautification and walkability designs to minimize the street tearup.

The entire plan along with a computer rendered video shows the changes planned. The September 8th presentation is also available.

Most of the current parking will be removed from College to Winthrop, with the exception of the north side of the street between Carrollton and Guilford. To make up for the lost revenue from those removed parking meters (I count about 40 meters in the affected area), 58 new meters will be installed around the Village, including down Carrollton Avenue, at 61st and College Avenue, and around the River House apartments [F6 on map] at Westfield Boulevard and Winthrop Avenue.

The sidewalk on the south side of Broad Ripple Avenue from College to Winthrop is to be widened by more than 9 feet.

The River Walk project that the BRVA has planned to connect Broad Ripple Park with the Monon Trail will be constructed along the north side of Broad Ripple Avenue as part of this construction.

Decorative street lighting with outlets for special occasion lighting will line the avenue.

DPW opted to minimize the length of the project by closing streets in phases, rather than leaving lanes open during construction and making the project last for two seasons instead of one.

There was a period at the end of the presentation for attendees to speak. These comments will be transcribed by DPW and addressed online after September 17.