Speed Zone Master Plan Is Official


(posted Aug 27)



The Speed Zone Master Plan was adopted by the Speedway Town Council in a 5-0 vote on August 27. The master plan included the plan to vacate Georgetown Road outside the original Speed Zone area.

The vote took place in front of a full house. Steve Arisman, WSCA Board President, started turning people away at 6:45 pm because the room had reached its occupancy capacity.

Councilor Jeff Hartman twice questioned Redevelopment Commission President Scott Harris about Georgetown Road being included in area one before Harris said Georgetown Road was not officially in the plan. This answer drew an applause from the audience. He informed the council that the commission would be expanding the redevelopment area to include it. Harris said the commission is charged with redeveloping the entire town. He noted that Georgetown is adjacent to the Speed Zone as the reason it was added to the plan. He also noted that Georgetown Road was part of the transportation study.

The issue was initially raised by remonstrator Susan Luebbert, whose business, Speedway Monogramming, located on 16th Street, and her three residential properties located on 25th Street, will be affected by the plan. She also indicated that vacation would also be cutting off economic growth to help Lafayette Square Area with its revitalization efforts.

Like Luebbert, other remonstrators had asked the council to exclude vacating Georgetown Road from the plan because the IMS only needs the road three times a year. Tom Siefker questioned how race day traffic would be dispersed once the vacation happened. He noted traffic leaving gates 9-A and 7 are routed downtown from 16th Street. He wanted to know what the alternative is once Georgetown is gone and what would happen to the traffic leaving Gate Two.

Others contend that Holt Road will never be developed since it has been in the plans for at least thirty years to extend it from 16th Street to I-65 by Guion Road. Others think that if Holt Road is developed and Lynhurst Drive is realigned with Moller Road that Main Street will be bypassed altogether.

Helen Kellam urged the council to place this issue up for a referendum vote; however, a referendum vote requires general assembly approval before it can be placed on the ballot.

Robert Russ, who resides on Georgetown Road, raised the concern of how emergency vehicles could reach pedestrians once the road is converted into a linear park.

Harris indicated the IMS did not have a traffic plan as of date to accommodate the Georgetown as vacated, but he assured the council the IMS Safety Committee,headed by Police Chief Jeff Dine, would be prepared to develop new traffic routes. Harris indicated that emergency vehicles would have accessibility down Georgetown after it is transformed into linear park

Speedway Community Development Corporation Board member James Dillard spoke in support of the plan noting that Main Street has never changed.

Trent Strader supported the plan, however he requested that eminent domain not be used and to treat the other businesses on Georgetown Road with the same respect and forthcoming of information like the SRC has with Praxair, Allison and IMS.

Each council member explained their voting position.

Councilor Jeff Hartman "we are attracting the wrong element" as he mentioned a recent shooting at Dirt Stripper Car Wash. Hartman thinks a better economic climate will drive the negative element out. Hartman said he has concerns too since he resides on Auburn Street and his street will see additional traffic.

Lu Hillmer said,"we are not cold blooded people who will throw the trailer park residents out,"

Three mobile home parks are located on Georgetown Road.

After the vote, Robert Russ walked out of the meeting tossing his hand in the air.

Hillmer told residents "don't be negative," and try to focus on the positives. "So don't go out of here being mad at us because will be mad at you."

Dean Farmer said services will have to be cut if the town cannot grow its tax base. He noted that it gets tougher each year to fund public safety. ( In the Speedway Transportation Board meeting, it was announced the town's assessed valuation dropped by $14 million from last year's figure of $672,000,000. $658,000,000 will be used for calculating the 2008 budget.)

Council President Bill Golay said that moving Georgetown Road has been part of a plan for at least nine years. The master plan's roadway system still needs approval from the Department Of Metropolitan Development and Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Prior to the meeting, Indianapolis Department of Public Works Public Information Officer Paul Whitmore explained that the DPW does not have traffic counts from 10th Street to Main Street and Georgetown Road. He said the DPW would look at a request to barricade Georgetown Road for a day if it is requested to see how it would impact Main Street's economic health, but he could not promise that it would actually be implemented because Holt Road and Lynhurst Drive are not complete to offset the traffic. He did not think a one day barricade would present a true picture to the economic impact to Main Street. He contended from an engineering standpoint, it is doubtful the vacation would happen until there are some alternative routes in place to transfer the traffic.