Next Step in Indy's Transformation: Mass Transit

Indianapolis has been creative in leveraging its assets and opportunities to create "a great Midwestern city." Now Mayor Mayor Greg Ballard is looking to weave those pieces together by creating a mass transit system for Central Indiana, reports Chris Sikich.

"As lawmakers prepare to convene for the upcoming session," writes Sikich, "Ballard went to his bully pulpit. He told a crowd of supporters Thursday at the Indianapolis Artsgarden in Downtown Indianapolis that the city is vibrant and has benefited from investments in the airport and Downtown. But it lags, he said, on transit."

Indy Connect Now is the name for coalition of government, community and business leaders supporting Ballard and his quest to invest in transit. According to Sikich, "[t]he coalition needs the Indiana General Assembly to approve a referendum and funding mechanism to pay for the local share [of the project]. They want to give voters in Marion and Hamilton counties the choice to raise income taxes by three-tenths of 1 percent to pay the local share. The plan would double the size of IndyGo and add light-rail service on a government-owned rail line from Noblesville through Fishers to Union Station."