Indianapolis Greenways Development Committee Meeting - March 30, 2026
Indianapolis Greenways Development Committee Meeting - March 30, 2026
The meeting was held on March 30, 2026, but lacked a quorum, preventing formal votes. The committee discussed critical membership vacancies, an interest form yielding 45 applicants, and debated the process for recommending candidates to appointing authorities. Staff presented a map of restroom and water fountain access along greenways, and an update on the Greenways for All strategic plan. The committee also agreed to address speed limits on trails at the next meeting.
Discussion Items
- Membership Recruitment: The committee has three vacancies and a potential fourth due to a member absent for 18 months. DPW developed an online interest form and social media graphics. As of the meeting, 45 people had submitted applications. Daniel (DPW) reviewed the data: most applicants are from Center Township, skew younger (21-30), predominantly white/Caucasian, and male. Activities most cited: walking and biking. The acting chair expressed concern about lack of racial diversity and urgency to fill seats. Debate ensued on whether to provide a short list of recommendations or the full list to appointing authorities (City-County Council, Parks Board, Mayor's Office). Some members favored staff screening to a top 10; others preferred to let appointing authorities choose from the full pool. The chair planned to notify appointing authorities directly, including meeting with Councilor John Barth. The committee decided to keep the interest form open until April 8, conduct additional outreach to diverse groups, and have staff conduct brief phone screens to gauge commitment.
- Greenway Amenities Map: Daniel presented a map analyzing restroom and water fountain availability within walking distance of greenways. Using a 5-mile walk shed for restrooms and 2-mile for water, he found that 12 miles of greenways are within 5 miles of a restroom, and 77 miles are within 2 miles of a water fountain. The map is intended to identify gaps and inform the trail-friendly business program. Members discussed the need for accurate data, signage, and activation of amenities.
- Greenways for All Strategic Plan Update: Daniel provided an update on the upcoming strategic plan, expected to be released for public comment in 4-6 weeks. The plan includes sections on Vision, Design, Build, Enhance, and Sustain. It features an updated network map, greenway report cards, and engagement feedback. The goal is to connect people to everyday destinations, improve equity, health, and growth. The committee will have an opportunity to review and comment.
- Future Agenda Item: Speed Limits on Trails: A member raised concern about electric bikes and ATVs traveling at unsafe speeds on trails. The committee agreed to add a discussion on speed limits, enforcement, and etiquette to the next meeting. Staff noted a need for more park rangers and an etiquette campaign.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken due to lack of quorum.
- The interest form will remain open until April 8, with additional outreach to underrepresented groups.
- Staff will conduct brief phone screens of applicants to assess commitment.
- The acting chair will notify appointing authorities (Council, Parks Board, Mayor) about vacancies and provide the applicant pool, with the option of recommendations.
- The next meeting is not scheduled but will be held after vacancies are filled, likely within the next quarter.
- The committee will discuss speed limits and trail safety at the next meeting.
Meeting Transcript
We're not going to have a forum again. And so I just have a forum again. And so I just want to mention to you. I will use the remedy that's in the ordinance about notifying appointing authorities of people who don't show up for half of the meetings in a year. It's time. Lots to vote on. But we can still talk. The January meeting, I thought we had good conversations. I enjoyed them a lot. And I but we have to take action. So I will use the remedy that's in the ordinance. It doesn't mean that anything will occur in the way of appointing replacements, but we have made real progress in large part thanks to Daniel. On identifying potential members of this committee. Sorry. Every square inch of it. I think it's one of the gems that Indianapolis has. And you go around this little loop and it's for identifying like spring flowers or for holidays, they will have things. This is the place. We're all the way back to November minutes, and we can't approve those. We can't approve January minutes. We can't elect officers. Please run. And once we can hold an election, and uh I just I'm happy to continue on. Um as the vice chair, seems to me it's appropriate on a couple of levels. Um the uh the burden of it today is that the ordinance says the vice chair presides in the absence of the chair, and also in the absence of the secretary. So I don't want to call anybody out, but if anybody feels motivated to keep minutes, um, because we can meet. Um, Adam is confirmed in the past we can meet, we don't have to have a quorum to meet, and it seems to me we need to have minutes. Uh but the ordinance says I'm the acting secretary when there's no secretary present. Unfortunately, so I'm supposed to be chair and secretary. Um I can I can make the minutes, but I won't be as effective. I like to talk and uh keep track of the conversation. So any volunteers to take minutes for today or not, no? I'm happy to. I don't care. Well, you've done it before, and I didn't want to so that that excuses me from doing it. No. You did such a fun job. It's it's just you're following. Yeah, happy to if that's okay. Yeah. And we're being reported, so you have some help. Oh, perfect. Yeah, that helps. Um thank you, Trieman. The uh next thing we want to talk about, Daniel has just done a lot in the interim since January. And one of the things that he has done is uh work and many a few of us have made contributions to developing a forum, an interest form to recruit people. Does everyone know about that? We we had it, yeah. Okay. Uh Daniel, can you tell?
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