Mayor Scott Fadness and top officials of his administration spent over 3 hours at Conner Prairie Monday evening with members of the Fishers City Council, reviewing the many projects underway throughout the city. Road work, downtown development, the Nickel Plate Trail, Geist Waterfront Park and engaging the local community were all topics covered in the lengthy confab.
On streets & roads, The State Road 37 construction at 126th Street is scheduled to begin in earnest March 1st, with construction beginning by closing off the west side of 126th until about July. Then, the east side of the road will be under construction until roughly October. The north and south lanes on SR 37 are to be open to traffic, 2 lanes in each direction, during the construction. An overpass with a roundabout at 126th Street will be built during this 2020 construction period. Mayor Fadness says his staff will be monitoring the traffic flow in the area and make adjustments where needed. 146th Street will be the next State Road 37 construction project next year and expected top stretch into 2022.
City Director of Engineering Jason Taylor said a big project is coming this summer that will close 96th Street from just east of Lantern Road to Cumberland Road. The closure will begin in the spring and likely last through October.
The Lantern Road closures continue south of downtown. Taylor said that roadway should be open by May.
The railroad stop signs along 126th Street west of State Road 37 will be removed soon, according to Taylor, but the railroad stop signs on 131st Street will remain, due to the steep grading at that location.
A tunnel will be constructed under 116th Street for the Nickel Plate Trail, resulting in a road closure at the old railroad tracks on 116th for 45 days this summer, beginning on May 26th. This will impact the Spark Fishers Festival, 5K running events and other summer events such as the Amphitheater concerts.
Council members received details on plans for the first phase of the Nickel Plate Trail. Mayor Fadness says the city will communicate to the public that the trail is a construction zone and people using it to walk, run, bike or walk a dog are trespassing until the trail opens, when the first phase is complete.
Tom Dickey, former Fishers Director of Community Development, now a contractor for the city, provided a detailed presentation on plans for the downtown Fishers development, including a new headquarters building for First Internet Bank, a new boutique hotel, parking garages and residential units.
Mayor Fadness, in answer to a council question, says the city is completing a review of downtown parking rules and may establish a number of 2-hour restrictions on many parking spaces.
Parks and Recreation Director Sarah Sandquist provided a detailed look at the plans for Geist Waterfront Park. Mayor Fadness told councilors that he expects a year of permitting and work with design during the park’s first phase. He also said there would be no need for a tax rate increase to pay for the park. It is expected there will be a park admission fee, with Fishers residents receiving either discounted fees or free admission.
The city is planning an extensive community survey soon. It will be measuring how city residents are doing in terms of their emotional, mental and financial well-being. Results of the survey are expected by May.
This is not a short story by my blog standards, but I only touched on a few points discussed during this city retreat. Look for more news on all these subjects in the weeks and months ahead.