If you were at the track over the weekend or in the past few weeks, you made your way through Speedway, an island of stability
in a county where some other older communities, like Beech Grove, are slipping into decay.
Speedway has managed to stay solidly middle-class despite its blue-collar demographic. The town has good schools, lots of nicely maintained houses, and forward-thinking leadership. As IBJ reported this weekend, Speedway leaders are bent on pushing ahead with a big revitalization plan to make the town a year-round racing attraction.
How has Speedway, which occupies a mere four square miles, stayed the course?
It helps to have lots of money. Not only does Indianapolis Motor Speedway pour tax dollars into the townâ??s coffers, but so do Allison Transmission, the Marathon fuel terminal and Praxair, the industrial gas firm. Those locations hire plenty of people at good wages, too.
Residents also take pride in the town, says council President Gary Raikes. And the school system glues the town together socially. Speedway isnâ??t quite Mayberry, but itâ??s close, Raikes insists.
What do you think? Can other communities learn from Speedway?
Speedway has managed to stay solidly middle-class despite its blue-collar demographic. The town has good schools, lots of nicely maintained houses, and forward-thinking leadership. As IBJ reported this weekend, Speedway leaders are bent on pushing ahead with a big revitalization plan to make the town a year-round racing attraction.
How has Speedway, which occupies a mere four square miles, stayed the course?
It helps to have lots of money. Not only does Indianapolis Motor Speedway pour tax dollars into the townâ??s coffers, but so do Allison Transmission, the Marathon fuel terminal and Praxair, the industrial gas firm. Those locations hire plenty of people at good wages, too.
Residents also take pride in the town, says council President Gary Raikes. And the school system glues the town together socially. Speedway isnâ??t quite Mayberry, but itâ??s close, Raikes insists.
What do you think? Can other communities learn from Speedway?
Back to Top
IBJ Conversations
8 Comments
Add Comment
Speedway is not a shiny brand-new housing division, but is far from dumpy. Most residents take pride in their lawns and the appearance of their homes.
Eagledale, on the other hand, is full of neglected properties and cheap housing stock
I never really took a walk or anything around Speedway but I've yet to see rows of abandon homes or shells of structures. The houses are fairly maintained and occupied (which believe it or not people, is a pretty decent win.)
I'm no urban expert but I'd give Speedway a thumbs up for a bright future.
If they can find a way to revive certian parts and update/improve other parts it can become a really nice part of town.
I would like to see the Speedway redevelopment plans go through but I'd like to see a lot of the Speedway character preserved.
We wouldn't want it to be like everything else now would we?
However, the area near 16th and Georgetown, near the main entrance to the Raceway does need to be redevelop--it is one of the few areas of Speedway which has been allowed to go downhill, along with the now dilapidated adjacent historic Main Street business district. The proposed redevelopment plan would truly put a new face forward for Speedway and also revive what was once a thriving Main Street.