The Indianapolis Cultural Trail and the downtown Conrad Indianapolis hotel were on a collision course as soon as trail planners announced three years ago that the route would travel along the north side of heavily traveled Washington Street.
Conrad officials didn't want the trail because it would interrupt the hotel's valet operation, and they argued the bike and pedestrian path should be moved to another street or the other side of Washington Street.
"We had to find something that would maintain the trail and still work for the Conrad," said Brian Payne, president of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and the trail's champion. "It was a very challenging set of negotiations that went on for more than a year."
The Conrad question, he said, has been the most challenging planning dilemma for the entire 8-mile trail.
The end result of the negotiations: A brick-paved "intersection plaza" in front of the high-end hotel, bookended by traffic bollards and signs warning pedestrians to use caution and bicyclists to walk. The plaza is finished but the rest of the trail along Washington Street remains under construction.
A brick "intersection plaza" will warn pedestrians to use caution
and bikers to walk their bikes in front of the Conrad. (Photo courtesy Curtis Ailes)The pavers in front of the Conrad are distinct from the rest of the trail, essentially creating a pause in the path. Payne said he fought to use the same pavers as the rest of the trail, while allowing space for the Conrad to handle parking and check-in, but hotel officials disagreed.
The compromise is designed for the safety of both hotel guests and Cultural Trail users, said Greg Tinsley, Conrad's general manager.
The hotel's valet staff will keep fewer cars parked in front of the hotel and will no longer park cars at an angle, opting instead for parallel parking to keep an opening for trail users, Tinsley said.
"We certainly embrace the opportunity to have the trail come in front of the Conrad," Tinsley said. "We think it's great for the city and hope it gets a lot of use."
The hotel has even ordered six beach-cruiser bikes to loan out to hotel guests.
But the compromise doesn't sit well with urban planners and bicycling enthusiasts like Curt Ailes, who writes for the Urban Indy blog.
Ailes sees the stretch of the trail in front of the Conrad as a blemish on an otherwise world-class project, a short-sighted move to prioritize service for cars over pedestrians and bicyclists.
Where else in the city is a business allowed to park cars on a sidewalk? he asked.
"In terms of increasing alternative forms of mobility, I felt like we lost a battle," Ailes said. "I don't see the big need to keep a bunch of luxury cars parked out on the sidewalk. Ten years from now, they're going to think they should've gotten out of the way of progress. Maybe their guests will want to use the trail, and wonder why all the cars are there."
Ailes also is miffed at the rapid speed of construction for the portion of the trail in front of the Conrad, while work on the stretch in Fountain Square has dragged on for months, dealing a blow to smaller, less influential businesses.
Payne, who dreamed up the idea for the trail, admits the Conrad solution is not ideal. But he says the hotel is the most
significant spot where the trail "affects a business in an ongoing nature."
He's seen much "more challenging" moments along trails he's biked all over the world.
"It compromises someone's experience for about 10 seconds, and it doesn't ruin the experience," Payne said of the Conrad portion of the Trail. "It's a minor inconvenience on the best urban trail in the world."
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However, I guess I just never once imagined that such a world-class trail would take a back seat to the marketing ploys of a hotel that abuses the public realm for their own benefit. Let's be honest here, I don't think anyone posting on here would have ever dreamed that this scenario would have been allowed to play out like this. It flies in the face of any bit of good design, so much so that it just seemed inconceivable that they'd just eliminate the curb completely in front of the hotel to allow this to happen, unabated, in perpetuity.
The truth is that I understand the need for valet parking for hotels. We all probably do. However, good design would most likely dictate two curb cuts, allowing a valet area to exist in the best harmony possible with the Trail, rather than eliminating the entire curb in front of the hotel and doing absolutely nothing to discourage the sort of perpendicular parking and blocking the sidewalk in that location that has existed since this tax abated property came out of the ground.
I'm all for businesses being successful. I'm all for trying to accommodate the needs of business by allowing things like sidewalk cafes, temporary lane closures for events, or any other idea a business might have that helps them survive. I just see this as a poor solution that subjugates such an amazing public cultural amenity for private interest. It's very disappointing for someone like me, who uses the Trail almost every single day.
Second, what is the public art the CICF supposedly didn't listen to the public about? The art was subject to several public meetings, too, and was selected by a committee. Ultimately, the art was paid for entirely by private funds, but in any event, the community had plenty of input. In fact, because of a very small, but vocal minority who did not like the proposed Fred Wilson sculpture, it was decided not to place it in its original location and perhaps abandon it entirely. That is the only real controversey I know of with the art. I guess one could say they didn't listen to the community since they appeased a loud but vocal minority, but after holding several meetings to mediate the issue, I think Trail organizers simply decided they didn't want one sculpture to be a distraction from the whole Trail project.
As for public input about the Trail path, there were years of open public meetings during the Trail planning. The Trail ultimately had to be approved by various government bodies, too, which also took public input. Additionally, the Trail pathway was modified various times to accomodate public input and interested parties.
If you feel the "community" was missing from the Trail project, then perhaps you were missing from the community because your accuastions simply do not jive with reality.
Why should the taxpayer fund a private business that only serves its customers? Why is this a good use of public funds, but a public trail and rebuilt public infrastructure (such as new sewers, etc., which are all part of the Trail construction) is a bad use of money?
Your logic is rather faulty.
While I realize agreements are agreements, they do point up to the crap arrangements the city makes with big developers. The Conrad received millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to build their stupid hotel, and then they get to use public streets and sidewalks for their valet parking arrangement.
If the Conrad were not getting benefits from the taxpayers, it would not be quite as frustrating.
As for the pace of the construction, it has probably put more CO2 in the air from idling vehicles stuck in traffic the last 10 months than it will ever save when all 5 bicyclists in Indy start riding to work.
Not parking cars in front of the hotel is not an option. When Washington and the circle are busy, it can take up to 15 minutes to do the loop that is required to get cars in the "adjacent garage". When the guests come in and out rapidly, there is nothing else that can be done. If Mr. Tinsley is willing to keep the cars parked parallel for the cultural trail they are taking the only action that can be done.