Gasoline Alley businesses upset

A proposed closure of Grande Avenue in Speedway has more than a few Gasoline Alley businesses riled up. Allison Transmission—which has plants on both sides of Grande Avenue just south of 10th Street—along with the Speedway Redevelopment Commission, has requested the road closure.

The Speedway Redevelopment Commission is the group working on major overhauls to the town of Speedway which include enhancements around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to make the place more of a 12-month destination. But Gasoline Alley businesses, including a number of racing related enterprises, said the closure of Grande Avenue will cut off their much needed access to the Brickyard’s front door on 16th Street and hurt their business. Grande Avenue is just north of Gasoline Alley, which runs between Rockville and Cossell roads.

“This is life and death down here for a lot of these businesses,” said Charlie Patterson, who owns seven commercial buildings along Gasoline Alley. “If they cut off our direct access to 16th Street, that will really do some serious damage.”

The proposal was scheduled to be heard at the Feb. 11 meeting of the Metropolitan Development Commission Plat Committee, but Allison officials this week asked for a continuance of the matter to the March 11 meeting. It should be a lively meeting, with a boisterous group of business owners and nearby Garden City residents planning to show up to let their concerns be known.

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