Connectivity Fund

Connectivity Fund

Access to transportation is the number one barrier to socioeconomic advancement in Indianapolis. While accidents involving a pedestrian account for 1% of accidents in Indianapolis, they make up 20% of all fatalities involving a vehicle. Ensuring all individuals in our city have access to safe, reliable, and affordable transportation is one of IndyGo Foundation’s top goals. As a result, we work to help our community thrive by connecting people through accessible, equitable, and inclusive mobility solutions.

While the City and IndyGo invest heavily in infrastructure every year, we face extraordinary challenges due to the sheer number of lane miles in Marion County and an income tax structure in Indiana that allocates income tax to the county in which a person lives and not where they work. With limited capital and capacity, sidewalk connectivity in Indianapolis has been underfunded for decades. In the 1990s, there was even a moratorium on construction of new sidewalks.

A recent report by DPW estimates  Indianapolis needs “$92 million to repair poor sidewalks and $7.2 billion to build new ones where none exist.” It takes an average of $22,000 to make one bus stop accessible and would take $40M to make all eligible IndyGo bus stops ADA accessible.

We cannot overlook the fact that infrastructure is more than concrete and asphalt. Infrastructure is connectivity, independence, opportunity, economic mobility, quality of life, equity, and inclusion. The impact that accessible, equitable, and inclusive mobility solutions can have on our community is momentous. It will take bold, creative solutions to address these challenges, and the IndyGo Foundation is positioned to act.

In the past two years, the IndyGo Foundation has raised more than $750,000 to invest in several projects including:

• Bus stop improvements and three safe crossings on Lafayette Road through the Department of Public Work’s Indianapolis Neighborhood Infrastructure Partnership (INIP) grant. This project will add three safe crossings to existing bus stop improvements already planned by IndyGo.
• Shelters at 86th Street &Township Road and Michigan/ Street & Indiana Avenue supported by AARP Indiana to increase connectivity for seniors.
• Two shelters and sidewalks at Washington Street and Bridgeport Road to increase connectivity near the Airport.

The IndyGo Foundation is uniquely positioned to create rapid change. As a nonprofit organization closely tied to IndyGo, the IndyGo Foundation is a force multiplier, convening partners and leveraging private investment in public infrastructure. Utilizing pedestrian research and rider demographics, the IndyGo Foundation focuses on projects increasing connectivity and accessibility to the IndyGo bus system. We invite you to join us and to be part of the solution.