Fountain Square residents share concerns about pedestrian safety after police pursuit, crash

INDIANAPOLIS — Those that stay and work in Fountain Sq. say somebody is all the time strolling or biking within the space.

“There’s even a man who comes by on his unicycle each as soon as in awhile,” Tommy Moore mentioned.

Daybreak Olsen lives, works and performs in Downtown Indianapolis.

“I’ve not owned a automotive in six or so years,” Olsen mentioned.

Olsen bikes, walks and rides the bus across the metropolis however says it is not all the time protected.

“I’ve been hit by a driver earlier than,” Olsen, who’s on the board of the Fountain Fletcher District Affiliation, mentioned.

On Wednesday, Olsen was operating close by when an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Division pursuit resulted in a crash at Shelby Avenue and East Morris Avenue.

“I spotted this was a serious wreck. There was a automotive nearly pushed by way of the entrance of what was Thunderbird,” Olsen mentioned.

Olsen needs to see a multi faceted strategy to bettering pedestrian security, together with protecting bike lanes, concrete bollards and drivers respecting pedestrians.

“Take into consideration if it was somebody you like strolling throughout the road. Not everyone is all the time alert, individuals have issues happening of their day, possibly they don’t seem to be all the time listening to what is going on on. Either side have to be cautious,” Moore, who works in Fountain Sq., mentioned.

The Indianapolis Division of Public Works shared the next assertion.

“Based mostly on an evaluation of the realm and historic crash information, Indy DPW made the choice final 12 months to put in versatile delineators atop the prevailing concrete curb. This infrastructure offers visible cues for drivers and bodily separation for bike lane customers, whereas avoiding pricey and time-intensive repairs required by the earlier metal bollards. Due to these modifications, the Shelby Avenue cycle monitor has remained open and accessible following yesterday’s crash.

Residents are reminded to obey visitors legal guidelines and provides care when driving, particularly in extremely populated areas.”