Constructive Criticism

RebuildIndy was one of Mayor Greg Ballard's signature initiatives during his first term in office. Using money "realized" from the sale of public assets to private entities, Ballard ambitiously embarked on doing more of the same on a much larger scale. Much of the money has gone to re-paving and expanding streets, with a much smaller amount of money going to sidewalks, greenways, and bike lanes.

Much of the money was spent to spruce up the city before the 2012 Superbowl, but there's still construction going on across the city. And when parts of streets get closed, detour routes are planned out and signs direct motorists the appropriate direction so they can still get to their destination.

Yesterday, I encountered a detour heading north on the 6400 block of Michigan Road. The detour sign directed me to Grandview Road, which I previously knew had been under construction and closed off for some time. Maybe it had finished and I wasn't aware, so I took a chance and drove up the neighborhood street to Grandview Road. And yep, it was still closed.

At that point, the detour directions just ended. There was no sign to further direct motorists on how to get back on Michigan Road.

Someone like me, who has driven up and down and around Michigan Road a lot, would be able to find an alternate route with ease. And I did. It was a bit annoying, but not all that bad.

But someone who is from out of town, or even from another side of town, might've had a much harder time finding an alternate route.

Later in the day, a family member related to me that the detour while heading southbound on Michigan Road ALSO leads to another road closed for construction, Cooper Road.

And on a final note, I did check the Street Closing listing found on Rebuild Indy's site, but can't quite determine what, if any, of the listings is the one I encountered.