MonumentCircle

DPW crews bring out the big guns in pothole battle (artist's representation) City pothole crews this week beat back "The Monster of 75th Street," a yawning crater of automotive Armageddon, but were still fighting to contain a contagion of even worse street destruction. Shovels may not be enough, officials said, and they contemplated deploying heavy armor (see illustration) against the threat.  Meanwhile, Monument Circle correspondents across the city reported battles of their own: "Really? Have you seen Guion Road," Karen said. "It looks like a meteor shower hit it." “Apparently you’ve never been on the Eastside,” said Nick. “Try South Belmont,” reported Allen. “You can’t drive a foot without hitting one”   Any signs of progress? Sunshine and warmer weather brought hope, but the fight was far from over.  Previously: : Meet “The Monster,” Indy’s worst pothole On the far northeast side amid the suburban...

On the far northeast side amid the suburban streets near a busy high school, lurks the Monster of 75th Street . Pothole stories fill the news each spring. A candidate for mayor decries the futile efforts to stem the tide of tire damage and wrecked suspensions. Yes, there are many potholes, but The Monster of 75th Street is the worst - easily swallowing a DPW cone the way a hungry bear grabs a hapless squirrel. Like real estate, it’s about location: On a street so pockmarked that cars weave perilously across the centerline to dodge the craters, The Monster is ready. Dodge the others, this beast of the shattered pavement says, but I swallow the unwary in my angry maw. Drivers now have their worst potholes memorized, knowing when to edge to the side, slow down or even stop until it’s safe to creep through the yawning cliffs of shattered pavement. But The Monster waits, patiently and without pity. You may have a monster of your own. If so, let us know at the Mon...

Journalist Adam Wren, left, talks with Deborah and James Fallows  at the Indianapolis Central Library A husband-and-wife journalist team spent five years flying their single-engine prop airplane to cities across America to take the measure of the country.   Now they are turning their focus to Indiana. James and Deborah Fallows, authors of “OurTowns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America,” are visiting the I-69 corridor communities of Indianapolis, Muncie, Fort Wayne and Angola this week. The tour is the opening event for Indiana Humanities’ new initiative, INseparable, and the pair spoke March 19 at Central Library at an event co-sponsored by New America Indianapolis. The couple visited dozens of towns, mostly smaller communities not on the national media radar, and provide a vivid portrait of civic reinvention across the country. “We started this project in 2013 - which seems in some ways like about 200 years ago compared to now,” Deborah t...

Megan Fernandez is confident that the Red Line will be an asset for the city similar to the Monon Trail, so she decided to buy a house a block from the route. Fernandez says the new, 13-mile bus rapid transit route from Broad Ripple through downtown to the University of Indianapolis is a big step forward. She joined Indianapolis Monthly in 1995 while a student at Indiana University and is an editor there now. After living downtown for 20 years, she recently bought a home in the Garfield Park neighborhood with her husband, Enrique. She’s seen a new pride in the city that wasn’t there before.  “Younger people aren’t busting to get out of Indianapolis anymore,” she said. “They’re proud of their city and they wear it on their T-shirts. When your city innovates and has fresh ideas, that has to make you a little proud.” A 'usable' city There’s been a turnaround from previous years. Fernandez hears people say they love Indy.   “Everyone’s always surprised - ...

Roscoe Brown didn’t expect this to be easy. Some of IndyGo’s critics are pushing back on the new Red Line bus rapid transit project. But progress doesn’t happen without struggle. “We’re going through a lot of change now. But you have to go through the process to get to the end result,” said Brown, IndyGo’s chief operating officer and vice president of operations. “We’re experiencing that now – people are talking about all the construction – but a year from now it’s going to be really exciting to see the things folks have to say.” The Red Line, scheduled to begin this year, will run 13 miles on mostly dedicated lanes from Broad Ripple through downtown Indy to the University of Indianapolis. The idea is to connect major employers, who represent a quarter of Marion County’s jobs, in a densely populated area with buses arriving every 10 minutes for 20 hours a day, seven days a week. Such systems are known as bus rapid transit, or BRT lines, and can be found in Los Angeles, ...