Downtown Indianapolis nears longer parking meter hours, lower speed limit

Drivers who navigate Downtown Indianapolis could soon encounter new rules that are meant to improve safety and generate money for street sweeping and panhandling programs.

A City-County Council committee on Thursday approved several proposals that would affect how people drive and park in the city's busiest areas. The measures include longer enforcement hours for parking meters and a reduced speed limit.

The extended parking meter hours would generate an extra $800,000 a year, according to the city's Department of Public Works. Mayor Joe Hogsett wants to use $500,000 of that money for a new street sweeping program, which would clean Downtown streets four times a week, and $300,000 to address panhandling and homelessness.

"The Downtown area, the Mile Square, is going to have a very robust street sweeping effort," Public Works Director Dan Parker said. "The meters, predominantly paid for by the folks who park Downtown, are going to help underwrite that cost."

That doesn't necessarily mean the changes will be popular, though.

The start of the Public Works Committee was delayed by 17 minutes as council Democrats met to hammer out changes to the parking meter proposal, which has generated criticism from people who benefit from free evening parking hours.

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Under the compromise reached Thursday, Indianapolis would standardize meter enforcement hours from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Saturday, across all locations. Meter enforcement currently is staggered by zones and ends as early as 6 p.m. in some parts of the city.

A previous version of the proposal would have added meter enforcement on Sundays, an idea that has been particularly unpopular since it was introduced earlier this month. The Public Works Committee scrapped the Sunday hours as part of its compromise, a change that would eliminate about $200,000 a year in revenue gains, according to the Department of Public Works.

In addition to adding parking meter hours, the Public Works Committee also approved setting a standard speed limit of 25 miles per hour in an area bounded by interstates to the north, east and south and White River Parkway West Drive to the west. The speed limit is higher on some streets within that area.

The change is intended to make streets more walkable in a city where between 300 and 400 pedestrians are struck by cars annually. The committee rejected a separate proposal that would have banned right turns on red lights.

"I'm not a huge fan of 25 miles per hour — in any form on almost any street," Council President Vop Osili said. "But I also understand the need for safety and caution."

Democrat Christine Scales questioned whether the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department would be able to enforce new rules.

"I think we have a lot of laws on our books with ordinances that are toothless because they are difficult to enforce," she said. "I'd hate to see another one come in."

The proposed changes advance to the full council, which can pass them as soon as next month.

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at 317-444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.