• A promotional graphic for AARP announcing the 2025 AARP Community Challenge Grantee with a large megaphone and people around it. Text includes 'We are a 2025 AARP Community Challenge Grantee!', 'Exciting News!', and the AARP logo.
  • Colorful geometric patterned crosswalks and sidewalks with pedestrians in a city street, with trees, street lamps, and buildings in the background.
  • A poster for the Chatham Arch Historic District traffic calming initiative, showing two illustrations of streets with cars and people walking, and text detailing the project and date, March 5, 2025.
  • Map highlighting intersections at Broadway Avenue and 10th Street in Chatham Arch neighborhood, Indianapolis, with red arrows indicating traffic calming measures at the intersection of 10th Street and Broadway Avenue, and points labeled A and B.
  • A street crossing with parked cars, trees, and residential buildings, overlaid with annotations highlighting low visibility, long crossings, and wide turn radii for pedestrian safety.
  • Infographic about neighborhood traffic issues, showing a person in a wheelchair, a bicycle, and a pedestrian crossing a crosswalk, with statistics about households with disability and walk frequency.
  • Conceptual rendering of a street intersection showing curb extensions, traffic lanes, and public art elements with signs and construction barriers, part of a traffic calming and pedestrian safety project.

Chatham Arch 10th Street Traffic Calming Initiative

Indianapolis, Indiana

Key Services:

→ Cultural and Asset-Based Mapping

→ Community Engagement

→ Quality of Life Planning

→ Place-Based Narratives

→ Behavioral & Built Environment Data

Partners:

Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association

Press:

AARP grant seeks to enhance pedestrian safety in Indianapolis neighborhood

Chatham Arch Historic District logo with a stylized arch symbol.

What→

Our tactical urbanism project in the historic Chatham Arch neighborhood of Indianapolis will transform two key intersections, 10th Street & Park Avenue and 10th Street & Broadway—into age-safer spaces with curb bulb outs. We are partnering with AARP to complete the neighborhood’s vision.

Led by the Chatham Arch Neighborhood Association, our approach hopes to utilize volunteer-driven community-building activities to implement temporary traffic-calming measures at these intersections.

In step with priorities of Indianapolis’s recent Vision Zero initiative, we will enhance pedestrian safety, strengthen social ties, and create a more age-friendly streetscape. With over 31% of Chatham Arch residents over the age of 50, this project directly addresses the needs of a significant portion of the neighborhood.

The project will align with Indianapolis Department of Public Works standards for Tactical Urbanism and will include public art, flex posts, and bulb outs as eligible projects under city code. The idea is to create a project that can be used to collect data and help prioritize these intersections for permanent infrastructure improvements.

Why? →

10th Street is currently a nightmare to cross. Consistent feedback from Chatham Arch neighborhood residents makes clear that speeding 10th Street poses significant challenges to pedestrian safety, particularly for older adults and those with limited mobility.

A walkable environment contributes to better physical health. Studies indicate that walkability improvements encourage older adults to remain active, lowering rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and arthritis. Accessible, pedestrian-friendly streets also promote independence and reduce reliance on vehicles, increasing opportunities for daily exercise and social interaction. Traffic calming at these two key intersections will increase the quality of life and make it easier for our vulnerable residents to get around.

A street intersection with colorful geometric pattern crosswalks and sidewalks, with people walking and skateboarding, trees, lamp posts, and benches.