OnTheCusp.org

Indianapolis Cultural Trail Breaks Ground

The Indianapolis media is a-buzz with the news of the $50 million Indianapolis Cultural Trail breaking ground today (try Google News for a round up).

And why shouldn't they be? Herron Grad and Indy native Emily Kennerk was just awarded the first commission.

So, what's she gonna do? Put some big balls just off Mass Ave. (Image of her "Marbles" from the ICT's web page.)

You can hear and see Kennerk talk with Channell 13 about her project here.

See some snipets and an overview of the trail from Chanel 8 here.

Take a virtual ride on the trail here.

Always the skeptic, I'll be interested to see how Indy residents react to the opportunity to walk or bike around, rather than drive. If you want a more optomistic perspective listen to Brian Payne of ICT:

"Even after we pull this off, the Bostons and the Seattles, and the New Yorks, and the Philadelphias, when they want to come and copy this, they won't be able to," he said.

Certainly it's a thrill to see something that continues to add to Indy and continues to make the city better ... having a place to safely ride a bike in this city, yeah that wouldn't be bad either.

The ICT has raised an impressive 2/3 of the $50 million needed for the project. Yes, that's $37 million that has been raised in the city of Indianapolis from the private sector for a "cultural trail." I think I had to type that to actually have it sink in.