A panel discussion about making transportation more personalized and efficient
On Wednesday, April 19, CICF convened its angel investors to talk about a bold new approach to personal mobility in Indianapolis. Panelists at the event included some of the city’s best connectors: Bryan Luellen, director of public affairs for IndyGo; Andre T. Denman, principal park and greenways planner for City of Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation; and Irena Goloschokin, CICF personal mobility consultant and former vice president of research and development of T2 Systems.
Goloschokin is working with CICF and its partners on an innovative way to approach personal mobility, leveraging smartphone technology, partnerships between multi-modal transportation providers and incentives to make it easier for underserved populations to access employment, healthcare, social services and networks.
“The idea is we would create a network that allows people to move around without necessarily having to own a vehicle, and it would use all the means for transportation we already have,” Goloschokin says. “The network would use a platform to make the experience of planning a trip and paying for it easy, regardless of how many different modes of transportation a person may use.”
The initiative started at CICF as a way to attract and retain highly-educated, creative, entrepreneurial and community-minded people to the city, but it has since transformed into something much more important.
“We want Indianapolis to become a city that works for everyone,” said Brian Payne, president and CEO of CICF, who moderated the panel.
“Everyone should be included in economic growth and benefits; transportation and connectivity are a huge part of that and a major factor in helping families climb out of poverty. The personal mobility initiative is about changing people’s lives and their pathways to opportunity. It’s about equity and access.”
-Brian payne
Luellen and Denman talked about how their recent work supports transforming personal mobility options in Indianapolis. For instance, last year Marion County voted for a 0.25 percent income tax that will generate $54 million each year to make existing bus services more frequent and reliable, as well as to add bus rapid transit lines. Luellen noted this represents an evolution in how the the community thinks about public transportation. Frequency and reliability are a big step forward.
Denman is a key part of another CICF-convened community partnership—an exploration of an ambitious $100 million plan to expand bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. “The idea is to try to figure out how we can create a woven web of connectivity to as many people as possible and to get to trails and multiuse paths throughout this city,” he said.
Panelists all acknowledged that building interconnected transportation options around the city is a formidable goal. But Denman noted the city has a track record of making big things happen. He reminded those in attendance that Indianapolis turned a swamp into Riverside Park, hosted the Super Bowl and created The Indianapolis Cultural Trail: A Legacy of Gene and Marilyn Glick.
If you’d like to support the personal mobility effort or other CICF community leadership initiatives by becoming an angel investor, contact Rob MacPherson, vice president for development and philanthropic services, at robm@cicf.org or 317.634.2423 ex 509.
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