The Latest Scoop: Railbikes, Roundabouts, and Resilience Grants
It's been a busy summer in Noblesville.
It’s been a busy beginning to Summer. I’ll dive into a few items in depth below, but I wanted to give a 30,000 foot update on the latest in Noblesville. I’m excited to share that:
From a Council perspective, we met twice in May (May 14th, May 28th) and once so far in June (June 11th).
Now, let’s jump in. Here are five things you should know this month in Noblesville:
1. A short film on downtown Noblesville is released.
Downtown resident, Julia Bubp, produced a film alongside 12 Stars Media dubbed, "Old Town" — all about the historic downtown of the City of Noblesville. I’d encourage you to spend five minutes watching this film. Julia does an incredible job capturing the balance we’re seeking to strike downtown Noblesville between old and new.
2. We awarded the Hard Hat Resiliency Grants to downtown businesses.
Last month, the Mayor and Council partnered together to create the “Hard Hat Resiliency Grant” to equip businesses in our downtown core with tools to communicate they are open during INDOT’s SR-32 project.
The business community has rallied around one another and crafted some incredibly creative applications with strong plans to continue drawing people downtown Noblesville. We shared those award letters in mid-May with the multitude of businesses who applied and were granted support.
It’s a privilege to be able to partner with so many small business owners committed to ensuring that our community thrives. I’m grateful so many residents have supported them too!
3. Road & infrastructure projects are making progress.
As all residents know, there’s a lot of infrastructure upgrades taking place in all corners of Noblesville. Here’s a highlight of the larger projects in the queue:
Allisonville & 146th || Project Lead: Hamilton County
Hamilton County is reconstructing the Allisonville/146th Street intersection. While 146th Street will never close during this construction, Allisonville experienced a 90-day closure that has now been lifted. The temporary stop light that is in place will continue to guide traffic north and south. More info at streamline146.com.
SR-32/Conner Street || Project Lead: INDOT
The project’s first phase began in April and shifted to Phase Two later that month. They’ve now recently moved to Phase Three, which spans from 9th Street through 6th Street and is estimated to be in place through the middle of July.
INDOT has set up a website, social media pages, text updates and a newsletter to keep you up to date. Please find links to those below:
SR-38 at Oakmont/Whitcomb Ridge || Project Lead: INDOT
This project updating this intersection to a roundabout is well underway. It is set to be substantially complete by Labor Day.
Pleasant Street Extension || Project Lead: City of Noblesville
In coordination with INDOT’s SR 32 project in downtown Noblesville, we have updated the timing of road closures related to the Reimagine Pleasant Street project.
River Road: The roundabout construction on River Road will never close the street to north-south access. Currently, one side of the roundabout is constructed and they are working on the other.
8th Street Roundabouts: These roundabouts are substantially complete.
Pleasant Street between 8th and 10th: This stretch of Pleasant is closed for the construction of the permanent landscaped median that will run east-west.
Need to jog your memory on what Pleasant Street will look like once completed? Click here or on the link below!
4. The Peony Festival was a smashing success.
I was grateful to join Kelly McVey and Smith’s on the Square to ring the bell and welcome visitors from around the country to the Indiana Peony Festival.
If you travel around Indiana, there are 91 other cities like Noblesville with a historic square and shops and restaurants — but Noblesville is different. And it’s not because of anything that we are doing inside of city hall.
Our secret sauce is coming alongside people like Kelly McVey who have crazy bold ideas — like a massive festival in Seminary Park based around a peony. They dream big and we are all the beneficiaries of it.
5. Railbikes are new to Forest Park!
This summer, the Nickel Plate Express brought high quality railbikes from Rail Gliders located in Pennsylvania!
How do they work? These family-friendly, pedal powered bikes are specially designed to sit on the rails of the tracks and seat up to 4 passengers.
Who can ride? The railbikes are versatile and easy to ride — everyone from small children to adults up to 6’4″.
What kind of rides are there? Currently there is the Forest Park Rail Adventure (7-mile roundtrip to northern Hamilton County), a White river Family Cruise (short rail bike adventure that leaves time to visit downtown Noblesville), and a Twilight Rail Ride (7-mile roundtrip to northern Hamilton County in the evening).
If you’d like to learn more about the railbikes, click here or on the button below!
Before you go, a few trending stories:
Here are a few stories you may have missed on Noblesville over the past month:
WTHR: Noblesville unveils new mural on Pleasant Street pedestrian tunnel
Hamilton County Reporter: “It never gets old”: Noblesville’s own Conor Daly ready to race
Current: New coffee shop opens in Noblesville
WRTV: Allisonville Road at 146th Street in Noblesville reopens after being closed for 3 months
IndyStar: Noblesville teen finishes 2nd to gold medalist in 800 freestyle at USA Swimming Trials
PR Newswire: Drew Brees, Partners Opening 19-Court Pickleball Club in Noblesville
And one bonus Op-Ed I wrote in the Indianapolis Business Journal about the Indianapolis 500:
Bonus: Free Dinner
Ignite Transform has a weekly community dinner free for the community to participate in. I’d encourage you to check it out!
