Welcome

The City of Indianapolis is preparing standards governing how private property owners adjacent to the Monon Trail must construct their access paths. Click here to view proposed residential development standards for private Monon Trail connections. 

Below is an email from Andre Denman, Greenways manager for IndyParks on June 15, 2017:

“As discussed in our meeting is the issue of how to possibly allow access for individual property owners along our greenways where there are not opportunities for these public connection points. Attached you will see the draft standards at this time for individual property owners which live in neighborhoods/subdivisions without sidewalks and/or opportunities for public connection points to our trails. Again this is a draft and could change tomorrow.  This draft shows a minimum 5ft by 5ft concrete pad connecting to the existing edge of Greenway (Monon in your case). That concrete pad should be minimum of 4inches thick with minimum of 4inches of compacted sub-base underneath.  The walk or access path should be of some form of firm stable slip resistant material (minimum of width 4ft) and to allow for storm water run-off 12” pipe (minimum) is required under the concrete pad and/or walkway.”

Ruth Hayes, President of the Nora Northside Community Council, has proposed homeowners should apply for permits to have a Monon connection. Click here to view those rules and permit guidelines.  Excerpts are below:

Sponsors of residential private paths which access public property (such as the Monon Trail) shall obtain a time-limited permit from a relevant City agency. Such permit shall include:

• Detailed plans for any infrastructure which abuts or encroaches upon public property.
• Notarized statements from abutting property owners agreeing to the proposed use, whether it lies on their or their neighbors’ property.

Click here to read the Nora Alliance’s response to the city’s proposed standards. Excerpts include:

Long stretches of the Monon Trail in Nora are abutted by neighborhoods with no public access points. The only way for many residents to access the trail is walking along busy roads, such as College Ave or Westfield Blvd, or driving to parking lots to get to a trail that may literally be a few hundred feet from their house, but inaccessible.  In response to this need, many homeowners with adjacent (backyard) access have created access points with  gravel or wood pathways, ramps and stairways. Approximately 36 such connections exist between 75th and 91st Streets. (pictures here: https://goo.gl/photos/owvJ6naKrw3SgBBE8).

Development standards for, and policies on the use of, those  access points potentially affects every property owner in Marion County adjacent to a trail, every abbutted neighborhood, and future trails. Nora Alliance wants to engage with the City  in a constructive process of identifying and clearly articulating legal precedents and code-compliant ways that every neighborhood along the trail can follow to create access points that balance the rights of the public to access the trail with the right to quiet enjoyment of private property owners.

If you are interested in more information about the city’s plans to restrict/control private Monon access, contact Andre Denman at Andre.Denman@indy.gov or Ruth Hayes at ruthrhayes@aol.com. Or, email me, Molly Hale, at mollybutters@gmail.com or complete the form below.

Before: The City told us the path did not meet proposed residential development standards. We had the option to meet those proposed standards or remove the path.

After: We chose to avoid a costly and time consuming legal battle with the City and removed our wood path.