One of our esteemed members sent the following letter to each member of the Indianapolis City Council. It sums up our concerns about the Red Line quite nicely. Dear Councilor, I became involved in the Red Line issue because both my home and a business in which I am involved will be directly affected by Phase 1 of the proposed bus route. I keep hearing from IndyGo officials "The Red Line is a done deal…The referendum is not for the Red Line.” With all due respect, I beg to differ. The Red Line is by no means a done deal. If it is a done deal, then: How will IndyGo close the $6.1 Million shortfall in the $21.3 Million matching funds that are required? The Small Starts grant application states the Red Line needs $6.1 Million more than it has allocated. Classified as “Other Local Funds”, the funds are "identified and have a reasonable chance of being committed, but are neither committed nor budgeted. Examples include proposed sources that require a scheduled referendum, reasonable requests for state/local grants, and proposed debt financing that has not yet been adopted in the agency’s CIP.” Clearly the referendum is another lever IndyGo needs to pull to close the matching funds shortfall. If the referendum is not needed for the Red Line, why not delay it until the 2018 election cycle? The Red Line phase 1 won’t be operating yet. Plus Phases 2 & 3 of the Red Line (that require referendums in Hamilton and Johnson Counties) won’t be approved by that time. With a 2018 referendum, IndyGo would begin to receive its funds in 2019 in plenty of time to go toward the larger Marion Co. Mass Transit Plan. The City-County Council could pass the referendum in 2018 to ensure that the public can be educated about a highly technical, detailed plan and subsequently make informed choices. There are two areas of Indiana law that IndyGo appears not in compliance. Senate Enrolled Act 176 (2014) requires a mass transit project in Marion County to have at least 25% of revenue from fares. IndyGo’s farebox recovery is 17% now and it projects it’s farebox recovery will be 17% after the Red Line is operating. (Source: Small Starts grant application) SEA 176 also requires at least 10% of annual operating revenue be from sources other than taxes and fares. IndyGo’s budget projections for operating the Red Line do not have meaningful sources of funds other than taxes and fares. (Source: Small Starts grant application) For IndyGo’s grant application to be funded, Congress must pass the budget that the Administration delivered and was declared “DOA”. To fund the President’s budget, a $10 tax on each barrel of oil will need to be passed. Anything might happen in Congress during this election year, but it is by no means a done deal. There are many other concerns with the proposed Red Line that I’d like to share: To accommodate dedicated lanes, Meridian St. and College Avenue will narrow to one lane of traffic in each direction. Downton commuters will revolt. During rush hour the northbound lanes at Meridian and 38th St. are often backed up almost to 34th St. When Meridian goes to 1 lane, cars will be going through neighborhoods in both directions to escape the gridlock. This will make these neighborhoods unsafe as cut-through drivers disobey stop signs and speed. The emissions impact has to be significant. 38th St. east from Meridian St. to College Avenue will decrease from 3 lanes in each direction to 2 lanes each way with 2 dedicated bus lanes down the middle. East-west traffic in Indy is already gridlocked because we have so few east-west thoroughfares. This will create more gridlock, accidents and pollution. Why isn't Indianapolis investing first in bus lines and improved mass transit for the transit-dependent people in our community? The Purple and Blue lines would better serve this population and potentially give them an effective way to get to more jobs and opportunities. Why haven’t we prioritized these routes first? Is it because the FTA grant process requires a certain amount of density the east side doesn’t have? Wouldn’t it be good for our community to spur investment there? It seems the priorities (Red Line Phase 1-2-3) from Westfield to Greenwood really is the Palladium-to-Stadium route. (95% of Colts season ticket holders reside in Hamilton County.) Why are the costs of the Red Line ($7 Million per mile) less than half of the cost of bus rapid transit in other cities? Other communities like Cleveland and Northern Virginia have built and project to build for $15 Million to $25 Million per mile. How will IndyGo accomplish this astounding savings of more than 50%? And if construction delays occur and costs escalate, where will IndyGo to find the funds to cover the loss? Taxpayers or fares? Indy has seen political consequences of a tax revolt not so long ago. It’s possible again. If IndyGo turns to fares, the less fortunate, dependent on mass transit, will suffer most. Why build dedicated lanes at all? Of the 120 miles of bus routes proposed for the Red, Purple, Blue and Green lines, only about 15 miles are dedicated lanes. Why build dedicated lanes at all? Is the lure of FTA's $75 million grant so irresistible that dedicated lanes will be forced where people don’t need or want them? Along the Red Line, only 7 miles of the 35.6 miles are dedicated lanes: from the Downtown Transit Hub north to 66th St. and College (minus the 18th St. connector). The other 28 miles of the Red Line from Westfield to Greenwood run in mixed traffic without dedicated lanes yet innovations like 10-minute frequency, remote ticketing, bus branding and station amenities are part of the entire route. We can achieve better mass transit with more buses of different sizes running more often. Why not pilot more buses running more frequently to fine tune the routes that serve the most people? It give more flexibility to modify to better serve the needs of communities. What will happen if the referendum is passed by voters and Congress doesn’t pass the budget that includes the Small Starts grant funding? What will IndyGo do with the new $50 million in revenue? San Jose’s IndyGo, the VTA, is being asked to compensate employers along the route $50,000 each for delays and lost business. Will IndyGo compensate small businesses along College Avenue and Meridian Street for construction messes that drive away customers, delays and lost business as a result of the Red Line? The referendum language is vague at best and designed to obfuscate to ensure passage. It needs to tell voters what they’re really voting on. As a concerned citizen, I urge you to vote “NO” on the ordinance to move the referendum to the November ballot. I would be happy to speak with you anytime about the Red Line and the Marion Co. Mass Transit Plan. Thank you for your time.