The Beech Grove Multi-Modal Special Area Study is a planning effort to provide the City of Beech Grove a more pedestrian, bicycle, and transit-friendly environment. Such an environment enhances both the function and aesthetic of a community. By providing facilities and safe access to pedestrian, bicycle, and transit systems, Beech Grove residents and visitors will be encouraged to utilize transportation alternatives to the private automobile. Benefits of alternative transportation systems are abundant and have been documented in numerous studies. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization’s (MPO) Regional Pedestrian Plan outlines several benefits including: improved mobility, reduced congestion, economic development, smart growth, increased property values, and healthy lifestyles through walkability between schools, parks, and other public facilities. These benefits add up to an enhanced quality of life.

A multi-modal transportation system is defined as a network of facilities designed for joint use with connections between two or more modes of transportation. A balanced transportation system values the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and automobile operators equally. This manual proposes recommendations for development of multi-modal facilities in order to realize the vision of a balanced transportation system. The Beech Grove Multi-Modal Special Area Study outlines a 20-year vision for the City. As such, this study’s recommendations are developed with the intent of implementation over time, as new streets are constructed, as existing streets are reconstructed, and as land is developed or redeveloped.

Results from this planning process and subsequent recommendations are summarized in this manual. It is anticipated that the City of Beech Grove’s Public Works Department and the Redevelopment Commission will employ the recommendations outlined in this manual when engaging in new development and redevelopment activities. This manual is a tool for the City to guide implementation of public improvements within the right-of-way, where balanced transportation and thoroughfare character are the dominant considerations. Additionally, this manual is a tool to inform private development of these same considerations.

This manual is a tool for both the public and private sectors. The development of an efficient, functional multi-modal transportation system is dependent upon the integration of facilities designed within their environmental context and corridor character. The context and character are defined by adjacent land uses. Where possible, it is preferred that multi-modal facilities be installed by developers as part of the overall development site plan. This not only integrates the transportation system with adjacent land uses, it also shifts some of the financial responsibility for infrastructure away from the local government. (Excerpt from the Beech Grove Multi-Modal Special Area Study, Introduction, page 1-1.)