A Republican state legislator and former Indianapolis City-County Council member is on the verge of thwarting an attempt by Indianapolis lawmakers to install no-turn-on-red signs at nearly 200 downtown intersections.
Sen. Aaron Freeman, whose district includes southeast Indianapolis and parts of Johnson County, tacked the measure onto an omnibus motor vehicle bill after learning about the city’s effort. On Thursday, the House and Senate approved the legislation, sending it to the governor’s office, where it will become law unless Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoes it.
The local proposal was introduced earlier this month by City-County Council President Vop Osili, Vice President Zach Adamson and council member Kristin Jones. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also got behind the measure, which looked to address an increasing number of pedestrian deaths in the city. A record 40 pedestrian fatalities were reported in 2022.
Council members behind the proposal couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday night, but they previously called Freeman’s move “unfortunate” and “disappointing.”
Freeman, who served on the City-County Council from 2010-2016, previously told IBJ that the council’s effort was “astronomically dumb” and part of an attempt to get more residents to use public transit.
Democratic State Rep. Justin Moed, whose district includes downtown Indianapolis, said state lawmakers shouldn’t be taking away local control.
“It shouldn’t be a state policy, and for pedestrian safety, it’s something that’s really important,” Moed said.
IndyGo, the city’s bus service, has frequently found itself in Freeman’s crosshairs in recent years.
In 2021, Freeman introduced an amendment that would require the Indianapolis transit authority to pay for utilities to be moved during construction of the agency’s dedicated bus lanes.
The year before, Freeman authored legislation that would have penalized IndyGo for not raising enough private money by withholding income tax dollars and prohibiting further expansion of rapid transit lines.
Neither measure passed into law.
This story is Peter Blanchard of IBJ, Taylor Wooten contributed reporting.
