Winners Named in City: One Indianapolis Challenge
Four proposals seeking to find solutions to mobility issues in Indianapolis have been chosen as winners in the Ford-developed City: One Indianapolis Challenge. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and the city of Indianapolis accepted 120 proposals after six months of input, research and workshops to identify key mobility issues.
“The Challenge focused on furthering our community’s goal of creating affordable, accessible and equitable mobility solutions that support all of our neighbors,” said Brian Payne, President and CEO of the Central Indiana Community Foundation. “The topics identified by community members included enhanced options for residents with disabilities, increased multimodal options that complement IndyGo service, tools for neighborhood residents to choose between mobility options, and expanded options for families with children.”
A committee of local business and civic leaders, and community members, narrowed the submissions to twelve finalists competing for $100,000 in funding from the challenge. The four winners will be launched in Indianapolis next year.
The first winner is the pilot proposed by AbleLink Smart Living Technologies, who submitted a project to enhance transportation for people with cognitive disabilities using the Wayfinder Ecosystem. The system operates on iOS and Android devices using GPS and personalized data to allow those individuals to be able to independently use fixed route public transportation. AbleLink was awarded a $75,000 grant for the project.
The Learning Tree earned a $50,000 grant for their proposal “Knowledge = The Power of Mobility”, which seeks nontraditional transportation services to collect data regarding how low income communities are able to access transportation for cultural and recreational activities. The data would then be used to create other means of getting around the city.
IndyGo will also seek funding next month to be used in connection with CICF funds for two more pilot proposals.
“We were so impressed by the proposals and eager to facilitate the implementation of more solutions in order to accomplish as many of our strategic goals as possible,” said IndyGo President Inez Evans. “This Challenge is an excellent example of how the public, private, and philanthropic worlds can work collectively to solve mobility barriers in our community.”
IndyGo plans to partner with the MLK Center to implement a microtransit service utilizing wheelchair accessible and family-friendly vehicles to transport Midtown residents to jobs, school, health care and connections to mass transit routes. IndyGo will also collaborate with Briometrix for its “City on Wheels” program which will digitally map and evaluate the integrity of 61 miles of sidewalk infrastructure along the Red Line. The program will employ local residents who use wheelchairs that will be outfitted with technologies to map the sidewalks and then will use the findings to develop infrastructure along the Purple and Blue lines.