Has Indy really gone downhill in the past 5 years ?? (Lafayette: home, buy)

[urbanologist]

Originally Posted by Emigrations

We have them back home in TN. I got a $100 citation a few years ago for making a RIGHT turn onto a street where there was no sign prohibiting right turns. I doubt a human would have pulled me over for that, but the cameras just take shots. It's a revenue racket.

I got flashed once at an intersection at Lamar (US78) in Memphis while making a left turn. I was lucky that I never got that ticket in the mail. This was years ago. May I should go into the red light camera business. I'd make a killing off the cut from the revenue generated.

[urbanologist]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

That's what I'm afraid you're going to get with Unigov. When everything becomes governed by the same entity, they take money from the nicer areas and spend it on the not so nice areas. The nice areas generally start to go down because people get a bigger bang for their tax dollar in the suburbs.

Columbus (OH, not IN) has much better curb appeal, in my opinion, because Franklin County still has suburbs and suburbs, even the working class suburbs, have less bureaucracy and better attention to detail than big cities do. Big cities wait for snow to melt, but in the working class suburb across the street, snow is gone without skipping a beat. Likewise when it comes to police calls, as the cops are too busy fighting off the gangbangers in the hood. (Fire protection is pretty good, though, because they have no other choice.)

If you have the money to buy a nicer place to live, you pay higher taxes. And when you pay higher taxes, you want to make sure you get what you're paying for. Sorry, but the crumbling streets in most big cities just don't cut it.

Years ago downtown Indy was once a not so nice area but is now more centralized full of pedestrian life and new projects. Unlike Columbus it's not like Indy neglected it's downtown by tearing down Circle Centre and pass off the War Memorial (hint Columbus Commons) as the center piece of vibrancy. Sure Unigov had something to do with downtown and it's neighborhoods or maybe they just exist for no reason. How about the Cultural Trail or the Canal area? It's not like a bunch a residents one day just walked to another hood shaking a can full change for fundraising to make their area better or that these areas formed their own towns to make it happen. It's the tax payers and Unigov who help make these projects happen through the city (not just downtown or one neighborhood). Most cities are going to have crappy areas. I can paste Google links all day long showing you plenty areas in both Columbus and Indy with no curb appeal but you get the idea.

Curb appeal only exist in Columbus. Does North Meridian count?

Source: http://photos3.zillowstatic.com/p_h/...0000000000.jpg


As for Lafayette Square, it is still in the redevelopment phase. The area is designated as an international district due to having a diverse ethnic population. You want Cuban or Egyptian food it's there. Instead of highlighting on just the negative let's take a look at the positives going on in this area.

International Marketplace - International Marketplace

Gallery - INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE COALITION

http://www.lsacoalition.org/uploads/...dy_11-3-11.pdf

Saragafood.com | Food from all around the world

Keep in mind no city is perfect and neither is Columbus for that matter. No city up north is free from pot hole disaster experiences and I've been driven most of them. I remember back in 2008 the time I was stuck in Columbus after that snow storm. Snow is gone without skipping a beat?? Uh...nope.

Potholes Force Highway Closures | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by urbanologist

I remember back in 2008 the time I was stuck in Columbus after that snow storm. Snow is gone without skipping a beat?? Uh...nope.

Potholes Force Highway Closures | WBNS-10TV Columbus, Ohio

That kind of dovetails into my point. NO, the snow wasn't gone in Columbus, but it was in Dublin and Reynoldsburg!!!

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

That kind of dovetails into my point. NO, the snow wasn't gone in Columbus, but it was in Dublin and Reynoldsburg!!!

If this were the Columbus forum and we were interested in their snow removal it would.

[urbanologist]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

That kind of dovetails into my point. NO, the snow wasn't gone in Columbus, but it was in Dublin and Reynoldsburg!!!

Keep in mind though that Dublin (24.44 sq mi) and Reynoldsburg (11.16 sq mi) are much smaller than Columbus (217.17 sq mi) so there will be less area of snow to clear. The same with Carmel to Indy. That's just common sense logic.

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

If this were the Columbus forum and we were interested in their snow removal it would.

It is quite relevant because it points out the differences between two very similar cities and why those differences exist. What bothers you is that it rings true.

Originally Posted by urbanologist

Keep in mind though that Dublin (24.44 sq mi) and Reynoldsburg (11.16 sq mi) are much smaller than Columbus (217.17 sq mi) so there will be less area of snow to clear. The same with Carmel to Indy. That's just common sense logic.

Again, my point. Go to unigov in Columbus and what happens? Dublin and Reynoldsburg get lost in the shuffle. Smaller = more attention to detail. That's why there's a perception that Indy is going downhill, in my opinion.

[WheresTheBeef]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

No, what bothers me is you are projecting Columbus' deficiency on all large cities in the name of some unknown agenda.

There is no deficiency, Indy and Columbus look similar to me. What makes the Columbus AREA look better overall, is the fact that it has suburbs and those suburbs are what makes the overall area look nice. Likewise in Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland. If you didn't have your Downtown and Carmel (and maybe Avon) going for you (suburbs) your city would mostly be meh.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

There is no deficiency, Indy and Columbus look similar to me. What makes the Columbus AREA look better overall, is the fact that it has suburbs and those suburbs are what makes the overall area look nice. Likewise in Cincinnati, Dayton and Cleveland. If you didn't have your Downtown and Carmel going for you (a suburb) your city would mostly be meh.

I was referring to your snow removal commentary, which nothong to do with us.

[urbanologist]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

It is quite relevant because it points out the differences between two very similar cities and why those differences exist. What bothers you is that it rings true.



Again, my point. Go to unigov in Columbus and what happens? Dublin and Reynoldsburg get lost in the shuffle. Smaller = more attention to detail. That's why there's a perception that Indy is going downhill, in my opinion.

Dublin and Reynoldsburg are further out along the I-470 beltway about the same distance as some of Indy outside burbs. That would be like arguing why Zionsville which is also near the belt way area of I-465 could also do their own thing because they aren't part of Unigov. Suburbs doing their own thing has nothing to do with what either city (Indy or Columbus) is doing. The health of a city certainly isn't the one with a dead downtown with an empty park in the middle. Indy is more vibrantly centralized in that regard. Columbus puts more emphasis on it's suburbs compared to Indy anyway making it more suburban (ie Polaris, Easton etc) lacking in major urban retail options for the inner city core. This is why I prefer Indy over Columbus because it has better success of pulling more people from around the city towards it's urban core or downtown and not just neighborhoods. In Indy you have the best of 3 worlds (vibrant suburbs, neighborhoods and downtown) while in Columbus it's just two (vibrant suburbs, neighborhoods and a dead downtown).

[ViolentDisasters]

Originally Posted by WheresTheBeef

It is quite relevant because it points out the differences between two very similar cities and why those differences exist. What bothers you is that it rings true.



Again, my point. Go to unigov in Columbus and what happens? Dublin and Reynoldsburg get lost in the shuffle. Smaller = more attention to detail. That's why there's a perception that Indy is going downhill, in my opinion.

Really? Because Nashville has a unigov much like Indy, and it's thriving.