MORE ABOUT RETHINK COALITION
Who We Are
Rethink Coalition is a non-partisan group of residents, neighborhoods, businesses, civic leaders, professional organizations, lawyers, urban and transportation planners, architects, and landscape architects.
Our Mission
Our mission is to create a restorative and transformative vision for Central Indiana in connection with the necessary reconstruction of the aging I-65/I-70 Interstate Inner Loop that encircles downtown Indianapolis.
We advocate for recessing the Inner Loop and seek to educate, advise, and collaborate with leaders, stakeholders, and residents to understand how a recessed interstate can improve Indiana’s long-term economic viability and help ensure Central Indiana is positioned as a world-class region with a vibrant urban core for the next 50 years and beyond.
Board of Directors
We've partnered with the Indy Chamber, Indianapolis Foundation/Central Indiana Community Foundation, and Indiana Landmarks to bring together passionate and imaginative civic leaders from diverse disciplines. Here is our Board of Directors
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Lourenzo Giple
City of Indianapolis
Director -
Susan Brock Williams
Eli Lilly and Company
Director -
A'Lelia Bundles
Author and Journalist
Director -
Hon. Chris Jenson
Mayor, City of Noblesville
Director -
Brenda Freije
President and CEO
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Bruce Buchanan
Buchanan Group
Director, Treasurer -
Sarah Hempstead
Schmidt Associates
Director -
Taylor Hughes
Indy Chamber
Director, Executive Team member -
Marjorie Kienle
Civic leader
Director -
Charlie Richardson
Faegre Drinker (ret)
Director, Co-Chair, and Secretary -
Suzanne Stanis
Indiana Landmarks
Director
Our Supported Organizations
We are structured as a supporting organization of Indiana Landmarks, the Indy Chamber, and the Indianapolis Foundation/Central Indiana Community Foundation.
Community partners
Our History
& Rethink Coalition timeline
North Split response
2017
Rethink 65/70 Coalition formed as a grassroots group in response to INDOT's release of preliminary plans to rebuild the North Split.
Rethink Coalition embarks on an advocacy and communications effort to broaden public awareness of the impacts of INDOT's proposed plans and best practice examples from cities around the U.S. facing similar interstate rebuild challenges.
An alternative vision
2018
Rethink Coalition continues to advance a new vision for the entire downtown inner loop that balances costs, transportation, and safety with inclusive economic development, connectivity, and quality of life considerations; funding and preparation of an economic impact study that outlines the significant economic and social benefits for a recessed highway concept; and leading a community-wide effort to convince INDOT to modify their proposed North Split Plans to eliminate additional through lanes, reduce the use of retaining walls, increase local connectivity and mobility, and reduce the overall interchange footprint.
Lilly Endowment Grant
2019
Rethink Coalition commences coordination with INDOT to review and offer feedback on proposed North Split plans; advances the vision for the overall downtown inner loop system; and procures funding for the preparation of the Inner Loop Visionary Study through Lilly Endowment.
Inner Loop Visionary Study
2020
In partnership with the Indy Chamber, Rethink engages global engineering and transportation planning firm, Arup, to prepare the Inner Loop Visionary Study, a comparative analysis of the rebuild-as-is and recessed highway alternatives.
The findings of the year-long study demonstrated the significantly higher ROl generated by the recessed concept when compared to the rebuild as-is option, adding value through connectivity, capacity for multiple modes of transportation, enhanced safety for downtown motorists and pedestrians, new equitable development opportunities, and reduced noise and air pollution.
Formal Organization
2021
Rethink Coalition, Inc. officially organized as a nonprofit and begins community-wide engagement and education addressing future Inner Loop reconstruction and its impact on central Indiana based on the Inner Loop Visionary Study.
Advancing the Vision
2022
Rethink advances discussions with state and local policymakers and community leaders on a more comprehensive vision for the inner loop; continues coordination with INDOT on issues impacting local neighborhoods surrounding the North Split project; organizes southeast neighborhoods and stakeholders in response to INDOT's I-65 Safety and Efficiency project; and submits a Reconnecting Communities Grant to the USDOT for planning related to the southeast leg of the inner loop in partnership with the City and INDOT.
More Rethink history
Beginnings
Rethink Coalition began in 2017 as a grassroots group in response to the Indiana Department of Transportation’s (INDOT’s) preliminary reconstruction plans for the North Split. Originally dubbed the Rethink 65/70 Coalition, the group initially worked with the Indy Chamber, Indiana Landmarks, local officials and leaders, and INDOT to modify plans for the North Split reconstruction, which would have expanded the interstate footprint, added 30-foot-high walls, and created other negative externalities. INDOT modified the original plans but did not adopt Rethink Coalition’s ultimate vision of a recessed interstate segment for the North Split, which would have reduced the interstate footprint while still handling traffic demands, enhanced neighborhood connectivity, and created more space for recreation and redevelopment. INDOT was too far along in their planning to start over with a recessed concept.
The Visionary Study
In late 2019, Rethink Coalition partnered with the Indy Chamber to commission the Visionary Study exploring design options for the remaining portions of the Inner Loop. The study compared a recessed-interstate approach to reconstructing the interstate using the current elevated design. It provides specific metrics on project cost, traffic feasibility, safety, air quality, and environmental justice impacts of the rebuild as-is versus rebuild recessed concepts – including the effects on neighborhoods, businesses, downtown connectivity, and overall mobility.
The Lilly Endowment funded the study conducted by Arup Advisory, Inc., an internationally recognized design and engineering firm. Rethink Coalition and the Chamber released the Visionary Study’s results in the summer of 2021. Rethink Coalition has used the Visionary Study to launch a community-wide conversation about the significance of the interstate infrastructure to our city’s future economic development and quality of life. The Visionary Study highlights the opportunities presented by rethinking our infrastructure design and development approach. The right plan can spark economic development, provide diverse transportation options to all residents, add to the city’s beauty, and expand our region’s tax base. This Visionary Study places Indianapolis in the vanguard of major American cities developing innovative solutions for the replacement of aging, divisive interstates.
Formal organization
In the spring of 2021, Rethink Coalition formed as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable supporting organization of the Indy Chamber of Commerce, Indiana Landmarks, and the Central Indiana Community Foundation to continue the Coalition’s efforts to educate about and promote the recessed interstate concept. This organizational structure imbeds Rethink Coalition with anchor institutions, strongly signaling a shift in Rethink Coalition’s role from grassroots protest group to collaborative leader.
As a newly incorporated nonprofit, Rethink Coalition broadened its mission beyond the North Split to address comprehensive planning for the entire Inner Loop. Rethink Coalition has remained focused on working with State planners, City leaders, and diverse groups of stakeholders, particularly residents in disadvantaged neighborhoods, to ensure any interstate or road plan in the area takes into consideration the unjust divisions created 50 years ago, reconnecting downtown neighborhoods, and positioning the core of the state’s capital for inclusive economic development. In this role, Rethink Coalition functions as an expert intermediary seeking to understand the challenges involved in rebuilding the Inner Loop to achieve these goals and influencing decision-making in the planning, design, and eventual construction.