Hogsett makes another road funding push

• If Hogsett's proposal becomes policy, the city could see a more than 50% increase in annual state road funding.

State of play: The city has increased its road funding investment over the last six years, but a study commissioned by the city found it would need more than $1 billion — nearly the entire annual city budget — each year to build and maintain transportation infrastructure, including roads, bridges and sidewalks.

Catch up fast: Indianapolis has been at odds with state lawmakers for years over the road funding formula that city officials and experts say unfairly favors rural counties because it's based on center-line miles, meaning it treats a one-lane road the same as a six-lane thoroughfare.

• While the city maintains 8,400 lane miles of roadway, it's only funded for 3,400 of those.
• Lawmakers have previously resisted calls for a wholesale change to the road funding formula, but agreed in the last legislative session to form a task force to examine the issue.

Of note: This year, the city scored a small victory when the General Assembly revised the formula to more accurately account for the entire population of Marion County, increasing its share of road funding by $8 million.

The latest: Hogsett's plan announced Thursday would allocate funding based on vehicle miles traveled, which would shift more dollars to more-populous, heavily traveled urban and suburban areas.

• He also proposed merging the Community Crossings matching grant program — which awards cities, towns and counties a maximum of $1 million each year — with the Motor Vehicle Highway Account, to add more than $220 million to the pot.

By the numbers: The city currently receives about $90 million annually in road funding from the state.

• Under Hogsett's proposal, Indianapolis would receive an additional $49 million.
• Surrounding counties would also see increases, from $200,000 in Shelby up to $16 million in Hamilton.

What they're saying: "I'm reviewing the proposal and all options are on the table at this time," said Rep. Jeff Thompson, R-Lizton, co-chair of the road funding task force.

• "While the proposal would pull levers on the state level, further local options to improve roads currently available to the city, such as the wheel tax, are an important part of the discussion. I look forward to working with state and local leaders on this important issue as we move ahead."

Reality check: Hogsett said Thursday, "There is absolutely no way the residents of our city should entertain one dime in new taxes and fees in Marion County until we address the inequities our entire region faces under current state policy."

The intrigue: Hogsett previously pitched a regional solution, but failed to gain support from his counterparts around the metro area.

• Hogsett said he's been working in cooperation with leaders from the eight donut counties and will represent central Indiana's interests on the task force.
• Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said regional municipal leaders have spent a lot of time over the last few years talking about issues they all face, including road funding, and that Hogsett's proposal "has merit."
• "Most of central Indiana is receiving significantly less than other areas," he said. "The general consensus is that we need to come up with a new concept."
• Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers told Axios he also supports the change.

Meanwhile, the city has a new ally in its effort to make the city safer for pedestrians — ParkIndy's meter readers.

Details: The city will amend its contract with ParkIndy to allow for more aggressive enforcement of parking violations beyond expired meters, giving the company power to ticket and have towed vehicles blocking bike lanes, crosswalks or improperly parked in spaces marked for handicapped drivers.

• Previously, non-meter violations of parking ordinances were the purview of IMPD.
• Hogsett said the department "can't be asked to regulate parking across a city of four hundred square miles."
• The city is also adding flashing beacons at 25 schools that sit along thoroughfares and don't already have them and will lobby state lawmakers to pass legislation to allow for camera enforcement of school zones.

What's next: In addition to trying to secure more road funding from the Statehouse, Hogsett's proposed budget that will go before the City-County Council next month will ask for $25 million to improve residential streets next year and $5 million for alley repair over the next three years.