City leaders want input on plans for Georgia Street

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Georgia Street was the home to Super Bowl Village. Now the city wants to find ways to keep crowds coming the street that connects Bankers Life Fieldhouse and the Indiana Convention Center. They asked for help Monday from the merchants who do business on Georgia Street.

At The Pub, owner Gordon Cocke is among those worried about what comes next on the three-block stretch.

"I like the concept," said Cocke, "though I'd like to see maybe they did away with the parking though, just make a pedestrian, just for walking only."

The concern about traffic and occasional parking is one that city leaders will take under consideration.

And when Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and representatives of Indianapolis Downtown Incorporated met with a couple dozen Georgia Street merchants Monday afternoon, the emphasis was on finding new reasons to bring visitors to the area and to do it in a constructive fashion.

"Nothing would be worse than to have whatever happens on Georgia Street hurt business," said Tamara Zahn of Indianapolis Downtown Inc.

But already, Ballard said, the improvement is great.

"We took a dumpy three-block street in Indianapolis and transformed it into something very, very special," he said.

Cocke left the meeting encouraged by what he heard.

"I think they've done their homework," he said, "and now it's up to us, up to the business partners to also be partners and see how we can help them to help everybody make some money."

The mayor already has a couple of suggestions for Georgia Street: a summer festival and a Christmas market.

And while city leaders hope to bring new business to Georgia Street, they also want to keep from hurting other areas of the city in the process. At the top of that list are White River State Park and Monument Circle.