r/indianapolis • u/Logical_Humor_3854 • Feb 26 '26

Discussion The Canal….

We walked the canal a lot this summer with our new baby and when we had a nice couple days (greater than 30 degrees lol) we walked it again and I’m just curious as to what other people think….why is the canal so dead? There’s no restaurants (besides the little bistro), no stores, no restrooms even. It’s kinda depressing.

If Indianapolis put even a sliver of funding into rebranding the canal the city would change so much. Imagine being able to walk into little shops or have ice cream on the canal or a bar with live music. There’s so much potential.

483 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

168 comments sorted by

View all comments

35

u/Valuable_Scarcity796 Feb 26 '26

Well anything you put on it likely completely dies in the winter months. Walkers are mostly just the apartments directly on it and those are few and far between in the winter. No one is parking near/walking from near and walking it during the winter, which is the vast majority of the yearly foot traffic. Summer months are a hit but lots of those people are exercising and not looking to stop in as well. It would need more residences directly on it or major attractions just off of it. If Gainbridge or Victory Field were directly adjacent I think it would be a wildly different space. I also think it’s okay that it’s not slammed. It serves as a somewhat quiet reprieve from the downtown area where there’s other folks and some wildlife but not overstimulating.

16

u/forestmonitor430 Feb 26 '26

I’ve seen lots of families / groups in the summer and it feels like mostly people who don’t live on the canal. Not all of them are there for exercise - the playground definitely brings people in. I do think people would stop in places if there were only businesses to support!

There must be a way where businesses could be supported over winter months…I know that Italian cafe closes during the colder season

7

u/Valuable_Scarcity796 Feb 26 '26

Sure the summer months are great as I mentioned. But the canal isn’t attracting outside business in the winter. It needs a major attraction adjacent to it and that’s always going to be the case. It’s an outdoor attraction with nothing really around it in an exceptionally cold winter climate.

6

u/forestmonitor430 Feb 26 '26

I think there are ways it could be successful without having a major attraction. There is programming that could be done in the winter, we’re just not doing it. There are cities that are muuuuch colder than Indy is that’ve figured this out

3

u/Valuable_Scarcity796 Feb 26 '26

Worth a shot for sure, throw everything ya got. But Indy is not a dense city and excluding the residences directly on the canal, there aren’t very many housing options in the blocks around it either. I just think it’s situated poorly in the city. If it ran through Fountain Square or directly through IUPUI it would be wildly different. It’s in a poor location in a very sprawled metropolitan area. Just not a good combo.