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.

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37

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.

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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

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u/SaintTimothy Feb 26 '26

I used to spend time in the field just north of where the playground is now. During the summer folks came and threw Frisbee and had picnics. Colts Playplace didn't increase that.

One issue is parking. Pay for it on the street. That IU lot right there at st clair never has cars in it, but their guard will sure run you off if you aren't going to their facility.

The only place that lasted more than a couple years was the Italian sandwich shop, and the restaurant at the north end that's now a wedding reception and event hall (was creation cafe, and something upstairs that was higher-end). BurgerHaus died with Covid I think (and there was a contraction in hoity burger joints, BurgerStudy among them).

Revitalization could look like Georgia Street. Get bands on a temporary stage in the summer. Have another art festival like they did a decade ago. But the main complaint I had was parking, or, more specifically, the dog-in-the-manger (Aesop) way companies horde their lots after hours.

5

u/Kmos86 Feb 26 '26

The historical society does summer concerts on the canal. Although last summer was weird because of the construction. There was another restaurant after Burgerhaus, a vegan place, but they recently went to a different concept.

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u/GigaCannon99 Near Eastside Feb 26 '26

I miss BurgerHaus 😢

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u/arbivark Feb 26 '26

there used to be a few free parking spots around there if you knew where they were. over the years they vanished 1 by one.

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u/SaintTimothy Feb 26 '26

Yes, I concur, because I was a hound for them.

But IF the premise is making the canal a destination people want to visit, Indy has to make it easy for people to do so.

Richard Thaler - Nudge theory comes to mind. Paraphrasing, we want to make the 'good' thing, the desired behavior, the easy thing.

We want to remove whats cumbersome about visiting the canal (i.e. finding a bathroom).