Fort Wayne Advocacy Update - October 2024
AARP Indiana volunteers and staff had a successful October in Fort Wayne with two important wins! Read more about their accomplishments at the October 22nd Fort Wayne City Council Meeting!
Citilink
AARP Indiana supported Citilink’, the city's transit provider, in its efforts to avoid service cuts. Volunteers Vicki Builta, Deb Baumert, State President Linda Dunno, and Director of Community Engagement Emily Gorman (pictured above) attended the City Council meeting on October 8th and Gorman testified on behalf of AARP Indiana at a standing-room-only, Fort Wayne City Council meeting. In addition to testimony, AARP Indiana cultivated 75 personalized letters sent to the Council members in support of public transportation. A recording of the City Council meeting can be found here.
As a strong proponent of access to public transportation, AARP Indiana has been a longstanding partner with Citilink. Thanks to the Fort Wayne team’s hard work, Citilink and the Fort Wayne City Council were able to come to an agreement on a stopgap measure to help them avoid cutting services in 2025.
Emily spoke with John Metzinger (General Manager/CEO) and Casey Claypool (Marketing & Development Director) of Citilink to discuss their recent successes on This is IN. You can watch the episode below or on the AARP Indiana YouTube channel. You can also learn more about Citilink's efforts on their website.
Even with this success, it is imperative that Fort Wayne, the City Council, and Citilink continue to work together to secure additional funding. The current plan, while approved unanimously, is only a temporary solution.
Urban Trail
The Fort Wayne team’s second October win comes in the form of the City’s Urban Trail Project. This project aims to significantly enhance the walkability and accessibility of downtown Fort Wayne, particularly for older adults and differently-abled individuals. AARP Indiana submitted a letter of support to the City Council, mayor, and deputy mayor before the October 8th meeting.
Efforts were rewarded when the Council unanimously voted to pass the ordinance allocating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the improvement of the Urban Trail. Specifically, the funds will be used to connect the existing trail to Electric Works along Washington Street. The only stipulation of the ordinance is that traffic studies will be conducted on a regular basis and reported to the Council to ensure there’s no major negative impact on Washington Street traffic.
On a follow-up episode of This is IN, Emily spoke with Joe Giant, Community Development Administrator for the City of Fort Wayne about their success with the Urban Trail project. You can watch the episode below or on AARP Indiana's YouTube channel.
Congratulations to Fort Wayne residents on these two critical wins that will make the community more livable for people of all ages!
Be sure to follow AARP Indiana on Facebook, YouTube, and X for continued updates from the Fort Wayne area.
