City presentation outlines Greenways Master Plan to expand access across Indianapolis

City staff presented the draft Greenways Master Plan and explained how the document ties into Indianapolis’s comprehensive planning process and grant competitiveness. Daniel Sawyers, introduced to the group as the plan’s presenter, said the plan lays out a long‑range vision to create a “connected, fair, and beloved Greenway system” and that integrating the master plan into the comprehensive plan improves chances for state and federal grant funding.

Sawyers said the current system includes roughly 120 miles of trails and bridges and that a proposed expansion would increase the network so that "there are roughly 370,000 people who can walk or bike or take a quick car ride from Greenway currently right now or will in the next year once we open up in urban Greenway and we finish Eagle Creek," broadening potential access to as many as 800,000 residents and more than 500,000 jobs under the plan’s buildout scenarios. He described the plan’s chaptered structure — vision, design, enhancement, sustainment, and a “Make It Happen” implementation playbook — and said staff are developing short, accessible materials (an eight‑minute overview, one‑pagers, translated resources and videos) to broaden participation.

The committee was briefed on next steps: staff expect the plan to go to the Metropolitan Development Commission for additions to the comprehensive plan, with MDC consideration targeted for fall/winter 2026 and potentially extending into 2027. Sawyers invited the committee to submit letters of support, noting written endorsements can help with grant applications and demonstrate community backing. Because the committee lacked a quorum, no formal recommendation or votes were taken at this meeting.