♪ Boasting 8 miles of picturesque pathway, connecting some of downtown Indy's most iconic locales, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail is a fantastic way to traverse this bustling city.

>> It's made it a bikable city.

It's made it a walkable city.

It's made it a place where people are face to face instead of in their cars.

And so that's why I think it really has helped inspire a new culture in Indianapolis, and really has set the mold for what people want in their city.

>> The Cultural Trail was devised in the early 2000s as a way to connect the city's newly created downtown cultural districts, but in order to build the trail, the city needed to make a not-so-insignificant sacrifice.

>> The city made a decision to give up on busy city streets, a lane of vehicle traffic, to give it back to the pedestrians to build the Cultural Trail.

And I think really should be celebrated that Indianapolis could prioritize pedestrians and people in a land that is, you know, generally filled with cars.

>> While the trail sits on public land, its development, maintenance and funding, are all managed by the nonprofit organization, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail Incorporated.

>> We don't receive any funding from the city to continually operate and maintain the cultural trail, which generally is a shock to most people.

And so we are really grateful for our donors and our partners and our funders to allow us to continue to bring this truly gift to the city of Indianapolis.

>> And like any thoughtful gift, the trail's designers considered even the smallest details.

>> So the Cultural Trail is designed with safety and accessibility in mind first and foremost.

So there's lighting along the entire Cultural Trail.

That might seem much, but the lights are always on.

The wayfinding is also available in the paver patterns that you see on the cultural trail.

It's very repetitious.

And so you just keep following the brick pavers.

There's also cues within the pavers as to where the trail is going, if it's turning or if you are coming to a part that might have more conflict with vehicles.

>> But the trail is more than a simple path.

It's also an open air art gallery.

♪ >> The design team and the founders really wanted to highlight how Indianapolis is a cultural capital, how it's an artistic capital, and how you can be in this community and thrive and be surrounded by public art, so that you would have something to see and do and have a dynamic experience when you are on the Cultural Trail.

>> And while the art will wow you, the urban oasis will also soothe you.

>> So the landscaping is such an important part of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.

In the downtown of a major city in the United States, you are surrounded by greenery, by trees, by animals, by insects.

We've seen bunnies hopping across the trail.

And so having a place that is welcoming and has a natural element to it, it kind of softens the harshness of the urban landscape.

>> Of course, like any well-traveled public space, the Indianapolis Cultural Trail means many things to many people.

>> It has lights on it.

So it's safe to walk on it at dark, as well as he appreciates that there's nice green space downtown.

>> For me, there's too much concrete or too much city, right.

We need to remember we're on earth and Mother Earth and the green and bring it back into the city.

>> The best part is it shows you the entire city.

So you can literally get to any point of the city from the Cultural Trail.

>> Exactly.

Also there's a huge safety point.

And just to be able to get off the roads from cars.

It's just multiuse and it's safe.

>> We talk to people from all over who live here, who have moved here, who have grown up here their whole lives, and they all say, I can't imagine what my commute would be like if this wasn't here, or what my neighborhood would be like if this wasn't here.

There'd be more vehicle lanes of traffic, you know.

There'd be more hardscape.

There'd be more asphalt, and there'd be less lighting.

There'd be less gardens.

There'd be less investment in public art, and it probably would look like any other city that you go to.