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Last month, we celebrated 20 years of Health by Design with a trivia night at Half Liter BBQ, and we had so much fun with all of you. Thank you for showing up for us.

Congratulations to every trivia team that played and thank you to our prize sponsors. So many local businesses stepped up, and it meant a lot. We’re also grateful to everyone who shared a story about what HbD’s work has meant to them. A giant thanks to Kim Irwin and Kelly Bishop. So much of our impact traces back to them, and they are a big part of why we’re still here today. Thank you also to Iliana, our resident party planner, who put her whole heart into every detail of the evening. And thanks to Sahm’s Restaurants for hosting.

Couldn’t make it? You can still help us roll into our next 20 years. Consider a gift of $20, $200 or even $2,000 to mark the milestone.

Our 2026-2028 strategic plan is here. We shared it with guests at the celebration, and now it’s ready for everyone. It lays out where we’re headed next.

The next Vision Zero Task Force meeting is Thursday, November 5 at 4 p.m. in the Public Assembly Room at the City-County Building. Health by Design represents the advocacy community on the Task Force. We're pushing for Vision Zero to be a real shared commitment across the city, not just a box to check. We were pleased to see public comment included on the agenda. We urge advocates and public health professionals to join us and share their thoughts. A few items weighing heavily on our minds:

• Safe detours through construction zones. We want a plan for how agencies, especially our public utility companies, will work together to keep safe bike and pedestrian routes open during construction.
• Faster turnarounds on rapid response. Removing the safety demonstration projects before DPW decides which ones move forward as quick builds leaves vulnerable road users exposed in the meantime. 
• Leadership from the Mayor. Safer streets depend on agencies working together, and we’d like to see more evidence of that coordination coming from the top.

Read more about Vision Zero.

Last year, neighbors, local businesses and community groups showed up at College and Mass Ave to demand a safer intersection. It worked. The city is fixing it.

This year’s Rally for Safe Streets is moving east, and Health by Design is joining as a partner. Meet us in front of the Emerson Theater at 1 p.m. DJ BRIMIX will have music going, so it’ll feel like a block party, but we’re there for a reason: to show the city that people want streets where everyone gets home safe.

Saturday, November 14 | 1:00 p.m. | Emerson Theater

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is held every year on the third Sunday in November. It started with families in the UK in the 1990s and was later recognized by the United Nations as a day to honor people killed and injured on our roads and to push for changes that keep it from happening to anyone else.

This year, Health by Design and Central Indiana Cycling are returning to the intersection of Raymond and Shelby Streets for a memorial and walk. We’re going back because this stretch is still dangerous. The interstate ramps and the traffic along Raymond put everyone at risk, and people on foot or bike or trying to reach a bus stop face the most danger. Since we gathered here last November, there have been more crashes:

• May 2026, State & Raymond: A teenager walking on the sidewalk was struck by an SUV driver and hospitalized. This is the same corner where a 4-year-old was killed and his father critically injured in 2025.
• June 2026, Shelby & Raymond: A person using a wheelchair was killed in a hit-and-run at the exit ramp.

The event begins with a short memorial, including statements from family members who have lost loved ones at this intersection and elsewhere in Indianapolis. Afterward, we’ll walk together along the sidewalk from Raymond and Shelby to State Street and back.

Sunday, November 15, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. | Raymond & Shelby Streets

Have you spotted a printing press on a bike around Indy? That’s Lily Groot. Lily is taking printmaking out of the studio and onto the street with Prints for My City, a series of live demos around Indianapolis. Her thinking is simple. A gallery label that says “silkscreen” doesn’t mean much until you’ve watched someone pull a print. So, she’s bringing the press to where people already are. As Lily puts it, analog is the future. Prints for My City is supported by Indy Arts Council and the City of Indianapolis through a 2026 Art in Public Spaces project grant. Follow @LilyGroot to find out where she’ll be next. (Photos by Scott Spitz)

An art gallery on a bike? Yep. littlebikegallery posted up outside The District Theatre on Mass Ave following its maiden voyage on Saturday, October 24th, showcasing a new way of engaging with local art—right off the trails! This unique collaboration is through local bike and art collective @littlebikecity and @storagespaceindy. What’s more, there’s even a Health by Design connection. littlebikegallery is the brainchild of Colton Pedro, partner of our very own Director of Healthy Communities, Taylor Firestine. This project was made possible through a Creative Convergence grant, a partnership between the Indiana Arts Commission and the Indiana Communities Institute at Ball State University’s Miller College of Business. Follow @littlebikecity to catch where they will be next! (Photos by Liz Wierzbicki and Taylor Firestine)

This year, over 21 registered events happened around Indiana. Ashlyn Devine, our Director of Advocacy & Grants, joined Robey Elementary's special day in Clermont. A big highlight: seeing the school’s new speed humps in action, funded through a Safe Routes to School grant from the Indiana Department of Health administered through Health by Design. Thanks to parent Sam Schilling for leading these efforts! Andrea Watts, HbD’s Director of Communications, joined CFI 2's big day and also collaborated with parent Sylva Zhang on their poster. 



NEXT UP: BIKE & ROLL TO SCHOOL DAY Wednesday, May 5, 2027. Get it on the calendar now and start planning your school’s ride! 

We’re looking for philanthropic and government partners to help keep the Safe Routes to School work rolling. If that sounds like you, email adevine@hbdin.org.

Health by Design and Tomorrow Bookstore are bringing Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon to Indianapolis for National Bike Month. They’re the co-hosts of The War on Cars podcast and co-authors of Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile. They’ll talk about what our streets and cities could look like if we stopped designing them around cars. 

We’re seeking sponsors! Support this conversation by sponsoring at the $200 level. Your business or organization will be featured across our promotion, including social media and newsletter mentions, and we’ll thank you from the stage on event day. To get involved, email Andrea at Awatts@hbdin.org.

Where we can walk, roll, or catch a ride has a lot to do with whether older neighbors can stay connected to friends, services and community life. The Polis Center and the Central Indiana Senior Fund, a fund of Central Indiana Community Foundation, are hosting an online conversation on exactly that, with WFYI as co-host. Esmé Barniskis will share findings from the State of Aging in Central Indiana Report. A panel of local leaders working on mobility and healthy aging follows, and Health by Design will be on it alongside AARP and Catholic Charities senior programs.

Thursday, November 12, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Register for the zoom.

Congratulations to the Gary Public Transportation Corporation on opening two new Cycle219 bike share stations, one at the South Shore Line’s Miller Station in Gary and another at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting. The new locations make it easier to pair a bike ride with a train trip or a commute to class.

Health by Design is proud to have played a small part in getting Cycle219 off the ground, and we love seeing Northwest Indiana communities embrace bike share. Visit GaryTransit.com to find stations, check bike availability and start riding.

On November 4 at the Indiana Historical Society, hear from the people who keep our transit system running and the riders who depend on it every day. The Indianapolis MPO has pulled together a panel of transit employees, including a bus driver, a mechanic and a service provider, alongside community members who use public transportation to get where they need to go. They'll share what transit actually looks like from the inside, and how it does more than get people from here to there. It builds community and keeps people connected.

RSVP here. 

Help young drivers build lifelong safe driving habits through Impact Teen Drivers' free educational workshops. These interactive sessions cover topics such as distracted driving, passenger behaviors, Indiana Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws, e-bike safety, and more. Workshops will be held November 14 at Pike Library and December 19 at Glendale Library from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Parents, caregivers, and teens are encouraged to attend and learn practical strategies for making Indiana's roads safer for everyone.

• The Times: Michigan City aiming to eliminate death, serious injury on roads through Vision Zero plan (paywall) 0️⃣
  
• Mirror Indy: Want to build a garden or paint a mural in your neighborhood? Apply for a grant. 💰
  
• WFYI: Proposed plan would bring major changes to West Street in downtown Indy 🛣️