INDIANPOLIS — Red light. Right turn? For now, yes, but next month? It appears that will be off the table for drivers in downtown Indianapolis.

The leadership of the Indianapolis City-Council Council announced Monday morning new legislation that would turn the core of the city into a no-right-on-red zone.

The move, Council leaders said, is to improve pedestrian safety.

“We have watched with alarm, the steady increase in the numbers of pedestrian motor vehicle accidents here,” said Council President Vop Osili.

Last year, a reported 40 pedestrians were struck by vehicles and killed in Indianapolis.

With the downtown area becoming a growing event destination, and with plenty of citizen and visitor traffic on foot, engineers at the Indianapolis Department of Public Works examined 5 years of crash data.

“It was determined that 56.7% of pedestrian-related crashes in the core of downtown are the result of turning vehicles failing to yield to pedestrians at signalized intersections,” said DPW Director Brendan Herget.

Outside of downtown, the same kind of failure-to-yield vehicle mishaps injuring pedestrians accounted for just 24.8% of those crashes.

Council members said the crash data and safety concerns of residents prompted them to propose a new local law that would restrict turns on red lights in the core of the city.

The proposed boundaries of the no-turn-on-red zone are 10th and 11th streets to the north, I-65 to the east, I-70 to the south and the White River Parkway West.

Council Vice President Zach Adamson said there is a broad coalition of support for the bill which will be introduced at Monday night’s meeting.

“No one should experience an injury or loss of life while walking or biking to school, to work, or the grocery store,” said Adamson.

The bill is also being fast-tracked with an anticipated final vote expected to be held on May 8. Indy Mayor Joe Hogsett has endorsed the legislation.