BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bloomington residents are getting a first look at the preliminary designs for the Indiana Avenue Safety Improvement Project.
The goal of the project is focused on increasing safety, connectivity, and accessibility between Henderson Street and 10th Street, according to the project website.
On Tuesday, at the second-of-three public meetings to discuss the project, the city shared two early design concepts.
"This is not the final concept," Bloomington Bike and Pedestrian Safety Coordinator Hank Duncan said. "This is the first step in fine-tuning something to make a safe corridor for all street users in Bloomington.
CONCEPT A: ONE-LANE, ONE-WAY ROAD WITH PROTECTED BIKE LANE
Currently, Indiana Avenue is a two-lane, one-way street from Third Street to 10th Street.
Concept A would eliminate one of those lanes, creating a two-way protected bike lane near the sidewalk closest to the Indiana University campus.
On-street parking would remain available on Indiana Avenue between Third Street and Kirkwood Avenue.
Concept A would also bring a new bus platform just north of Kirkwood Avenue right outside of the Sample Gates.
"I think this first stage of visualizing a concept and getting feedback is one of the most fun stages of the process for me," Duncan said. "[For] people, the visualization gives them the ability to give a lot better feedback than just general ideas and concepts."
CONCEPT B: TWO-WAY ROAD
Concept B would bring a very noticeable change to the corridor: a two-way road.
On-street parking on Indiana Avenue between Third and Kirkwood would become available only to cars heading south on Indiana Avenue.
There would be a shared bike and vehicle lane between that stretch of road in both directions until Kirkwood, which would start a clearly designated bike lane on both sides of Indiana Avenue.
Some residents at the public meeting had plenty of comments against the two-way road concept.
Ryan Robling, Bloomington's Planning Services Manager, said that at face value, a two-way road is intended to slow down drivers.
"It's unequivocally true," Robling said. "Slowing vehicles down would prevent death."
NEXT STEPS
With the preliminary designs now public, the city is asking for residents to give feedback on the proposals.
A third public meeting is scheduled for Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Sample Gates to discuss further design plans and give continued feedback.
Bloomington residents are asked to look at the design concepts and give feedback using a survey ahead of the Aug. 13 meeting.
You are also able to your comments to Hank Duncan at hank.duncan@bloomington.in.gov.
"We want to get to the heart of the issue of what can we do to make it safer for everyone," Duncan said.
