Model train layout for 1940's Monon
Lafayette to Greencastle to Bloomington. The good old days!
Washington Street traffic calming
Bloomington's Washington Street is getting some speed humps and some twiddling of the parking. I suggested they might consider a parking-protected bike lane, but I suspect restriping is out-of-scope here.
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@markstos @bloomington_in So I suppose bike route algorithms recommend the bypass generally? I wouldn't. Between the debris thrown up on the path by speeding cars, and just generally the amount of carbon monoxide you suck in, I'll take my ebike quite a bit farther to avoid it.
How cities can use shared micromobility data for transportation planning and policy
This study, focused on Bloomington and Washington, D.C, gleaned insights on micromobility from Lime trip data. (Bloomington's response was to summarily throw Lime out on their micromobile ear, for some reason. I do not understand this.)
"About a quarter of street segments have bike infrastructure, yet these lanes account for nearly 60% of Lime trips."
Advertisements on the outside of city buses?
A lot of interest in this article about whether buses should have full-wrapped ads. There's no bus that comes within a mile of my house, so I'm not too concerned one way or the other.
https://bsquarebulletin.com/2024/09/19/whose-bus-is-that-bloomington-transit-mulls-ads/
Fullerton Pike construction almost complete
"This third phase spans 1.25 miles of road construction from Rockport Road to the roundabout on South Rogers Street. Ultimately, it will form a new connection to I-69 in the southwest part of the county."
Cost was projected to be about $15 million dollars back in 2019. I wonder how well they kept it under budget?
https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/fullerton-pike-connection-approaches-completion.php
@markstos @bloomington_in Maybe because it is high car ownership and car density? 🙂 Past Griffy there is the dog park and the north end of Cascades, so it really finishes out the circuit I think. Also at the 2500 block of Walnut there is an area designated as an "Urban Village Center", so maybe they'll do something with that as well.
N Dunn St Multiuse Path
Oh, this will make my commute way easier! A few years from construction though.
"This project has been prioritized by the Metropolitan Planning Organization to receive federal funding supporting construction of a multiuse path on North Dunn Street from the Indiana 45 Bypass to East Clover Lane. As funding allows, the project may include additional multiuse path construction north of these limits."
https://bloomington.in.gov/engineering/projects/northdunnpath
@KrissyKat @bloomington_in Yep, that thread has it right AFAIK. A big area in the middle of campus was fenced off, I need to swing by and see if it's been opened back up now.
Prebys Amphitheatre available again
This is a small event space they set up next to the President's house in 2015, but it's been unavailable since Pamela Whitten moved in. No one knows why.
@bloomington\_in #IndianaUniversity
https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/prebys-amphitheatre-available-again.php
Indiana Avenue design update
Looks like it will be one-way with a two-way protected bike lane. I submitted some comments:
"I'm not sure it was a good idea to make concessions to the firefighters and remove the bike lane barriers. Generally less than 5% of all fire runs are actual fires; mostly medical emergencies and false alarms that don't require using a 40-foot truck to respond. They might consider purchasing some smaller vehicles for these runs."
@failedLyndonLaRouchite @bloomington_in Listening in on the meeting about this...it has the feeling that they will be going all night 😬 A presentation from a homeowner followed by commission discussion and we're 45 minutes in. There are going to be public comments for hours.
@failedLyndonLaRouchite @bloomington_in This particular kerfuffle is about tearing down some single-family houses and replacing them with apartment buildings.
YIMBYana Press Release: Opposition to Green Acres Conservation District Proposal
"The group is concerned that the proposal will limit new infill housing in Green Acres, a neighborhood close to Indiana University’s campus, thereby increasing housing costs and reducing availability. This could force students and other residents to seek housing further from campus, exacerbating affordability and accessibility issues"
@bloomington_in My recommendation is that they replace LOS all through the document with "Cars Go Fast Level".
For example, SR 45 and Airport Road could say, "Based on the capacity analysis results, the intersection operates at Cars Go Fast Level B during the PM peak hour in 2019"
Officials gathering input on 2050 transportation plan for Bloomington area
"The initiative is meant to identify ways in which the area’s transportation system can be improved over the next 25 years and beyond. The BMCMPO will use public input to determine how to best allocate federal transportation funding"
Indana Avenue design suggestions released
Either a two-way street with painted bike lanes, or one-way for cars and two-way, semiprotected bike lanes. Not sure I care since the difference is mostly how it's painted, but I'd really like to see Kirkwood and Dunn closed to traffic, and Indiana would have to be two-way to allow for that.
Bloomington 4th on Most Improved Cities for Biking list
"In 2023, Bloomington reduced speed limits for all neighborhood streets to 25 miles per hour, contributing to a 17-point increase in its City Ratings score. In recent years, Bloomington also expanded its network of neighborhood greenways and constructed numerous road-adjacent shared-use paths and protected bike lanes like the 7-Line."
@bloomington\_in #cycling #UrbanPlanning
https://www.peopleforbikes.org/news/2024s-most-improved-cities-for-biking
Wouldn't it be nice if the process for safety improvements was as simple as the process for street maintenance?
Compare them: http://blog.benfulton.net/2024/06/wouldnt-it-be-nice-if-process-for.html
Indiana Avenue redesign
So I did go to the Indiana Avenue public meeting, but they didn't have any concrete plans to share. They did have a cool model to play with, though 😀
I'm always there to tell them to build more bike infrastructure, but there's a dull sameness to these meetings. A lot of people on bikes agreeing with me and a few people to complain about losing parking and bikers not stopping for stop signs.
Bike/Ped Commission meeting tonight
Zooming into the meeting, mostly to hear about Indiana Avenue. First up, though, is a review of the ADA Transition Plan. Comments seem mostly positive, commissioners are worried about several engineering issues rather than planning.
Public Comment: Eric Ost thinks we aren't doing enough due diligence on prioritizing projects. Thinks we spend too much on cycling and not enough on ADA.
Washington and Bloomington Work With Lime on Mobility
"The Mobility Insights Competition was designed to select two communities to better understand their biking issues, including equity and safety...Bloomington’s application charted a plan to use shared micromobility data to help with the city’s first Safe Streets for All Action Plan."
@bloomington\_in #UrbanPlanning #bikeshare
https://www.govtech.com/transportation/washington-d-c-bloomington-ind-work-with-lime-on-mobility
Attorney General Todd Rokita Tells Monroe County to Rescind ‘Sanctuary City’ Policies
"Attorney General Todd Rokita has issued a threat to local officials in Monroe County, home to the city of Bloomington, along with several other Indiana localities: rescind “sanctuary city” policies or face legal action starting July 1."
Todd Rokita is an awful person.
Bloomington quietly puts up plans for protected bike lanes on Indiana Avenue
@FlyingSquid Watched the first season but the awkwardness was beyond me. As a gen-xer I prefer ironic detachment 😃
Ben Fulton @hoosier.social Hoosier born and bred. Research Software Engineer at Indiana University. Follow IU soccer and women's basketball and the Indy Eleven. Biker.