Bypass widening project

Some B-TOP members and neighborhood volunteers have been working on several different angles of the bypass issue. Today we are releasing 3 reports with the traffic engineering data that these various efforts have produced. These reports illustrate the fact that the bypass design is simply not responsive to the situation on the ground. Not only have they ignored input from Bloomington residents, but they have ignored basic traffic engineering and urban design principles. Without further ado:

3rd & Bypass Pedestrian Counts

A pedestrian count was conducted at the intersection of 3rd Street and the SR 45/46 bypass (by College Mall) in August 2007 showing that approximately 400 people a day cross that intersection on foot.

Bypass Travel Time Study

Volunteers drove cars from one end of the project area to the other (Pete Ellis Drive to Kinser Pike) over a 12 hour period on May 4, 2010. The longest transit time seen was less than 17 minutes, and the average was about 9 minutes.

Bypass Design Failures

This is a summary document. It excerpts the data from our two studies, INDOT traffic data and projections, a table from the INDOT project plans, and car and bus data for the SR 45/E 10th Street corridor. This information indicates that Bloomington — even the neighborhoods around the bypass — is trending towards increased independence from the automobile while the bypass project is designed solely for the benefit of the automobile. The data also suggests that even for the target audience — rush hour drivers — the gains will be minimal.

I hope that I am centered enough in my heart and soul to return to activism via the bypass-widening issue. Hope that I’ve internally evolved enough to have tranformed my “violent peace activist” persona, back in the early ’80s when I tried — through forceful argument that marshalled “all the facts” and, not surprisingly, failed — to keep the MX missile out of Wyoming during the crazy “Peace is War” Reagan years. That was prior to the rapport established between Reagan and Gorbachev that infused them with the grace to move into a more inclusive understanding and ultimately shut down the Cold War .

Through personal experience I discovered that when I polarize with a perceived “enemy” I move into a state of war that hardens both sides against the other. Rather, I choose to empathize with the “enemy,” his fear and concern, and meanwhile strive to inspire rather use force. From now on, I aim to focus on describing the new vision for community and communion among all species that many thousands (millions?) of us now enjoy as both what motivates us and what can help move all of us into a truly common understanding of our real human needs.

As Einstein said, the way to solve a problem is to situate it within a larger context, wherein the problem dissolves. Hopefully, by communicating our vision, we can inspire those still held in the trance of dominant culture to recognize the global, regional, and local implications of  the converging crises of climate change and peak oil, and  how they situate all our traditional environmental, cultural, political, business, interpersonal and personal  concerns within the much larger frame of planetary emergency.

Ann Kreilkamp

Green Acres

One of the things you hear so often from defenders of this project is that Bloomington’s government has known about this plan for years and failed to comment on it, why are we making a big deal about it now at the last moment? This is of course not true, as there have been numerous groups expressing concerns about this project. Here are a few official letters on the subject (which INDOT has not addressed).

• Bloomington Bike&Ped Commission Recommendations from July 2007
• Bloomington Transit Recommendations on E 10th Street (including 10th & Bypass intersection improvements) from June 2007 (not only have their recommendations for the intersection with the bypass been ignored, but I do not believe there has been a response to the rest). There is also a letter from Mayor Kruzan imploring INDOT to not ignore the letter from B-T, and a letter from B-TOP explaining why B-T’s suggestions are so important (transit use is growing while car use is shrinking on E 10th!).
• IU and the city negotiated to build a pedestrian bridge over the bypass at 10th St, but IU dropped support for the proposal

I know there have been many more suggestions and plans which have “fallen on the floor,” so add your own experiences in the comments!

And that brings us to the point, which is that you can contact INDOT with your own questions and comments. INDOT is not used to interacting with the public. Generally at the most they have to get a couple lawyers together to steamroll a local planning organization. The project is not due to be let until October, so there is still time to reconsider some design elements. If nothing else, we can surprise them by letting them know that the citizens of Bloomington actually care about their roads. Here are some people at INDOT to contact:

• Rickie Clark – rclark@indot.in.gov – 317-232-6601 – Public Hearings Manager – organized the public information meeting that was cancelled
• Will Wingfield – wwingfield@indot.in.gov – 317-467-3910 – Communications Director – advised us to contact the next three people directly:
• Marvin Jenkins – mjenkins2@indot.in.gov – 812-524-3733 – Public Information Officer, Seymour District
• Randy Brown – rybrown@indot.in.gov – 317-232-5020 – Program Director
• Glenda Seal – gseal@indot.in.gov – 812-524-3720 – Customer Service Manager

B-TOP is hosting this blog to help neighborhoods and other concerned groups coordinate information about INDOT’s plan to widen the 45/46 bypass as it goes around Bloomington.

Here is some information to help get you started.

• There is an email list for announcements and various information and planning. To subscribe, send an email to btopgreg -AT- galexander.org, and I will add you to the list. It is the easiest way to stay up to date as this issue unfolds.
• There is a Facebook group for residents opposed to the bypass widening project.
• I wish I could give you a link to the bypass widening plans but one of the problems we’ve faced is that INDOT is not publicly releasing their plans. The Bloomington Engineering Department (contact Adrian Reid), has a copy of the plans, but they do not have access to any of the recent proposed changes to the plans. But here’s the rough form of it: they want to widen the bypass from College to 3rd street to a minimum of 4 lanes (2 lanes each way), with a large shoulder and very wide intersections with multiple turn lanes. They do not intend to have any enhanced pedestrian crossings except possibly an underpass at approximately 7th street. There is some talk of a pedestrian “side-path” which will run alongside the bypass, and also talk of a landscaped median. All discussed plans involve demolishing a large number of trees along the side of the bypass.
• The Bloomington Chamber of Commerce has come out publicly in support of this project, and the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation has at least considered publicly supporting the project as it stands.
• Indiana University has been engaged in closed-door meetings on the subject with INDOT. They want to add an additional road, called 14th Street, connecting various facilities to the bypass.
• Mayor Kruzan has shared a letter he wrote to the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation expressing his concerns about the project. In addition, many times over the years he has stated trepidation about the effect that widening the bypass would have on our city.
• B-TOP members have observed that if the bypass is widened, VMT will increase, traffic will increase, and congestion will soon surpass current levels. B-TOP speakers have often commented that the ideal state of a road is slightly congested (as it is now), such that it moves a lot of traffic but sends a clear signal to those using it (and those developing nearby) that it is not a limitless resource. B-TOP supports a complete redesign of the plan to enhance pedestrian crossings and eschew widening.
• INDOT has promised to have a public meeting on the topic, then cancelled it at the last moment. Their letting date for the project has been pushed back several times, and is now tentatively scheduled for October. The legally-required hearing for the project was completed 8 or 9 years ago and the public has not been consulted since.

So now you should be up to speed on some of the developments. Please note that anything I post is my own opinion/presentation and does not necessarily reflect B-TOP or any other organization. I’m just trying to keep us up to date.

If you have information you’d like to see on this blog, don’t hesitate to contact me btopgreg -AT- galexander.org. And feel free to let your feelings be known in comments. Please keep it civil, though.

Remember, this is our city and our government and we have a right and a responsibility to shape them to our desires!