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!