@KrissyKat @bloomington_in My guess is they're the only ones that could afford the bribes.
Mr. Hogan Goes To Washington
"So, I picked up the credentials from the ... Inauguration Committee today and asked if there was a schedule. They were very hostile, to be honest, and I thought, “That’s weird.” Then it started leaking that all the ... inauguration activities, even the parade, would be indoors. Even worse, there would only be eight credentialed photographers allowed to photograph it."
Law Lane Pedestrian Safety Audit
"Last year, a pedestrian was struck crossing Law Lane at Fee Lane in Bloomington, Indiana. Was this a one-off accident, or has there been a pattern of crashes at that intersection? Are there changes that could be made to improve pedestrian safety in the area?"
B Square Bulletin shuts down after five years
This is a real loss for the Bloomington community. The B Square has been the best and often only source of local government news since its beginning. We will miss your great reporting @chronicallydave !
https://bsquarebulletin.com/2024/12/20/five-years-one-final-b-square-bulletin-thank-you/
Apparently Bloomington Transit's Blink service is just a passthru to Uber, except with a much more limited service area
The idea was to provide an on-demand ride service for limited locations where the buses don't run. It's supposed to cost $2, but if I select one of these options, it will tell me that the cost is actually $10 or so, whatever Uber is charging.
Bloomington 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan
The Bloomington‐Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization invites the public to share their input on local transportation projects as part of the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). The MTP will guide improvements to roads, bike paths, public transit, and other transportation systems across Bloomington, Ellettsville, and urbanized Monroe County for the next 25 years.
I reported IU blocking sidewalks with their traffic signs
City says they will request IU not do that. We'll see if it does any good. Mostly they've stopped storing gameday traffic cones and gates on the sidewalks so I do have some hope.
Another new tech park coming to Ellettsville
"A tech park has been proposed in Ellettsville that would include manufacturing, retail, and office space, as well as homes and apartments...would cover about 242 acres north of State Road 46 and south of West Chafin Chapel Road."
This seems like a lot of unnecessary sprawl. And, "A traffic study supports the need for traffic lights and for SR 46 to be expanded to a five-lane road" - Yuck!
@KrissyKat @bloomington_in I only know what I read in the papers. The council refused to consider the mayor's pick for the historic preservation commission, and the deputy mayor accused the council of trying to raise the salary of the spouse of one of the members.
The Bloomington city council seems dysfunctional as all get-out. I wonder what's going on over there.
"I write to you today challenged by the pattern which seems to be common practice within our legislative branch of government, and which is in direct conflict with one of the values I would like to believe we all share: transparent and open government."
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.
Leave your feedback here:
@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"
@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.