Driver speed feedback signs near university show most Bloomington motorists drive too fast
Around 14,000 drivers a day might have noticed the pair of new driver speed feedback signs since they were recently installed on Atwater Avenue. That’s the one-way street that runs parallel to 3rd Street south of the IU Campus.
The estimate number of drivers who have seen the signs is based on the traffic count in the state of Indiana’s database.
Based on The B Square’s informal observation, most drivers exceed the speed limit, and many drive at least 10 mph faster than the 25 mph allowed.
The feedback signs have been installed just west of (upstream from) the intersection of Atwater and Hawthorne Drive.
Hawthorne is a street name that might sound familiar, as one part of a controversial greenway project, which finally got a green light in fall of 2023, and now is partially compete—the Hawthorne-Weatherstone greenway.
Public forums on the Hawthorne-Weatherstone greenway typically included commentary that mentioned the Hawthorne and Atwater intersection, in the context of the crash that killed Indiana University history professor Ssu-yu Teng in 1988, when he was walking across the street. After that, the speed limit was lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph.
Instead of spending money on calming the traffic on Hawthorne and Weatherstone, the money should have been put towards a traffic signal on Atwater at Hawthorne, some residents said.
The greenway project includes installation of bumpouts, and speed cushions, and the construction of a path between Weatherstone and Hawthorne, where no direct connection currently exists.
It turns out the Hawthorne-Weatherstone greenway project has a connection to the driver speed feedback signs on Atwater.
Responding to an emailed B Square question, senior project engineer with the city of Bloomington, Neil Kopper, wrote that the speed feedback signs, which cost $11,595 each, including installation are being paid for out of the greenway project budget.
There are also driver speed feedback signs installed at the south end of the Hawthorne-Weather greenway project, on Hillside Drive where it meets Weatherstone and Olive. Also installed at that Hillside intersection are some Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs)—which pedestrians can activate to make the lights flash.
Based on a review of literature conducted for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration entitled Effectiveness of Dynamic Speed Feedback Signs, the driver feedback signs do work. The commonly used acronym is DSFSs (driver speed feedback signs).
According to the introduction for that review, “This report presents evidence that DSFSs can be effective in reducing mean speeds, 85th percentile speeds, and the percentages of drivers over the speed limit in a range of contexts. Across all types of vehicles and different installation locations, the clear majority of studies found significant reductions in speeds at the DSFSs when the DSFSs are activated.”
Based on The B Square’s informal observation, for many cars, the initial measurement of speed that is shown on the Atwater signs is at least 10 mph over the 25-mph limit, but then shows a quick decrease as drivers apparently hit the brakes.
According to Kopper, Bloomington’s plan is to collect data on the effectiveness of the signs over time, to decide whether to leave them in place at the current location, or to move them to different spots. If the city eventually decides to deploy them as mobile units, then they’ll be placed considering factors like resident complaints about speeding, speed data and crash data, Kopper wrote.
The contract with E&B Paving, which is doing the greenway work, covers two separate greenway projects—Hawthorne-Weaherstone and a greenway project for Miller Drive, to install five speed cushions between Henderson and Olive Streets. The contract covering both projects amounts to about $870,000.
Based on The B Square’s onsite observation on Wednesday, for the Hawthorne-Weatherstone project, the bump outs look like they are complete. Some of the speed cushions for the Hawthorne-Weatherstone project have been installed on existing pavement, while others are waiting for new pavement to be laid down, before the cushions are installed.
The path connecting Weatherstone and Hawthorne looks substantially complete.
Photos: Hawthorne-Weatherstone Greenway (from north to south)
