Tag: 7-Line

Stop signs reinstalled at 7th & Dunn in Bloomington

7th Street looking east. (April 12, 2023)
The intersection of 7th and Dunn street looking northeast. (April 12, 2023)
The intersection of 7th and Dunn streets looking northwest. (April 12, 2023)
The intersection of 7th and Dunn streets, looking northeast. (April 12, 2023)
Reinstallation of the stop at 7th and Dunn streets. (April 12, 2023)
Reinstallation of the stop sign at 7th and Dunn streets. (April 12, 2023)
The intersection of 7th and Dunn streets, looking northeast. (April 12, 2023)
The intersection of 7th and Dunn streets, looking northeast. (April 12, 2023)

Around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, a yellow-vested crew from the street division of Bloomington’s department of public works started drilling holes to reinstall stop signs for 7th Street traffic at Dunn Street.

The work was finished by around 3 p.m. That makes the intersection at Dunn and 7th, just west of the Indiana University campus, an all-way stop.

The stop sign went in, because city engineer Andrew Cibor used his legal authority, to order the placement of the stop signs for 180 days.

Cibor’s order is based on a study of crashes along the 7th Street corridor, before and after the 7-Line separated bicycle lane was installed in 2021. The study showed an increase in crash numbers, especially at the intersection of Dunn and 7th Street. Continue reading “Stop signs reinstalled at 7th & Dunn in Bloomington” →

Traffic commission agrees with bike/ped group on 7th Street: Reinstall stop sign only at Dunn

A recommendation from city engineer Andrew Cibor, to reinstall five stop signs along 7th Street in downtown Bloomington, will not have complete support from two advisory groups when it lands in front of the city council.

On Monday, the bicycle and pedestrian safety commission (BPSC) recommended reinstalling just one of the five stop signs, which were removed in connection with the construction of the 7-Line separated bicycle lane under an ordinance enacted by the city council.

On Wednesday, the traffic commission followed suit, unanimously recommending that the intersection at 7th and Dunn street be restored to an all-way stop.

It’s not clear when the recommendation will be put in front of the city council for a vote.

The impetus behind Cibor’s recommendation to reinstall the stop signs is an increase in crashes at the intersections after the 7-Line was opened in late 2021.

Both appointed groups explicitly rejected Cibor’s recommendation that stops for 7th Street traffic at Morton, Lincoln, Washington, and Grant streets also be reinstalled.

The vote against reinstallation of the other four stop signs was unanimous on the BPSC. But traffic commissioners were split 4–2.

Cibor is a member of the city’s traffic commission and voted to support his own recommendation. The other vote for reinstallation came from Bloomington police officer and traffic commissioner Benjamin Burns. Continue reading “Traffic commission agrees with bike/ped group on 7th Street: Reinstall stop sign only at Dunn” →

Should stop signs return to Bloomington’s 7-Line bike lane? Traffic commission next to take up question

Washington Street looking south at 7th Street. (Dave Askins/B Square 2021-10-09)
View looking west from the top of the parking structure at 7th & Walnut.
The 7-Line looking east, B Square file photo (Sept. 13, 2022)

When Bloomington’s 7-Line separated bicycle lane was built in 2021, five stop signs for east-west 7th Street traffic were removed,  under an ordinance enacted by the city council.

The stops for 7th Street traffic at Morton, Lincoln, Washington, Grant, and Dunn streets were removed, but those for the north-south side streets were left in place.

The elimination of the stops was meant to encourage the use of the east-west corridor by cyclists.

Now with a year’s worth of crash data in hand after the opening of the 7-Line, Bloomington’s city engineer Andrew Cibor is recommending that the five stop signs be reinstalled.

The reinstallation of the stop signs would have to be approved by the city council. Before the city council considers the engineer’s recommendation, two of the city’s advisory boards are supposed to weigh in—the bicycle and pedestrian safety commission (BPSC) and the traffic commission.

On Monday, the BPSC unanimously rejected the idea that all five stop signs should be reinstalled. But the BPSC unanimously supported reinstallation of the 7th Street stop signs at Dunn Street.

Next up to hear Cibor’s report will be the traffic commission, which meets at 4:30 p.m on Wednesday. Continue reading “Should stop signs return to Bloomington’s 7-Line bike lane? Traffic commission next to take up question” →

Multimodal update: Total right-of-way acquisition costs for 2 Bloomington paths drop by $1.4M

On Monday, two multimodal paths that make connections in the north part of town got a greenlight for their next phases: the acquisition of right-of-way from owners of property along the routes.

In this context, “multimodal” means the facility is engineered for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The approvals from the Bloomington redevelopment commission (RDC) for the next steps were uncontroversial for both projects: a northward extension of the existing B-Line Trail; and filling the gap between Monroe and Grant Streets in the multimodal path along the north side of 17th Street.

Construction for the projects won’t start until 2023.

Both approvals of right-of-way (ROW) acquisition came with a significant price drop compared to the previously estimated cost.

For the B-Line Trail extension, the drop in estimated cost to get control of the necessary ROW was from $897,000 down to $400,000, nearly half a million dollars.

For the 17th Street multimodal path, the drop in estimated ROW cost was even more—from $1,590,000 down to $650,000 for a difference of $940,000.

Between the two projects, that makes $1.4 million less in ROW costs, compared to the amount that was initially estimated. Continue reading “Multimodal update: Total right-of-way acquisition costs for 2 Bloomington paths drop by $1.4M” →

Trees, warning surface among final details of Bloomington’s 7-Line bicycle lane

Red oak sapling in the median of the 7-Line near Morton Street.
Detectable warning surface installed at the interface between the B-Line and the 7-Line.

At Tuesday’s meeting of Bloomington’s board of public works, three change orders were approved for the 7-Line project.

The increases in the approved expenditures, which totaled around $30,000, signaled that the final touches are being put on the $2.6 million protected bicycle lane for 7th Street.

The work has included the installation of replacements for two of three accessible on-street parking spaces, which were eliminated due to the construction of the project.

The 7-Line runs about three-quarters of a mile along 7th Street, from the B-Line Trail to the Indiana University campus. An official opening ceremony was held last week.

Continue reading “Trees, warning surface among final details of Bloomington’s 7-Line bicycle lane” →

Photos: 7-Line official opening (Nov. 17, 2021)

View looking west from the top of the parking structure at 7th & Walnut.
View looking west at the intersection of 7th & Walnut.
View looking west from the top of the parking structure at 7th & Walnut.
View looking south from the top of the parking garage at 7th & Walnut.

Late Wednesday morning, a ribbon-cutting was held for Bloomington’s new 7-Line, which is a separated two-way bicycle lane that runs along the south side of 7th Street.

The new path runs three-quarters of a mile—eastward from the north-south B-Line Trail around Morton Street, to the Indiana University campus.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the western end of the new bicycle lane.

According to the city’s news release, remarks were to be delivered by Bloomington mayor John Hamilton. Also scheduled to give remarks were: Siân Mooney, who is the dean of the Indiana University O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs; Jeanne Smith, who is owner of Bikesmiths: and Beth Rosenbarger, Bloomington’s planning services manager.

Around a dozen cyclists took a post-ribbon-cutting ride eastward along the 7-Line. That ride was documented by The B Square from the top of the parking garage at Walnut and 7th Street. Continue reading “Photos: 7-Line official opening (Nov. 17, 2021)” →

Bloomington acts on plan to nix 7th Street stop signs to aid traffic flow for bicycle lane

Washington Street looking south at 7th Street. (Dave Askins/B Square 2021-10-09)
Purple: B-Line. Red: 7-Line
A bicyclist heads east on 7th from Indiana Avenue. (Dave Askins/B Square 2021-10-10)

In a news release issued on Friday (Oct. 8), the city of Bloomington publicized its removal of stop signs along 7th Street at cross streets between Walnut Street and Indiana Avenue.

The removal of the stop signs is intended to help the traffic flow on 7th Street.

The east-west street will eventually see the completion of the 7-Line, a separated bicycle lane, which is under construction on the south side of the roadway. The two-way bicycle lane on 7th Street will stretch from the B-Line on the west, to Woodlawn Avenue on the east.

In transportation engineering terms, what the city is implementing is a new “traffic pattern.”

As a practical matter, the removal of stop signs on 7th Street means that motorists and other users of the cross streets will have to be alert. The traffic on 7th Street no longer has to stop at four intersections.

Vehicles on Washington, Lincoln, Grant, and Dunn streets will continue to see a stop sign when they reach the 7th Street intersection.

To help get drivers and other users of the roadway accustomed to the new traffic pattern, yellow “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop” signage has been attached to the stop signs for cross streets. Electronic signs that flash a warning about the new traffic pattern have also been placed at some of the intersections.

The removal of the 7th Street stop signs was approved by Bloomington’s city council over a year ago, on Aug. 12, 2020. Continue reading “Bloomington acts on plan to nix 7th Street stop signs to aid traffic flow for bicycle lane” →

$1M for hospital redev design work OK’d by Bloomington RDC, 7-Line bicycle lane gets $673K funding backstop

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Verson 2 Done inset R Map Locator Hospital site plus 7LineYYYxxxx
Construction of 7-Line on the east end of the project next to IU campus on June 7, 2021. (Dave Askins/Square Beacon)
Construction of 7-Line on the east end of the project next to IU campus on June 7, 2021. (Dave Askins/Square Beacon)

At its regular meeting on Monday, Bloomington’s redevelopment commission gave funding approvals for infrastructure projects in two different parts of town, which are connected by the B-Line non-motorized trail.

For design work on the redevelopment of the IU Health hospital site, at 2nd and Rogers streets, the RDC approved a $1,048,880 contract with Shrewsberry and Associates, a firm with local offices and corporate headquarters in Indianapolis.

The scope of work in Shrewsberry’s contract is related to the part of the hospital site master plan called “Phase 1 East.”

Shrewsberry’s work includes, among other tasks, a topographic survey of the block bounded by 2nd, Morton, 1st, and Rogers streets. That’s the eastern portion of the site.

The whole site is planned for redevelopment as a mix of commercial space and between  580 and 940 new housing units.

After IU Health moves to its new facility on SR 46 towards the end of 2021, Bloomington will take control of the site in a $6.5 million real estate deal.

The soon-to-be-former hospital site sits just to the west of the north-south B-Line non-motorized trail. About a half mile north of the hospital site, the B-Line intersects with 7th Street at the western edge of the 7-Line protected bicycle lane, now under construction.

At its meeting on Monday, the RDC approved $673,609 in consolidated tax increment financing (TIF) funds to be used towards what is now a project with a total estimated cost of $3.2 million. Continue reading “$1M for hospital redev design work OK’d by Bloomington RDC, 7-Line bicycle lane gets $673K funding backstop” →

Bloomington city council OKs Habitat for Humanity project to build 70 houses in southwest part of town

cropped Habitat Site Plan Screen Shot 2020-08-12 at 3.43.26 PM
Habitat for Humanity’s Osage Place.
Locator map for Habitat for Humanity’s Osage Place.
Inset for Habitat for Humanity’s Osage Place.

On Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council gave unanimous approval to the planned unit development (PUD) zoning required for a Habitat for Humanity project in the southwest part of town.

The project will extend five streets that are currently stubs, to construct 70 houses over the next seven to eight years. Continue reading “Bloomington city council OKs Habitat for Humanity project to build 70 houses in southwest part of town” →

Advisory groups give green light to city council on 7th Street: Remove parking for protected bicycle lane

College to Walnut Screen unimproved 7-Line aerial 10.33.35 PM
Segment of 7th Street between College Avenue and Walnut Street in downtown Bloomington.
College to Walnut Screen 7-Line aerial 10.33.35 PM
The images shows the segment of 7th Street between College Avenue and Walnut Street. The top image shows current parking and lane conditions. The lower image is a rendering of the 7-Line protected bicycle lane project. Both images link to an animated .gif of them alternating.

On Thursday, at its first regular meeting since the end of January, Bloomington’s parking commission reviewed the protected bicycle lane project that’s going to be built on 7th Street sometime in 2021.

It was in front of the commission because the 7-Line, to be built as a two-way bicycle path on the south side of the roadway, will require the removal of 113 on-street metered parking spaces. It’s the loss of parking spaces that has generated some concern among property owners along the corridor, among them the Monroe County government.

Parking commissioners gave a unanimous recommendation in support of the planning and transportation staff’s finding—that the three-quarter-mile bicycle lane from the B-Line Trail to the Indiana University campus at Woodlawn supports several goals of the city’s comprehensive plan and squares up with the city’s transportation plan.

As Beth Rosenbarger, Bloomington’s planning services manager, pointed out to parking commissioners, the city’s transportation plan calls for a protected bicycle lane along 7th Street. Continue reading “Advisory groups give green light to city council on 7th Street: Remove parking for protected bicycle lane” →