Tag: 7th Street

Stop signs at intersections on Bloomington’s 7th Street: Dunn for now

The status of stop signs along Bloomington’s 7th Street remains unchanged after Wednesday’s meeting of Bloomington’s city council.

The stop signs along the street have been the subject of controversy, since they were removed in connection with the construction of the 7-Line, which opened in November 2021.

The 7-Line is a two-way separated bicycle lane that runs along the south edge of the street, from the B-Line trail on the west, to Woodlawn Avenue at Indiana University campus on the east.

On a 7–2 vote, the city council defeated an ordinance that would have added back all-way stops at a total of five additional 7th Street intersections into city code. Dissenting were Dave Rollo and Andy Ruff.

Included in the five intersections that were subject to the city council’s Wednesday’s vote was the one at 7th and Dunn streets. The 7th and Dunn stop signs will remain there, as they have for a little over a year. Continue reading “Stop signs at intersections on Bloomington’s 7th Street: Dunn for now” →

Monroe County election board finishes final prep for Tuesday, May 7 primaries

These are the lanyards for Monroe County election board members: Nicole Browne, Judith Benckart, and John Fernandez.
Election Central at 7th and Madison streets is set up to process mailed-in and early in-person ballots.
Chart of the early in-person voting totals for the 2024 primary election in Monroe County.
On Monday night, a red-tailed hawk kept watch over Monroe County’s Election Central from the antenna on top of the justice center at 7th Street and College Avenue.
On Monday night, campaign yard signs at Fairview Elementary School were guarded by the Joe LaMantia’s Aristicat.
Campaign yard signs at Monroe County’s election operations building at 3rd and Walnut streets.

By around 7:30 p.m. on Monday night, all but three of the 29 polling locations for Primary Election Day on May 7 had checked in with Monroe County election division staff at Election Central to confirm they were set for the next day’s voting.

Election Central is the old Johnson’s Hardware building at 7th and Madison streets.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. Continue reading “Monroe County election board finishes final prep for Tuesday, May 7 primaries” →

Report: Monroe County should build new jail with 450-500 beds, not renovate current one

Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté. (April 30, 2024)
From left: Lee Jones, Julie Thomas, Penny Githens. (April 29, 2024)

Monroe County should build a new jail with 450 to 500 beds, according to a report prepared by RQAW Corporation, out of Fishers, Indiana.

The report recommends against renovating the existing facility at 7th Street and College Avenue, which has a total of 287 beds.

The estimated hard cost of a new facility, according to RQAW, is around $76 million, with additional costs like design and construction contingencies, and fixtures and furnishings, bringing the total cost to around $99 million. That’s not an estimate for a “co-located” justice center that would include space for all the courts, prosecutor, public defender, probation, and other support services.

The hard construction cost of a fully co-located new facility is pegged at around $142-152 million by DLZ,  which is the county’s consultant for master planning and designing a new jail facility. That’s based on $70-75 million for a justice center and $72-77 million for the jail and sheriff’s office. Continue reading “Report: Monroe County should build new jail with 450-500 beds, not renovate current one” →

Monroe County sheriff announces jail transition director: Cory Grass

Cory Grass (Dec. 12, 2023)
Cory Grass (Dec. 12, 2023)
Monroe County chief deputy sheriff Phil Parker (Dec. 12, 2023)
Monroe County chief deputy sheriff Phil Parker (Dec. 12, 2023)
Monroe County council (Dec. 12, 2023)
Monroe County council (Dec. 12, 2023)

A jail transition director for Monroe County was announced and introduced at Tuesday night’s county council meeting.

Cory Grass will lead the transition from the current jail at College Avenue and 7th Street to facility to be constructed at a location that is not yet determined.

Grass is a Monroe County native who interned at the Monroe County jail, went on to serve in Bloomington’s police department, and more recently in the FBI, before starting his own consulting firm, Apex Solutions Group.

Making the introduction to county councilors at their regular Tuesday meeting was Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté’s chief deputy, Phil Parker. Continue reading “Monroe County sheriff announces jail transition director: Cory Grass” →

Stop sign veto by Bloomington mayor stands, as council declines to consider an override vote

Dave Rollo, Bloomington city council member. (Oct. 4, 2023)
The effect of Hamilton’s veto is that the stop signs with asterisks (*) will not be reinstalled. The signs at the 7th-and-Dunn intersection will remain, based on a 180-day order from the city engineer.
Bloomington mayor John Hamilton at the Oct. 11, 2023 budget adoption meeting.

Remaining intact after Wednesday’s city council meeting was Bloomington mayor John Hamilton’s veto of the council’s Oct. 4 decision to authorize reinstallation of stop signs at four intersections along 7th Street.

At its meeting on Wednesday night (Oct. 18), the council declined to consider an attempt to override the mayor’s veto of the ordinance, which it had enacted on Oct. 4. The vetoed ordinance authorized the reinstallation of four stop signs along 7th Street—at Morton, Washington, Lincoln, and Dunn streets.

The removal of five stop signs along the corridor accompanied the opening of the 7-Line protected bicycle lane in mid-November 2021. The removal of the stop signs, which had been approved by the city council, was intended to make the east-west corridor a more attractive transportation option for bicyclists.

The stop signs at the 7th-and-Dunn intersection, which had already been reinstalled based on a 180-day order from city engineer Andrew Cibor, will remain in place. The 7th-and-Dunn stop signs will be allowed to persist for another 180 days, based on a fresh 180-day order. Continue reading “Stop sign veto by Bloomington mayor stands, as council declines to consider an override vote” →

Column | Mayoral veto on stop signs: Bloomington’s city council should take a unanimous vote

Friday’s big local civic news was that Bloomington mayor John Hamilton had vetoed a city council ordinance that authorized reinstallation of stop signs at four intersections on 7th Street.

That means an item appears on the agenda for next Wednesday’s city council meeting, that makes it possible for the council to vote again on the same ordinance.

If the council votes again on the same ordinance, and it passes with a two-thirds majority, that would achieve an override of the mayor’s veto.

A two-thirds majority on the nine-member council is six. It was a narrow 5–4 vote that approved the ordinance on Oct. 4.

It seems unlikely that any of the four dissenters would join the majority, to give the council the one extra vote it would need to override the veto. There’s a certain futility that would be attached to the effort.

It’s worth noting that there is no requirement that the council even try to take a vote that could lead to a  veto override. Continue reading “Column | Mayoral veto on stop signs: Bloomington’s city council should take a unanimous vote” →

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” →

IU Poplars: Bloomington board closes streets so public stands clear when walls come crumblin’ down

The aerial image with perspective from from the north is from the Monroe County online property lookup system.
View from the north of the Poplar Building on 7th Street on July 19, 2022.

“You have a beautiful neighborhood that we want to assist in improving ever further by the removal of the IU Poplars Building.”

That’s a line from a July 12 heads-up letter that was hand-delivered by Renascent, Inc. to neighbors of the Indiana University Poplars Building on 7th Street, west of campus.

Renascent is the company that has been contracted to do the demolition work, which has already started.

The hand-delivered letter warned residents of upcoming closures of Grant Street, west of the building, and Dunn Street, east of the building.

The sentiment in Renascent’s letter reflects the lack of affection for the building, which was constructed in 1964 as a hotel, purchased by Indiana University in 1972, and eventually converted to office space. Continue reading “IU Poplars: Bloomington board closes streets so public stands clear when walls come crumblin’ down” →