Tag: separated bicycle lane

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” →

Hamilton vetoes Bloomington city council decision to reinstall 7th Street stop signs

Dave Rollo, Bloomington city council member. (Oct. 4, 2023)
Bloomington city engineer Andrew Cibor.
Bloomington mayor John Hamilton at the Oct. 11, 2023 budget adoption meeting.

Mid-afternoon on Friday, Bloomington mayor John Hamilton released a statement vetoing the city council’s action taken last week,  to approve reinstallation of  stop signs at four intersections on 7th Street.

The stop signs that have already been reinstalled at the 7th-and-Dunn intersection will remain in place—through a new 180-day order issued by the city engineer.

The stop signs at Morton, Washington, and Lincoln Streets will not be reinstalled, unless the council votes to override the mayor’s veto.

It looks unlikely that the council would be able to achieve the two-thirds majority (6) that is needed to override a veto. Still, a possible vote on a veto override appears on next Wednesday’s (Oct. 18) meeting agenda for the city council. Continue reading “Hamilton vetoes Bloomington city council decision to reinstall 7th Street stop signs” →

5–4 Bloomington council vote: 3 more stops, not just Dunn, OK’d for reinstallation on 7-Line bicycle route

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.
Dave Rollo, Bloomington city council member. (Oct. 4, 2023)
Steve Volan, , Bloomington city council member.
Jim Sims, Bloomington city council member.
From left: Isabel Piedmont Smith and Sue Sgambelluri, Bloomington city council members.
Bloomington city engineer Andrew Cibor.

“Wow. Just wow.”

That was how Bloomington city council president Sue Sgambelluri summarized the contentious debate that had just concluded on the question of reinstalling stop signs at three intersections, along the route of the 7-Line separated bicycle lane.

The intersections in question—Morton, Washington, and Lincoln—were not included in the ordinance that city engineer Andrew Cibor had asked the council to approve at its Wednesday meeting.

What Cibor had requested was enactment of an ordinance to make permanent just the stop signs that have already been reinstalled at 7th and Dunn streets, based on a 180-day order that he had issued.

By the end of the meeting, the reinstallation of stop signs at a total of four intersections had been approved by the city council. Continue reading “5–4 Bloomington council vote: 3 more stops, not just Dunn, OK’d for reinstallation on 7-Line bicycle route” →

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” →

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)” →