Tag: traffic

Duplex in central neighborhood OK’d by Bloomington after revisions to design

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This aerial image from the west is from Monroe County’s online property lookup system.

On Thursday, Bloomington’s board of zoning appeals (BZA) voted 3–1 to approve the conditional use application for a duplex on an empty lot northwest of Bryan Park in a central Bloomington neighborhood.

Dissenting was Barre Klapper. Voting for the duplex were: Tim Ballard, Flavia Burrell, and Jo Throckmorton.

Each half of the planned duplex has three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The lot, which is on the south side of Wylie Street, is zoned R3 (residential small lot). That means a duplex is possible, but only as a conditional use, which means that it requires review and approval by the BZA. Continue reading “Duplex in central neighborhood OK’d by Bloomington after revisions to design” →

140-acre rezone proposal gets first hearing from Bloomington city council, to continue on May 1

Bloomington city council meeting on April 17, 2024. Andy Ruff attended on the Zoom video platform. Matt Flaherty was absent.
Councilmember Isak Asare distributes to his colleagues a handout from the Summit District developer. (April 17, 2024)
Overview map of Summit District PUD.
Close up proximity map of Summit District PUD.
Bloomington city councilmember Hopi Stosberg. (April 17, 2024)
Travis Vencel, with Sullivan Development (April 17, 2024)
, and Angela Parker, legal counsel for Sudbury Associates. (April 17, 2024).
Bloomington’s development services manager Jackie Scanlan (April 17, 2024)

A rezone request for about 140 acres in the southwest part of Bloomington will get continued discussion from the city council at its May 1 meeting.

At its meeting this past Wednesday, the city council heard the presentation on the Summit District PUD proposal from development services manager Jackie Scanlan, followed by remarks from Travis Vencel, with Sullivan Development, and Angela Parker, legal counsel for Sudbury Associates.

A PUD (planned unit development) zoning district is a kind of customized zoning district that uses an existing zoning district as a baseline, but diverges from it, in order to deal with challenges that are unique to the district.

On Wednesday, the council gave itself just four minutes apiece for questions of staff and the petitioner. The public comment lasted around 45 minutes.

Highlights from public comment  included concerns that have been expressed since the proposal was first heard by Bloomington’s plan commission, in July of last year.

Those concerns included the potential impact on stormwater flows, traffic, and the capacity of the city’s sewer system, in addition to impacts on the visual landscape.

Public comment also included support, based on the additional estimated 4,250 units of housing the rezone could make possible, in five new neighborhoods, over the course of the next 10 years.

The city’s plan commission gave the project a 7–0 recommendation at its mid-March meeting this year.

There did not seem to be any strong overt opposition to the rezone conveyed by councilmembers, during their allotted time for questions. Continue reading “140-acre rezone proposal gets first hearing from Bloomington city council, to continue on May 1” →

Traffic notebook: 20 is plenty for some Bloomington streets, but not that many

In June, the city of Bloomington issued a news release  announcing that Bloomington had been given a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award  by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB).

That was not a big surprise, because Bloomington has previously received a Gold BFC award from the LAB—in 2014 and 2019.

But an alert B Square reader noted an odd statistic about Bloomington that was included in the LAB’s own description of its awards  this year: “In their application, Bloomington indicated 54 percent of their roads have a signed speed limit of 20 mph or less.”

Long story short, that percentage is not accurate—it’s probably closer to 8 percent. But that mistake did not have an impact on the award, according to LAB. Continue reading “Traffic notebook: 20 is plenty for some Bloomington streets, but not that many” →

6 license plate recognition cameras to be placed at Monroe County high traffic spots

Six cameras that can recognize license plate numbers will be installed at various high-traffic locations in Monroe County.

Image from the Flock Safety press kit.

The $16,500 agreement with the Flock Group was approved by county commissioners at their regular Wednesday meeting.

According to the sheriff’s office, the ability to have access to information about the license plate numbers of vehicles that have driven past certain locations will help with response to emergencies like Amber Alerts.

According to Flock’s website, its cameras can identify license plates on vehicles traveling up to 100 miles per hour and up to 75 feet away, even at night. Continue reading “6 license plate recognition cameras to be placed at Monroe County high traffic spots” →

Bloomington ban on red-light turns in downtown a good step, pedestrian advocate says, but more work needed

At nearly 80 new spots in Bloomington’s downtown and Indiana University campus area, it will be illegal for a vehicle operator to make a turn after stopping at a red light.

An existing “No Turn on Red” location on 7th Street at College Avenue, looking east. You can’t turn south on red.

On a 9–0 vote on Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council approved the ordinance adding to the list of no-turn-on-red intersections to the city code.

In the staff report submitted for review by the city’s traffic commission, the stated purpose of the additional no-turn-on-red intersections is “to reduce crash risk for vulnerable road users.”

Vulnerable road users include pedestrians, bicyclists and other non-motorized means of transportation.

The new local law is a good step, Bloomington resident Greg Alexander told the city councilmembers, but said there’s a lot of work to be done.

Based on the memo in the meeting information packet, Bloomington’s police department would not see much of an impact on their enforcement activity.

Continue reading “Bloomington ban on red-light turns in downtown a good step, pedestrian advocate says, but more work needed” →

No turn on most red lights: New law considered by Bloomington city council for downtown, campus area

An existing "No Turn on Red" location on Kirkwood Avenue at Walnut Street, looking west. You can't turn north on red.
An existing “No Turn on Red” location on Kirkwood Avenue at Walnut Street, looking west. You can’t turn north on red.
An existing "No Turn on Red" location on 7th Street at College Avenue, looking east. You can't turn south on red.
An existing “No Turn on Red” location on 7th Street at College Avenue, looking east. You can’t turn south on red.

At a committee-of-the-whole meeting on Wednesday, Bloomington’s city council reviewed a new ordinance that would add nearly 80 new spots in the downtown and campus area where making a turn at a red light would be prohibited.

Under Indiana law, vehicles are allowed to make a right turn when the traffic signal shows red, if the way is clear. Left on red is also allowed—from a one-way street onto another one-way street.

The ordinance, which is sponsored by three councilmembers, is intended to reduce crash risk for vulnerable road users, like pedestrians and bicyclists. The three sponsors are Kate Rosenbarger, Ron Smith, and Steve Volan.

The proposal comes a year after a driver headed south on Washington Street, stopped at a red light at 3rd Street, then turned right onto 3rd Street, and struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk, killing her.

Indiana University law school student Purva Sethi died from the Feb. 8, 2020 crash.

City staff members support the council-initiated new law. And based on Wednesday’s deliberations, the additional no-turn-on-red intersections will likely win approval when the ordinance is considered for a vote on April 7. Continue reading “No turn on most red lights: New law considered by Bloomington city council for downtown, campus area” →

Wisler leads short-handed plan commission in review of Moores Pike PUD, other projects

Brad Wisler, newly elected president of Bloomington’s plan commission. (Dave Askins/Beacon)
The view to the north across Moores Pike, of the lot where the proposed PUD would be built. August 2019. (Dave Askins/Beacon)
During public commentary Moores Pike was described as “a pain in the butt to cross.” The closest crosswalk to the east is this one, almost a quarter mile to the east of the proposed PUD. August 2019. (Dave Askins/Beacon)
The view from the south of a proposed PUD on Moores Pike.

At Monday’s meeting of the Bloomington plan commission, a planned unit development (PUD) for 2.2 acres of land on Moores Pike, with 80 apartments in one 50-foot, four-story building, was forwarded to the city council with a negative recommendation.

In other business, which did not get final action from the commission, a proposed “mini-warehouse” facility on West 3rd Street across the road from Culver’s Restaurant, was continued to the plan commission’s November meeting.

A mixed use PUD proposed for the northwest corner of E. Longview Avenue and S. Pete Ellis Drive, with 19,000 square feet of commercial space, 264 apartments and a 306-space parking deck, was approved for its second of two required hearings, to be held in front of the plan commission next month.

After the departure of Joe Hoffmann last month, the plan commission’s first order of business at its Monday meeting was to elect a new president. Brad Wisler, as vice president, was an unsurprising choice. But due to the commission’s diminished numbers  it required a unanimous vote—which it got—of the other five commissioners present. Nick Kappas was nominated and approved as vice president by the same 5-0 tally. (Nominees did not participate in those votes.) Continue reading “Wisler leads short-handed plan commission in review of Moores Pike PUD, other projects” →