Bloomington city council votes to repave College Mall Road on split vote

Looking northeast at the intersection of Sare Road and Moores Pike.

Extracted from the Bloomington’s “full build bicycle network” in the transportation plan.

College Mall Road south of 3rd Street looking south.

At its regular meeting Wednesday night, Bloomington’s city council voted to approve an appropriation ordinance that includes, among other things, a reclassification of funds to pay for a repaving of College Mall Road.

The project, which extends between 3rd Street and Moores Pike, is planned for later this summer.

The vote, which was split 6–3 on the nine-member council, came as the clock ticked towards 10:30 p.m., about four hours after the meeting started.

Dissenting on the vote were councilmembers Steve Volan, Matt Flaherty, and Kate Rosenbarger.

The meeting was fraught with procedural wrangling that could be traced to lingering discord from the beginning of the year over the establishment of four-member standing committees of the council.

In the end, the council’s action on Wednesday provided funding for two street projects, which are supposed to start this summer. One is a repaving project—College Mall Road, southward from 3rd Street to Moores Pike.

The other project includes improvements to the intersection at Sare Road and Moores Pike and construction of a multi-use path south of there. Continue reading “Bloomington city council votes to repave College Mall Road on split vote” →

Bloomington council committee digs into road funding to weigh repaving of College Mall Road against other transportation goals

College Mall Road south of 3rd Street looking south.

Extracted from the Bloomington’s “full build bicycle network” in the transportation plan.

Looking northeast at the intersection of Sare Road and Moores Pike.

Looking south on Sare Road. The path in the right of the frame currently veers away from the road through a wooded area. It would be extended along Sare Road as a part of a planned project.

A Wednesday meeting of the Bloomington city council’s four-member transportation committee has set up the full council for a possible animated discussion next week.

On the council’s May 20 agenda will be an item related to funding for the repaving of College Mall Road between 3rd Street and Moores Pike.

The agenda item is a hearing on an appropriation ordinance that includes the College Mall repaving. The appropriation also includes some fund transfers that are needed for a couple other transportation projects.

The other projects involve intersection improvements at Sare Road and Moores Pike, and a multi-use path to be built on the west side of Sare Road south of that intersection.

The May 20 meeting could also include a final vote on the appropriation ordinance, which got a first reading on May 6.

On Wednesday, the committee gave the appropriation a mixed reaction. Continue reading “Bloomington council committee digs into road funding to weigh repaving of College Mall Road against other transportation goals” →

Plan commission OKs common council amendments, so Bloomington now has transportation plan

At its Monday meeting, exactly eight months after Bloomington’s plan commission gave its initial approval of the city’s transportation plan, commissioners approved 40 amendments to the plan made by the common council.

Replacement Photo Transportation Plan Amendments -- Return to Plan Commission - Packet — Example of one common council amendment to the transportation plan, swapping out an image for typical cross section for Suburban Connectors with one that shows three extra feet for protecting bicycle lanes.

The transportation plan, with final approval from the plan commission, now replaces the 2002 Master Thoroughfare Plan and the 2008 Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation and Greenways System Plan.

No one from the public offered comment Monday night. The plan had previously been scrutinized by the public and the common council in a process that began in late 2017.

The common council adopted the 40 amendments at its May 22 meeting. Because the proposed transportation plan changed after the plan commission’s initial approval, the amendments were back in front of the commission for its consideration on Monday.

At the meeting, plan commission chair Joe Hoffmann drew out the fact that the plan commission could object to some or all of the amendments, and send their objections back to the common council, but as a practical matter, under state statute, it is the common council that has the last word on it. Continue reading “Plan commission OKs common council amendments, so Bloomington now has transportation plan” →