of the Transportation Commission is called to order. Will the staff please call the roll? Here. Here. Here.
Here Here Thank you first item on the agenda we start with reports and communications To start with
are there any reports from commissioners? Seeing none moving on next we move on to report from staff first is
180-day order update Good evening commissioners Andrew seabor city engineer here to provide you a status
update on 180-day orders Since your last meeting no new orders have been issued but did just want to
let you know that two Prior orders were reissued this was I think the first time that I
Orders have been reissued now multiple times on these particular items. The first one is four all-way
stops on 7th Street. And then the other is related to loading zones adjacent to Kirkwood Avenue. I'm
happy to answer any questions you have about these orders. Mr. Flaherty. Thank you. Thanks for the report.
Were both of those orders extended more than one time, or just the first one?
I believe they have both now been extended toy Multiple times and does engineering staff plan to bring
those to the City Council? Or are they required to come to City Council for? Permanent status and the
idea that a timeline for that sure it is fair question ultimately the topic of these and Title 15 does
need to go to City Council where things are is
Our city administration legal team was trying to work with the council legal team and started to work
on just the larger discussion about Title 15 and what should be or shouldn't be in that. But that did
not get resolved. So I think this is kind of hanging in the balance of those ongoing discussions. And
the timeline of that I don't have anything to offer. Thank you. And would that be true for like all
180-day orders that were kind of in a limbo of sorts and would just use those
repeat until we have a Legal clarity and agreement between the council office and the mayor's office.
I think that's the current anticipated Approach to these and where I would keep this commission updated
of those orders But yeah, I welcome further dialogue on that. Thank you The commission on 180-day order update
Seeing none, we can move on to the next report from staff, which is the parking study status update.
Thank you. Hi, my name is Michelle wall and the parking service director for the city of Bloomington.
In March of 2025, the city partnered with Walker consultants to conduct a comprehensive review of downtown
residential parking in Bloomington.
The study has focused on rates, policies, operations, enforcement, technology, with the goal of creating
a parking system that is efficient, equitable, and sustainable. Throughout 2025, the Walker's project
team conducted stakeholder meetings, site visits, public surveys, and gathered community feedback. The
Transportation Commission has continued to be informed about updates and has been a part of a dedicated
presentation.
From December, 2025 through March of 2026, the draft report was revised following a leader project consultant
immediate departure from Walker. Also an internal review was done. It was then recently shared with
the working group, which is made up of representatives from ESD, planning, engineering, and public works,
as well as the parking service team for additional input. So looking ahead, the next several weeks will
be focused on review and discussion
April 17th, the draft report will be presented to this commission with comments and writing requested
by April 24th. April 27th, parking services will present key findings, including potential rate changes,
enforcement updates, and new parking technology. And any additional questions will be collected for
written follow-up at that time. May 18th, parking service will propose to the transportation
Commission updates to Title 15 and will be presented based on the study's recommendation. On May 20th,
it's our goal that Walker Consultants will present their report and recommendations to City Council.
Overall, the study provides a roadmap for improving Bloomington's parking system and it sure continues
to meet the community's needs now and to the future. Thank you.
Questions from the Commission on the parking study Thank you for the update I'm looking forward to reviewing
in April Am I recalling correctly that the scope of this particular study isn't the full Parking system
or set of parking policies at the city. It's like specific to Downtown or is it everything is it everything?
Oh, okay. It's everything. Yes
Mistaken recollection. Yeah, thank you. Okay. Thanks for confirming that great Any other comments from
the Commission If not, thank you, thank you for your report The next report is on West 3rd Street from
Buckner Street to South Davidson Street So on West 3rd Street there are
are several blocks of traffic calming islands that require drivers to do a chicanning maneuver where
they have to go left and right. And that encourages them to reduce their speeds and use Third Street
less as a cut-through route. These have been in place for several years, but it's been brought to our
attention by sanitation and drivers of snowplows that it's been hard for them to turn in and off of
these streets because of the tight nature of it.
What's happening is that they're either driving over the curb or over the islands or they're striking
the wall of the cemetery. Because of this, we went out to the field and we observed the vehicles making
these maneuvers and we talked to our streets department and we realized that the best thing to do would
be to cut down the size of some of these islands so that we could still maintain traffic calming effects,
but allowing these larger vehicles to still make their turns.
I did note that sanitation and snow plows were the ones that we were aware of, but I'm also assuming
that larger vehicles for deliveries are also having these same challenges. And so if you look at the
image, the two blocks that we're looking at are Buckner and Davison. Buckner is the one that's on the
east side, and then one block to the west is Davison. So for Buckner, there's an island
directly west of the intersection. And that island, we're proposing to cut back about half of the length.
And then over at Davidson, on the east side of the intersection, we're doing the same thing. We're gonna
cut back the length of about a half. And then to the west of that intersection, there's an island that
we tried to keep as much of the space, but due to simplicity and just to prevent future issues with
vehicles, we're just gonna remove the entire island.
Even if we remove these islands or make them smaller, that will still have a traffic calming effect.
But it will still allow larger vehicles to make the turns and not damage the islands or the wall. Thank
you for your report. Thank you. Comments from commission? Mr. Flaherty? Thank you. This is
really interesting. Does anybody actually know how long those islands have been there? Quite a while.
I want to say 25 years or more. I'm just curious. I'm sympathetic to the changes. I understand
the constraints. I'm wondering what changed. We've just been sort of tolerating folks running into things
for multiple decades. Did vehicles get bigger? I don't know. Anybody have any opinions or thoughts?
I think there's a couple things I want to say these islands the traffic calming is I'm gonna guess 15
years or so old I'm certainly pre my time but not not much before maybe I think what is really generating
the timing of this now is both just I guess primarily what's leading to it right now is a resurfacing
project the road hasn't been resurfaced since these islands were going in so by nature we're needing
to reevaluate this quarter like we do all others and that's what I
why we're exploring making changes along with that project. Got it. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Other
comments from commissioners. Thank you for that report. This now we move on to the part of our agenda
for cases. The first case is TCI 2601. It's a transportation inquiry regarding Morningside Drive and
Smith Road.
Taylor or Alexander is here. That would be the chance to take the microphone Hello, my name is Brianna
Alexander and I am the mother of Lena the ten-year-old who was recently hit by a car while crossing
the intersection at Morningside Drive and Smith Road and
Immediately after crash after the crash sitting in the hospital ER watching my daughter repeatedly Vomit
up the blood she had swallowed from missing teeth that were knocked out on impact. I was overwhelmed
with guilt I had failed to keep my daughter safe My husband and I had only begun letting Lena across
Smith Road this past summer after she asked to be able to go to visit her best friend's house and the
Yellow Slide Park
It was a decision we made carefully and only after many conversations about safety and weeks of her
demonstrating she was responsible enough to always wear her helmet, travel with friends, and be home
on time. I was so nervous, but also know how important independence is for a child's development.
Nonetheless, sitting in the ER waiting for answers on the extent of the damage to her little body, managing
my composure to keep her calm,
Thinking through how to make her whole again and trying not to let my mind spiral to the worst outcomes.
I felt like I had failed her When tragedy happens your instinct is to turn inward But when your village
shows up to help it reminds you that you're part of a bigger picture Before we even got home from the
hospital a neighbor had organized a meal train to help take the pressure off while we focused on Lena's
care and almost immediately dates filled up and messages of care and concern were rolling in and
Over the next weeks, the messages from terrified parents who couldn't help but put themselves in our
shoes made me realize it could have been anyone's child. I hadn't failed. What happened to my daughter
was not an anomaly. It was an inevitability. Every neighbor I spoke with had stories of close calls
in that intersection, feeling like they had to be hyper vigilant after witnessing distracted drivers
rolling through, not stopping.
The intersection at Smith and Morningside does not demand driver attention. It needs upgrades that will.
Doing nothing now is not neutrality. It is the decision to accept that this will happen again. A serious
injury crash is no longer just a statistical probability according to your own data. It has now happened
to a child. Parents should not have to choose between their child's independence and their child's safety.
They deserve the peace of mind that our roads are designed to keep them safe. I urge you to allocate
funds for immediate safety improvements at the intersection of Smith Road and Morningside Drive because
no parent should have to stand in an emergency room wondering if a simple walk to the park has changed
their child's life forever. And I've got some photos, I don't know, of the injuries she sustained.
Are we able to display the photos? I don't believe we are able to display the photos. But if you would
like to pass them to commissioners, I believe that that is certainly from the realm. Thank you for your
presentation. To just give an overview of how this inquiry process works, we have an opportunity to
comment and ask questions. Then there'll be public comment, both in person and online.
and then we'll come back to the transportation commission where we have an option to request further
study or information or request a future petition or resolution that addresses the issues raised. So
to start that, do commissioners have other questions for the petition or initial comments before we
move to public comment? Okay.
We'll move to public comment first. We will have in-person comment and then we'll move to online So
there's someone from the audience who would like to speak Before we start the Speakers must sign in
and be recognized by the chair. Okay, we're limited to one three minutes three minutes per speaker Direct
dialogue with the Commission and not permitted
Remarks must remain respectful and zoom folks can use their race and people race race and feature to
be recognized. Thank you with that Soon as you're signed in What's your name Lawrence Ruich, thank you
Good evening and thank you for holding this hearing your willingness to
who listen and engage reflects a deep commitment to the residents of Bloomington, and that matters.
It signals that our community is not just managed but cared for. As noted, my name is Lawrence Ruich.
I'm an educator of more than 20 years, and I come before you on behalf of the Park Ridge East Neighborhood
Association and the families, children, and residents who move through the intersection of East Morningside Drive
and Smith Road every day. As an educator, I've long believed that the spaces we inhabit, our classrooms
and our neighborhoods, should function as learning environments, and in any true learning environment,
people must feel safe, seen, and supported in order to grow. Right now, this intersection is not reflecting
those conditions.
This is a space where children walk and bike with family and friends, where families cross to access
parks, and where residents navigate by foot, bicycle, personal vehicle, school bus, and public transit.
It is a shared space, but it is not yet a safe one. What we are seeing is not an isolated issue. It
is a pattern, drivers rolling through stop signs, speeding through a designated greenway,
near misses that have become normalized. And then, on October 6th of last year, that pattern became
a reality. A child was struck. In education, we talk about knowing those in our care, understanding
needs, responding thoughtfully, and adjusting our actions accordingly. Our community is telling us something
clearly. This intersection is not meeting those needs.
The care for a community is to respond, not after tragedy, but in anticipation of it. We are asking
for visible, immediate signals that help drivers recognize the seriousness of this space, especially
in an age of increased distraction. High visibility stop signs with flashing borders, rumble strips,
or speed tables along Smith Road. These examples are not simply traffic interventions,
They are messages. They communicate. Slow down. People matter here. A caring community does not wait
for more data when the lived experiences is clear. It listens. It responds. And it acts with both humility
and urgency. This intersection has already been identified as high priority. Now is the moment to align
that designation with action.
Because ultimately, the measure of a community, like a classroom, is whether its members feel safe enough
to live, to move, and to grow within it. We are not asking for consideration. We are asking for action
so that no family in our community has to learn about safety through harm. Thank you for your time and
care. Thank you. Will the next speaker please step up and sign in?
My name is Leah sin Iverson and I'm here with representatives from Girl Scout troop 1900 all friends
of Lena Alexander the 10 year old who was struck at the intersection we're talking about Living in the
land of what-ifs is not a unique experience as a parent our daughter's second grade teacher in fact
has a name for this and it's called the what-ifs monster and
What if she falls? What if she's made fun of? What if she doesn't make it home this afternoon? Or all
of what ifs I've heard in my own mind. Now that one of my worst fears became a reality with the accident
involving our oldest daughter's friend, Lena, I find my fear being driven to action. So here we are,
Girl Scout Troop 1900 and others we know to share our concerns with the lack of safety in the intersection
adjoining sibling neighborhoods, Park Ridge and Park Ridge East.
I employ you to actively listen to the girls thoughtful statements and consider their courage as 10
and 11 year olds coming to this meeting speaking their hearts and minds. And I ask that you consider
and strongly urge you to improve the safety of the intersection. And learning more about its history
from other neighbors who have been there for decades, I found out
about not one but two or three other accidents that occurred that led to death, including a 20-year-old
bright altruistic girl named Susie, who lived in Park Ridge East for the summer with her parents. Any
chance at saving one more kid from being hurt or adult, one more parent from pain, will make our community
that much safer and maybe even squelch another what-if monster in this mom's mind. Thank you for your
time. Thank you so much.
Hi, my name is Violet, and thank you for inviting our Girl Scout trip here today. I hang out in the
neighborhood where Lena got hit. Most of my friends live there, and we have our meetings down at the
street at the St. Thomas Lutheran Church. There are a lot of intersections in Bloomington that I'm not
allowed to go on. This is because my parents worry about this happening to me. When my mom told me that
this happened to Lena, my heart was shattered. How did this happen?
My question was answered. She got hit because the driver was on his phone. This is illegal, right? But
there are people who do it anyway. There are a lot of people who get hit by drivers who are on their
phone. 8% to 10% of cyclists who are hit by cars were hit by drivers who were on their phone. Yeah,
that's a lot. And think, this could happen to anyone. Lena's outcome could have been different if she
wasn't wearing a helmet.
wants to make things like this never happen again. Some of the most effective ways I think would help
is rumble strips, bright pink paint on crosswalks or flashing lights. These aren't big changes, but
we could save a life. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Ready for our next speaker to sign in state your name and you have three minutes. Hi, my name is Nicole.
I'm a girl from the Girl Scout troop 1900. We're here today because our friend Lena was tragically hit
by a car while biking through the intersection with Morningside and Smith Road.
This happened because the person that hit her was on their phone Lena's accident was not the only Accident
and will not be the last if you don't make a change if we don't do anything The people being hit there
might not be as lucky as Lena People walk a bike and jog across that intersection all the time an accident
is bound to happen if you don't do anything We have I've already prepared some ideas that
can help. We can add lights to our stop signs. We can add a protected bike lane and we can also add
rumble strips. Thank you so much for clearing your schedules to make time for us and we hope you make
a difference. Thank you.
ready for our next speaker to sign in. State your name. You have three minutes. Thank you. Hello. Sorry.
Thank you for inviting me in my trip tonight. My name is Elena Iverson, and I'm one of Lena's good friends
from school and Girl Scouts. I live in Parker G's, the same neighborhood that Lena lives in, across
from the intersection. I was at music lessons during the accident, and my parents told me in the morning
I was devastated, and all my friends were at school, too. Barely anyone talked at recess, and all we
did was walk around. At lunch, Girl Scouts, recess, and most of school, we kept waiting and waiting
for her to come back. The day she came back, everyone was so happy. As well as not being able to go
to school, she could also not eat solid foods, which meant mashed potatoes for months. None of us would have
None of this would have happened if it weren't for a college student being on his phone and didn't realize
the kid riding in front of him and didn't stop at the stop sign. And that stop sign was the only thing
that could have stopped him, but it didn't. So I think that you should add raised berms, intelligent
speed bumps, and or bright colored crosswalks. These things would help because they would make sure
that no one could hit anyone and help people stay off their phones. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you. We're ready for our next speaker. If you can sign in, state your name, you have three minutes.
Thank you.
AJ I am 10 years old and I am part of the troop One nine zero zero. I heard about Lena's accident and
I was very sad when Lena came back When Lena came back, they said that she could only have liquid foods
when I heard the person who hit or was on their phone Hit her was on her phone. I was livid I thought
of multiple ways to make sure it didn't happen to my friend to me and my friends are my family again
I thought I Thought it was speed
Bums next to stop signs, since the person ran the stop sign while looking on their phone. Lena looked
both ways before crossing the road. They did the right thing while the other person didn't. I think
people of all neighborhoods should ask for walkways because I have had various accidents where a car
where a car almost hit me because walkways were not available. I hope you're bringing my warnings to
reality. Thank you for your time. Thank you so much. Ready for our next speaker? Please sign in, state
your name. You have three minutes. Should I write my name?
Hi, my name is Lena Alexander. I am the person that got hit by a car while riding my bike through the
intersection at Smith and Morningside. I'm here to talk about the safety of the intersection and why
you should do something about it. Even though I followed all the safety rules, like stopping and checking
both sides of the road to make sure it was clear, traveling in the crosswalk and wearing bright colors,
the driver ran the stop sign and crashed into me.
breaking my jaw in three places and knocking out my three front teeth. I think to make the road safer
to the people crossing it, you should add rumble strips or a colorful crosswalk to get people's attention
better. You should make the road safer because the intersection goes between two neighborhoods, which
both have city parks. Therefore, lots of people go through there, so they should be able to cross safely.
If you don't add improvements to make the road safer, then it might not be long until another kid gets
hit. And if they're not as lucky as I was, then their hit might be worse or even fatal. Thank you. Thank
you so much. Thank you. Please sign in. State your name. You have three minutes.
My name is Kathleen Bagas, and I have lived in Parker G's for 49 years. I've served on the traffic committee
for Parker G's for more years than I wanted, but at one time when we were trying to get sidewalks on
the north side of Morningside, it took us 10 years to make that happen.
We met with the engineers. We just happened to mention that, oh, by the way, there's no slowdown for
children at the park. That was put up the very next day because I think we were violating national law.
But it shouldn't take forever to make these things happen. It took us another several years to get speed
bumps on Morningside. I think Brianna was on the traffic committee at that point to see that happen.
Some of the reasons given for us not getting speed bumps were there haven't been enough accidents yet
on that road to put speed bumps in. Well folks, that is utterly ridiculous. We've had accidents on Smith
and Morningside before. I don't know how many times in 49 years I have sat there trying to get out going
west and people just blare through coming from the north.
Never coming from the south have I seen it, but coming from the north, no acknowledgement that there's
even a four-way stop there. It shouldn't take forever. It's pretty obvious we have a problem.
And it's taken, sadly it's taken, Lena having an accident. And she has long-term effects of that. She
mentioned she broke out three of her permanent teeth.
They can't replace those until her jaw grows to the adult size. So she's going to go on through her
school life without those teeth. Fortunately, she has very good friends that are supportive. But this
shouldn't be happening. We don't need to have more accidents at that intersection to let you know that
it's dangerous. You can't see the stop sign for the branches.
But even then, if you do see it, people don't stop. So something more than lighted stop signs has to
happen there. Obviously I'm emotional about this. They did a wonderful job. We just shouldn't see kids
getting hurt again. Thank you so much. Next speaker, please. Sign in, state your name. You have three
minutes. Thank you.
My name is Steve Eggers and I'm representing the Park Ridge Neighborhood Association Executive Committee.
Not to repeat what's already been said, but I think you understand and have been impressed with the
testimony, especially from the Girl Scout troop supporting Lena. To think about, I've been in Park Ridge
as a neighbor in Park Ridge, a resident for over 35 years.
When I first heard about this accident, naturally I think Lena is a terrible accident. Luckily she had
a helmet on, but it impacted her Girl Scout troop. She missed her Bradford Woods fifth grade camp. That's
a big deal. I know it was big for my kids. I would defer to you folks, you're the experts, you know what
Possibly could be done at this intersection to highlight those stop signs whether it's rumble strips
whether it's a solar powered lighted stop sign whatever it takes but we really as a thoroughfare between
Park Ridge and Park Ridge East because we both have Wonderful parks. Thank you city of Bloomington we
have lots of crossover and lots of kids who know each other in the two neighborhoods and
not only the kids, but also adults that walk and go to play tennis, because the tennis court's over
in Park Ridge East. So we defer to you. This happened last October, and I understand the first meeting
was because the weather had to be rescheduled, but I defer to you folks. You can make a good decision
here and rely on the engineering experts to make this intersection safer. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Ready for our next speaker?
Please sign in, state your name, you have three minutes, thank you.
Hi, I'm Jim Schrader. I am representing the Bloomington Bicycle Club. We're a club of about 200 cyclists.
We're not all adults. A lot of them are children of parents that belong. I'm just here to comment that
pedestrians and cyclists are so
I forget, are so vulnerable users of any transportation system in this country and we're the ones that
usually are hurt or die. It's terrible. That street, from a bicyclist standpoint, that intersection
is well used by a lot of bicyclists also. Currently,
The bicycle lanes are insufficient. I don't know if there's enough traffic to consider a bike path on
one side, but it definitely, everyone thinks it got improved because of 3rd Street and Smith Road, all
of that construction, but no, it was great right at that intersection, but then everything disappears.
All of you,
On this committee know all about the ease the three ease of traffic engineering Education well mom and
dad told Lena everything and I'm sure she got grilled on that about being safe and all that Engineering
while we're talking about engineering now The last e is enforcement
There are laws that were violated during this tragic, whatever one says, accident. It was a collision.
We need to stop doing the hugs and prayers and all that stuff. Things can be done. Thank you.
Thank you. Next speaker.
Please sign in, state your name. You have three minutes. Thank you. My name's Darrell Boggess. I lived
three houses away from that
intersection since 1977, I have learned to distinguish between the sounds of thunder, car wrecks, and
squirrels tripping the transformer for the power line behind my house. Duke has replaced the transformer
Storms are getting worse. We have more thunder than we used to. More rain, more snow, more ice. We don't
have much problem with the transformer now that it was upgraded. But we have a continuing real and present
emergency at the intersection of Smith and Morningside. I've seen city police parked
One block towards town on the west side, on Morningside, waiting to see the next car that comes running
through the stop sign. And then they turn the lights on and they go issue a ticket. Well, that's nice.
But that's not effective. What we need is multiple modes of communicating to distracted drivers.
If you're not familiar with the street, go and drive it. Go down to 10th Street and see what's been
put up there recently. The flashing lights, the strobe lights get people's attention visually. We need
rumble strips. We need auditory notification that people can hear. People learn different ways.
Some people remember what they see. Other people remember what they hear. We don't just need a sign.
We need stripes across where the walkways are. Visual, multimodal, immediate, not next year,
not next month. Next month starts this week. It's springtime.
The kids are out. The dandelions are blooming. The drivers are driving. The bikers are biking. The time
to act is now. You heard from the experts. I'm really impressed with the expert comments and opinions
that you heard today. You got the picture. Now let's do something. It's your turn now.
Thank you so much another speaker in council chambers. Thank you Thank you President Stossberg councilmember
Flaherty and members of the Commission for Having the Girl Scouts here this evening and for listening
so attentively I know that means the world to them to have your your attention You know, I know you
don't want to hear from an old man after these Girl Scouts spoke but
Did want to point out a couple things that I think are important for you to consider As you're moving
forward with action that the safe streets for all action plan, which is a fantastic document with a
fantastic mission it identifies this intersection as a high-risk network or with a score of 37 this
is the only intersection in the east side of town At least on the north side of 3rd Street that has
this designation
And I'll note that the the dashboard which is a fantastic tool to find out where it's safe to cycle
where it's safe to be It doesn't yet have this incident on the dashboard And so I just wanted to point
out that there there are some really great resources that we already have within the city of Bloomington
that we that we can diagnose this now, you know, I
When my wife and I were looking for a home here, we chose Park Ridge East because it was in between
two ice cream shops. Everyone talks about the parks, but no one talks about the ice cream stores. It's
pretty magical, and that's one of the really benefits that people live in this neighborhood. And the
other thing is that we have the best school in the entire state, University Elementary. All of these
kids ride the school bus together. As I think one of the Girl Scouts is talking about,
They knew the next day at school that their friend wasn't coming back because they got hit by this bus.
This is a tight community. We've got representatives from both neighborhood associations coming up here
today. We've been talking about this ever since it happened. So, you know, again, I've been talking
for too long. You want to hear from the girls. Action, action, action. Don't kick this down the road.
Let's take action and anything we can do to help you. We'd love to help out. Thank you.
Thank you and could you state your name Peter Iverson a concerned father. Thank you If there's another
speaker in council chambers, you can go ahead and make your way towards the podium I
Thank you. Please sign in state your name. You'll have three minutes Hello, my name is Zach Mueller
My wife and I recently purchased the house that's on the northeast corner of this intersection. It's
a 3901 East Morningside You know, I just want to say for a second that I'm really I admire All these
young folks who took the time to come here and it's really important to hear their voices The previous
person just said I don't know what more I can say but I think that if they can spend their time after
school and
getting up and working through this being kind of a difficult thing to do. I don't think there's any
reason why I can't do the same. I'm not, my wife and I aren't parents, but I don't think that really
matters in the grand scheme of these things. The last thing that I want to do is see our local government
fail the people who live in it. And frankly, I've got two minutes left in my public comment.
I can see, we have a ring camera over our driveway. And I can see that intersection right now. And so
I think that I'm gonna spend, let's say one minute, I'm gonna spend one minute and all I'm gonna do
is every time that a vehicle rolls through this stop sign, I'm just gonna call it out. And I hope that
we have some mathematically inclined young folks who might be able to keep track of it for me. Just
keep a little tally or something. So let's start. Oh look, there's one.
Going southbound. There's a car that didn't stop for pedestrian. Going northbound. Oh, there's another one.
Okay, there's a car turning out of our neighborhood, Park Ridge East, it didn't stop all the way, bad
form neighbors. Up northbound missed one, there we go, one going northbound. Oh, and just to round out
the minute, there's one more. Do we have a, okay, so that's six. Every 10 seconds, this is not high
tide for traffic.
I checked at 5.30, I kept a tally on my camera from 5.30 to 5.45 and I counted 31 automobiles that chose
not to even come close to a California pause rolling stop. Not even fully stopped. I'm gonna stop and
keep going. 31. The least we can do is put rumble strips in. My wife and I, arguably since our
Driveway backs out directly into the intersection. We'll be the ones that everybody they're gonna have
the most inconvenience Let's do it. Whatever it takes. I don't care. This is silly. Thank you Thank
you Any more speakers in council chambers, thank you to sign in state your name you'll have three minutes. Thank you
My name is Marissa Koblenz. My daughter was with Lena at the time of the event, and so I'm here just
to echo everybody else's plea that something be done to help. That was October 6th, and my daughter
has not ridden her bike across that intersection since. I don't know if or when she will. And so she
was best friends with Lena.
At that time and like that has been really hard in their friendship because there was frequent back-and-forth
and neither of them have crossed that intersection since So very long-term effects on our family and
that friendship And so I echo everyone else's plea to do something to make the intersection safer I
definitely want to see the city of Bloomington really back up their support for kids and Cyclists and
pedestrians with action at this intersection. Thank you. I
Thank you. Are there other speakers in council chambers? We'll move to online and then we'll have another
opportunity for people here. Is there anyone online who has raised their hand to talk? Hopi s Hopi s
Please state your name and you have three minutes
Hi, thank you so much. My name is Hopi Stossberg and I'm the city council representative for district
three and both Park Ridge and Park Ridge East are in district three and I'm also a resident of Park
Ridge. So I thought that it was appropriate tonight to comment on a couple of things. First of all,
I wanna highlight an understanding I think that the
the representative from the Bloomington Bicycle Club like mentioned, but maybe didn't say it clearly,
but the entire, and I think one of the Girl Scouts did too, the entire stretch between 3rd Street and
10th Street on Smith is problematic. And it is highlighted in the transportation plan as problematic.
And, you know, I've lived here for 12 years and there've been various, like various times it's kind
of been brought up, like what can we do about that? And one of the problems is it takes a lot of money,
a lot of investment.
to figure out remediating that entire stretch to make it better for pedestrians and cyclists. And so
I wanted to highlight that as kind of like recognize that that is part of the conversation and part
of the problem. But going to this intersection specifically, as somebody mentioned, it is a neighborhood
greenway crossing. And it would be really excellent if we could have some consistent policies around
greenway crossings. And I think that those policies would start with
on the Transportation Commission in terms of what what y'all with staff are kind of delegated to do
and that would be that would be really great just to be have some consistency around town what we expect
as a community in terms of the safety of our greenways especially when they cross busier roads whether
or not obviously there is a traffic signal at that road because in theory this vehicle should have stopped
and in actuality it didn't because stop signs
don't actually force cars to stop or even potentially slow down. And then lastly, I just want to say
thank you to all of the residents and all of my neighbors in Park Ridge and Park Ridge East who have
contributed to the discussion tonight, especially the Girl Scouts for braving the public microphone
because that can be an intimidating thing to do. And I'm just really impressed with them. And I also
really appreciate that
the speakers generally, you know, people spoke up with positive suggestions and not just complaints
and I just wanted to really appreciate my neighbors and my constituents for their comments around this
intersection. So thank you so much. Thank you. Are there other folks online who'd like to comment? Next
I have Katie Yoder. Katie, you have three minutes.
My name is Katie Yoder and I have been a resident of Parkridge East for nearly 10 years and I have two
children who are eight and nine. I use the intersection at Morningside and Smith. Every single day my
husband bikes through it for his commute and my children and I regularly walk to school to the playgrounds
and bike and run through this area as a family. I'm also a teacher at University and I have participated
in the Safe Routes to School efforts as a parent, educator and community stakeholder.
So I really, really care deeply about how students and families move through this area. And the intersection
sits directly on the Morningside Greenway, and it is actively used by people walking, biking, families
with children, and community members accessing the nearby bus stop, not just drivers. It's designed
to be a shared, multimodal space, and it needs to function safely that way. We've been advocating as,
Kathy Baja said earlier for safer streets in this neighborhood for years, and we were so grateful to
see traffic calming added to Morningside. But this particular intersection remains a serious problem.
Even though it's a four way stop, as many people have said tonight, drivers frequently roll through
and ignore pedestrians altogether. I've had moments where I physically had to put my hand out to a car
just to make sure they saw me.
We teach our kids, as Brianna said, to be extremely cautious, to make eye contact with drivers before
crossing, but that isn't always enough. We've had multiple close calls and we know this risk is real
because a child has been hit here. Excuse me, I live across the street from Lena. It was every parent's
worst nightmare. I was driving into the neighborhood when I reached Morningside and I saw her bike lying
on the road, emergency vehicles, and then
Brianna, her mom running full speed down the street. It's an image that seared into my mind, like a
bad dream come to life. Safety in our neighborhoods should not depend on whether you are in a car. Everyone
using this greenway intersection deserves to move through it safely. And we've done everything we can
on our end to be safe. And now we need the street design to do its part too. Thank you. Thank you.
Hannah, you have three minutes. Hello, my name is Hannah Vaughn. I live in Park Bridge East. I've lived
here for 12 years now, and I live on Morningside. I have two daughters who have shared different seasons
of life being best friends with Lena. And first, I want to really make it extremely clear that Lena
has known how to cross the street appropriately since she was five.
I think that's how old she was when she came into my world. Brianna really raises very independent and
smart and capable children. And I was blown away by Lena's ability to be intentional at crosswalks when
she would come to my house to play. So it's just important. I know a lot of people want to default to,
well, the child probably didn't do quite right. And she said she looked both ways, but did she?
She did. Lena Alexander looked both ways, I promise. The other thing that I want to say is that I walk
my dog down the same path
At more obscure times, 6 AM, maybe 8 PM, those types of things. And at those times of day when there
is only one or two car on the road, I will not cross that intersection until the car comes to a complete
stop, even if they are just now turning onto Smith. Because of the number of times I have nearly been
hit while walking my dog, wearing a headlamp, wearing a reflective vest,
Um, I wait until the car comes to a complete stop, regardless of if I could have gotten, I probably
could have gotten across the street entirely if I had just gone. Um, but it's just an intersection that
is blatantly ignored over and over and over again. So at this point, I feel like white noise. Um, you've
heard from the girls who broke their hearts, finding out what happened to their dear friends. Um, and
it just kind of can't be ignored. It has to be fixed. Thank you so much.
Thank you. I also have Maria. The name again. Mary Ann Dorsey. Mary Ann. Mary Ann, you have three minutes.
Thank you. Thank you. My name is Mary Ann Dorsey. I'm currently honored to serve as the president of
the Park Ridge East Neighborhood Association. I've been impressed with everyone who's spoken tonight,
all the comments and data that they've shared, especially the Girl Scouts. I trust that many people
there are concerned about this situation and want to do something, but I think as Darryl Boggess put
very well, it's time to do it or over time to do it. I know we share our stories, but sometimes stories
actually have effect. As a young girl, I lived in Indiana on a street
that had similar issues. My close girlfriend, best friend got hit by a car and broke her arm. It flipped
her over the car. So similar to this, the Girl Scouts, and I was one of them, and neighbors went to
the county at that time and said, please, please, please do something with this street. Everyone was
concerned. Everyone wanted to do the right thing. But whether it was funding,
Again, I was nine years old, whatever the issue, nothing happened. When I was 18 years old, my best
friend at the time, her sister was in a car, same intersection, same thing, and she was killed.
To this day, people that were in that meeting often regret and wonder, what if we'd done something
differently? After that, it still took another 15 years to change that.
street and intersection. I'm just asking that we don't make the same mistake here and we do whatever
it takes to make it safe for children, adults, anyone who is using or crossing that. I appreciate Zach
Miller timing it right now with his camera and telling us who was running street. Just before I left
town, I was there. I came to a full stop and
Motors looked over at me and just blew right through the center of the street. It happens every week,
two or three times. So thank you very much, and I appreciate that you'll do the right thing. Thank you.
I'm not seeing anyone else online. Thank you. Anyone else in council chambers? Last chance for public comment.
Seeing none, we'll move back to the commission. And as we make this transition, I want to clarify some
context, both for ourselves and for the public. What the commission can do at this point is we have
three options. We can recommend no further action. We can request additional study or information, or
we can request a future petition or resolution be placed on an agenda, identifying a clear and actionable
outcome, directive, or policy objective.
So that's something for commissioners to keep in mind. I also want to provide some context because we
had a similar inquiry, unfortunately, just last November. It was a vulnerable user, pedestrian, crossing
a crosswalk when it was their turn, who was struck by a driver when it was not their turn. I want to
tell you about the outcomes of that, as that can affect this useful context here. In that case, we passed
two resolutions, and it's an option we have.
tonight to pass more than one. We passed a motion for staff to develop a resolution that reviews city
policy on citing drivers for traffic violations, in particular for alignment with Safe Streets for All
and Vision Zero goals. That was one of the points that our speakers brought is that the driver was distracted
and we wanna make sure that in terms of enforcement that we're doing as much as we can. So something
is in motion there already.
At that time, this was for College and Covenanter crossing College Mall. We passed a motion to request
staff to conduct additional study of the College Mall Road and Covenanter intersection in the context
of contemporary safety standards for the greenway system. What that incident had in common with this
one is it was a greenway system, a system of routes that the city has
Promoted a safe crossing a busy road where a vulnerable road user was struck. So with that introduction,
I'll move to commissioners for a comment Appropriate to ask questions at this time. You may okay. Thank
you Yeah, so compliance is is well enforcement is definitely one issue here and I think you
we've already taken a step to advance policy, hopefully policy change on that front, but recognizing,
as a lot of the commenters did, that we're really aiming for safety by design to the maximum extent
possible. And I'm curious for the engineering department's perspective, in a situation like this, so
from a design standpoint specifically, when we're looking at an always stop with poor compliance, maybe
on the high volume street,
what additional options do we even have in our toolkit to increase safety by design in a situation like
that? Measures that come to my mind are at least putting on the pavement stop sign ahead. That just
gives more notice to people, but other things that we could do are at a race crosswalk at the intersection
to encourage people to slow down, or a traffic calming device ahead of the crosswalk.
that if they're not paying attention, they would go over that and be warned that they're gonna go over
something. We could also add a traffic island just to visually narrow the area. Thank you. And any other
thoughts about the efficacy of some of the other options that folks raised in comments? So I'm recalling
rumble strips and maybe the possibility of like
I think I've seen stop signs that have like lights around the outside of it, right, or things like that.
Yeah, I think the rumble strips would also be effective at helping people to be brought back to attention.
I'm not aware if rumble strips are something that we usually do before stop signs. I think we usually
do them before construction zones or curves. And the idea of
Lights on stop signs. I think that would also be good to draw attention to the stop sign But in this
case if the person was looking at their phone, I'm not sure if adding lights to a stop sign would would
do that Thank you, yeah If I can add something If I don't necessarily agree with the ideas that you
guys brought up I think
It's not saying that there are other things that we couldn't do Yeah, okay, mr. Coppock a Couple things
one of them what about changing the crosswalk markings instead of just the two lines to put in more
of the Mid block or piano key cross crossing What does it take to do that Simply that would just be to
Have our crews go out there and paint it There already is a March crosswalk and so we've Already said
that there's Sufficient volumes of pedestrians crossing to have a crosswalk. So we would just be upgrading
it to continental crosswalks So you will be upgrading it or We can I'm gonna say cuz it's kind of I
mean those are you kind of used to designate where people don't really expect a crosswalk and I
That's a pretty open area when people come through there, but what does it take to get rumble strips
put in? Because, I mean, even though it's not a curve or whatever, I mean, it's kind of an area where
people do roll through or just drive through because it's, like I say, it's kind of wide open. What,
I mean, are rumble strips an ordinance matter or is it just, what creates getting rumble strips? What
is needed to create rumble strips being put in?
I'm gonna defer to Andrew. Thank you City engineer a couple things I Guess rumble strips are would be
a new tool for the city Bloomington Especially in a residential area like this typically a lot of guidance
would suggest not using rumble strips whether they're linear along a center line like you would see
on a freeway Or on the approach to a curve or something like that
They can generate a lot of noise. So that is just a thing to be aware of So if it's something that that
we're hearing if the Commission asks us to further evaluate it That's something that we could do but
just to be aware that generally they're not industry suggested treatment in urban context or adjacent
to nearby residents another thing just to reflect on to that just for for maybe the Commission's awareness is
Frequently we will receive requests for always stops With the desire that those will be the tool that
makes an intersection safe Sometimes we will staff may not agree with that suggestion and say there
may be our other treatments and an example of this intersection and some of the things you're hearing
are potentially a reason just just for awareness that when there are a higher volume road intersecting
a more minor road
Drivers tend to not always fully respect the stop signs So just that is a part of it and just just wanted
to draw some attention to that, too Yeah, I have a question about the Ways how we can resolve this we
talked about a few ideas in here people brought up some ideas you mentioned something what's the best
way to identify which will fits the specific intersection which will work their best and
I'm guessing it's research, but then maybe we already have some information so we can make some assumptions,
or in general, how do we define the best solution, and how do we measure the outcome of this solution?
Those are really good questions. I think that's a part of what this inquiry process is. So the commission
can certainly request staff to do a further study. If there are particular treatments or ideas, you
would like staff to do further evaluation on our research.
we'd be happy to and to share the findings at a future meeting. So that's certainly a tool.
And I'm sorry, if you guys are asking questions and I'm not answering them all, that is not on purpose.
I am struck. Was there more to that? My second question was about the metrics. How can we measure the
efficiency of this solution? I mean, we need to assume something and then we'll test it out, I'm guessing. Yeah.
Various options, a lot of them can take and consume time and resources on staff's part. There's things
that we could do like evaluating compliance. What are speeds? We could do a compliance study of how
many people are stopping, how much are they, or how close are they coming to stopping. Longer term,
you can measure crash trends, which is not what anybody wants to do, but I think compliance is something
you can assess and measure over time.
I think I have a follow-up question. So I'm sure we have similar situations in other areas of the city.
I wonder do we have any Numbers or data on what solution worked in there or like what can be used like
similar context and solutions which worked or didn't work Can we use that information somehow? I think
Generally, that's a thing that I think staff is always trying to keep in mind is when we look at a particular
location that's getting more attention is just keeping the
larger network in minds in that wanting to make sure that we're being consistent and Appropriately
prioritizing things across the entire city Recognizing and there are other crashes where we don't always
hear about or we don't have Really compelling cases for so just just being mindful of that
Do we have any any place in the city which is like similar on what we discussed in here in terms of
like the Lord in terms of the number of people? Trafficking like all of this. Yeah any similar examples
which can be referenced to there Probably are and I'd probably want to think through that and maybe
share that at a future meeting I'll ask a question Some neighbors have suggested a mural at the intersection
as a possibility. Is that just to get people's attention more?
Is that a possibility? I think the the city does I would want to revisit it but we have a there is a
Art in the right-of-way policy those things go through our city board of public works One thing of note
in relation to some of the comments too are that there are very strict guidelines on what crosswalks
can look like so there we do not permit murals or different color crosswalks
But something outside of the crosswalk is is more possible We haven't seen a mural on a road like Smith.
They've generally been on more lower volume local streets So those would be just things that would be
looked at and logistically with every a problem with Whatever temporary closure to make something like
that happen I
There's always a process to work through things. We have major roads that closed at different times
that possible. Thank you Of all the different options we've talked about which would be the One that
you would be able to be completed the fastest quickly I think
The honest trick in the part of that question that I struggle with the most is what would be effective
if I'm being honest. I think one of the things that we could do most easily, and this is me as the engineer
that isn't responsible for those that install and maintain things, but would be to look at the crosswalk
markings and potentially explore a crosswalk marking that is more high visibility.
But would that have stopped a driver that wasn't looking at the stop sign? But that would be probably
the easiest thing that could be done that might have some help. Go ahead. Yeah. I had one other question
about a treatment type, which is I'm seeing increasingly used in Bloomington, maybe in slightly different
contexts than this, which is flexible delineator posts that actually create a vertical
Barrier and I think in other cities at least I've seen approaching an intersection on both sides to
say I'm like the bike lane Stripe on one side and the center line on the other It does have quite the
effect. I think of visually narrowing the space if you are diverting at all you hit something right
that's that's Not gonna damage your car terribly, but but it gets your attention certainly What are
your thoughts about that type of treatment in this type of situation? I
I think that's something we'd be open to evaluating and looking at. There's probably some implications
that I'd want to make sure we're being mindful of, and also going back to the prior question about what
could be done soon that might help. Another option is just making sure stop signs are visible. I believe
they are, especially going northbound, but another way that we've done in locations where they're not
always visible
Or whether our obstructions is to put stop signs on both sides of the road So those would be like more
near-term lower cost type things that could be looked at Thank you Yeah One more question Andrew Hank
was here about some monies that you had to try some things on different intersections of
couple meetings ago would just be it one are you going to be looking at this intersection and two is
that one of those intersection you might Put some of that money towards the temporary Design or redesigning
the intersection? That's a good question, and I don't know if Ryan or Others might have more. I don't
know if we've gotten to that level of detail, but looking to Hinks boss I
Manager, I don't believe we have exact an exact list nailed down yet. So we can certainly look at it
I think we have some more questions. Yeah, sorry. I'll ask one. So looking at our city at the subset
of places where greenways cross busier intersections, are there places in that category where we have
done treatments that we wouldn't otherwise have done if it was just two car-focused roads intersecting
each other? That's okay if you don't know, I'll stop your head.
Don't know nothing is coming immediately to the top of my mind. I know when we have done greenways,
we've looked at stop signs and Removing them, but that would be more on a minor road configuration Do
you think that could be a justification for an upgraded or different kind of treatment specifically
when greenways cross other roads, I Think so. I think in maybe other examples might be where there are not a
Always stops but where we would have Like I'm thinking of really major roads where we might put a pedestrian
hybrid beacon type signal Or we would put medians in the center of the road to enable users to cross
one lane at a time But most of those it's they wouldn't have to always stop. So this is what
this intersection has today I Got it Highland and Thornton
Highland has bumps. Okay breaking news. Yes there That's fair. I'm sure there are other examples where
we've done bump outs or things with our greenway projects I appreciate the hints maybe there and Max
Maxwell and Thornton Yes, you're right. And I think maybe one of the tricks here is on Smith is that
we don't have parking in their bike lane so if we were to do bump outs it would be into the bike lane and
And the bike lanes there. I know you've heard a comment are already narrow, but that would there are
they're substandard. Yes. Yeah Yeah, thank you. We have some more questions or comments. I think I'm
gonna go to mr. Drummey next Recently during a quarter study we talked about Neighborhood circles and
traffic circles and there's something between a neighborhood circle and a traffic sort of what we think
of as a roundabout I guess is that something that's ever you've ever seen used in a situation like this just to
Make it harder to go through this intersection make you force you to slow down Yeah, we have neighborhood
traffic circles and near Westside neighborhood other communities That's maybe different context than
a road like Smith. Some communities are starting to do more with like a mini roundabout That don't take
the full space as a more traditional neighborhood or roundabout that
Could be explored here. Those tend to have more mountable treatments, but try to encourage people to
slow down That would be a potential alternative to an always stop at this location But those would typically
then turn the intersection to a yield intersection instead of a stop and then have to navigate some
Obstacle that's what I was in my mind. Yes. I'm any roundabout would have the yield signs instead. Thank
you That's
My question is kind of follow-up of what we discussed before, what I asked before. So I wonder,
do we have, I believe we had the conversation on this, we had a commission on this topic before. I wasn't
part of that, but I'm just curious what kind of information or like data we already have around that
context of that area, like which can help us to choose which solution could be. Of course, if you don't
have any answer right now, it's fine, you can deliver it later, but I'm just curious, do we have anything
on hand already? And I'm, I'm sorry.
Missed that No problem, the question is do we have any data or information which explains the context
and helps us to understand which solution we can lean towards Sure, I think that would probably be a
part of a further study and one that I think is already gonna be forthcoming for the prior inquiry that
was referenced at College Mall and Covenanter So some more to come and that would be an option that
we could present in the future
I'm going to make one more comment, and I think it's about time to move towards making some motions.
This time I want to speak to the audience, particularly the Girl Scouts who all came. I am a dad who
lives nearby. I live on Morningside Drive. I live near that intersection. I have my daughter's name,
Lena, and it really is hard to hear. I biked with her through that intersection when she was 10.
It's something I'd like to see improved. I'm up here today partly because one of my friends from college
was killed while riding her bike by hit from a distracted driver. So it's something that's important
to all of us up here and to me in particular. I'd like to see this addressed systematically. You all
know about this intersection and this person. I don't want this to happen to any other intersection,
to any other.
Around town, so we want to address this intersection, but we also want to see what we can do Systematically
and so we're going to see what we can we can do So at this point we have you can have more comment or
we can move towards making the one of the resolutions I mentioned and Mr. Fleer
Actually ask a process question related to you may potential motions We're still in the early phases
of this Commission and kind of navigating some new structures and procedurally These aren't the types
the types of things we're talking about generally would not come to the City Council for codification
for instance I'm trying to get a little better sense is the only policy path now through one of these
routes that the Commission would take
Are there also things that the engineering or planning department might do at its own initiative? For
instance that wouldn't actually require formal action of this body Could someone help me clarify that
I'll try I certainly on this topic the Commission has the per the rules the three options to explore
I think more
Globally a couple things that are on my mind are The engineering department is for the first time in
over three years fully staffed Over three years and so between that and also I think some recent hiring
happening in the planning department we're getting to a point where we can start to Do what we are charged
with doing and what some of those things are called out in the safety action plan there are a number
of action items
That we have honestly just not been able to do all of them because of capacity constraints So hoping
that we are able to be more Proactive in identifying things per that plan that means that I don't think
we'll be able to do all but We intend to take steps forward to address some of those I don't know if
that answers your question, but some of those may result in policies standard procedures things about
how we are moving forward with with various activities and
Yeah, and maybe just by way of follow-up and I know we can take the route of passing things here and
we probably will but That takes time because we meet monthly and and so just wondering what options
are there for Staff to act at its own expertise and initiative too. Yeah, and I generally just speaking
there are things that this Commission doesn't see that result in action and
Typically what we are taking before you and we are all learning this is a new thing for all of us is
Trying to be proactive about bringing forward major capital projects And then also things that do have
policy changes that things that would have typically been in a title 15 ordinance That being said if
there are other things that I am blanking on or other desires of the Commission to please let us know
but there are other things outside of those realms that we we do
Over time. Okay. Thank you. Well, I'll add one more question if neighbors did want to pursue a mural
What would be the process step for that? I think maybe a first just a Probably an email to Transportation
Commission and we'll make sure to get you directed to the right people in process Thank you
Just small question on the process too. So basically the If I understand it correctly is the fastest
way to achieve anything is to have like if we want to learn more It's a study then we do study in the
months we discuss the results of the study and then then only we can decide What we do next, right?
So do I understand it? Right that months is like the minimum to get something done with this process
right now. Yeah, I think
Commission asks us to do study. We'll do a study We will keep the Commission up to date and share the
results of that study Depending on what staff finds there can be some smaller incremental things that
don't Jump to the level of needing the Commission's review that could happen sooner That's possible
Thank you other process questions or we can also but mr. Cope
Andrew if The Commission does Request an additional study. What kind of time frame do you think you
would need to do that study? That's a good question We talked about an inquiry that I think you discussed
in November that we haven't brought forward the results of yet So I think most likely it would probably
be a series of months. There's also other
Projects and major initiatives coming your way. So it's a balance to of managing your schedule and what's
on the agenda But I don't know maybe a couple months if I'm just guessing Thank you Other questions
or would someone want to put forward one of the options we have I can repeat them if you'd like I
I'd like to make a motion that we request an additional study and information on this particular intersection
Any comments on that before we take it to a vote We need a second Question on the motion. Yeah, you
may Do we have a second before we bring it to the floor for discussion?
All right now now now it's on the table for discussion and we'll start My my thought would be Amending
the motion to be a little more specific in the in the terms and the scope of the study You know, I think
a lot of times general public they hear well, we're gonna study it doesn't mean a whole lot to them
but I think if we could amend the motion to be somewhat more specific in
in terms of the scope of the study, you know, whether it be the rumble strips, the additional signage,
all the things that were mentioned, or if it's just gonna be a comprehensive, we'll leave it to engineering
and just my thoughts. Thank you. Other comments on the motion? Comment, I guess, last question. I looked
up online to see what our resolution was related to the covenanter. I have it here.
Remind me Great I have it here says we passed a motion to request staff to conduct additional study
of the college model and covenanter Intersection in the context of contemporary safety standards For
the city's greenway system. So one option we would have would be to extend the scope of that request
to look at Generally Where our greenway network crosses intersections
What safety standards do we apply to that? Thank you. I think my question is still around how soon we
can get any results. I mean, if we decide to do the study, like, what would be the most efficient way
on, like, get something achieved in the end? I understand that it takes time, but if it's easier to,
like, join, like, with another study or, like, some other way, do it separately?
Are you suggesting that if we joined it with the one that was already happening, I mean, maybe that's
an option too I'm just Thank you Mr. Flaherty, I think I lean in favor of a petition myself and so I
don't know if those are mutually exclusive But That's it so so maybe I would be voting for
I would support an expansion of the prior resolution that looks at this more systematically the issue
of greenways crossing busy streets So I would support that if the motion were amended, but I think in
this particular case. I'm interested in moving Direction of a petition as well. Okay. Yeah, I'm also
interested in the expanding the scope of the The one from November to look at more generally greenways
and intersections
if we expand the existing one is it in action already like is it in process already or not yet this
is the one you mentioned that it's not happening yet right it has not started yet or it started we're
asking about the status of the motion we passed in November which was to look at the college model and
covenant or intersection in the context of the city's greenway system and so we're discussing the possibility of
Expanding that but where our questions about the status of that That evaluation is in very preliminary
stages as if I'm being honest I'll also say that while they're both part of a greenway network The the
context of those crossings is also very different college mall is very different than Smith the traffic
signal verse and always stop so I think from an initial review they would be Separate they could be
presented together, but they would be looked at a bit in
Even though they both are a part of a green way You mentioned That's useful to look at things systematically
and I think we were trying to sure work within that framework You also mentioned these are two different
kinds of intersections Do you would you find that to be useful to combine those inquiries or to look
at them separately? I think maybe a part of it would depend on the Commission's desired
Prioritization, I think the systemic evaluations can take longer Whereas the more focused evaluations
can be quicker And but that generally we are also trying to have that larger perspective in our evaluations
So it's a complex thing and that's why we have a commission to sure It does sound like we might have
an opportunity for a good now better later approach you mentioned some
like a second stop sign or some things that could be done in a short term, not permanent, low cost,
while a long, while a more systematic approach was taken. That seemed like a workable path. Yes. Okay.
My comment would be the reason I had to ask about the college ball on covenanter situations, just not to,
Because I agree with with Andrew analysis. This is a completely different intersection. It seems like
it does happen to be a greenway, but also cars running stop signs at any intersections that an issue
that we need to look at. So I would be in favor of amending the competition or the current motion.
to include how it interplays with the green play component, but also focus specifically on this intersection
with the hopes that there'd be quicker action knowing that the wheels of government turn silver. Mr.
Coppock, would you like to amend your motion? I have no problem with amending my motion to Brian's position
on it, which is including the, including College Mall
How do you want to amend it? No, no, I mean copy paste what we determined that the, I don't have the
language in front of me, but the, it's keeping your motion completely focused on this particular
intersection, but also including an analysis of not only how do we make the intersection safer, but
also how do we, in keeping in mind that it is a greenway and we want to focus on a greenway crossing
as well. So I could, to put some words to that, it would be a motion to request
Staff to conduct additional study of the Smith and Morningside intersection in the context of contemporary
safety standards for the city's greenway system Yeah, that's fine Yes, just to step in real quick Irish
did you catch that motion I caught What mark just said
But if there's something else that I'm supposed to attach the motion, I did not catch that No, I just
want to make sure you caught what mr. Stossberg said, okay You'll need a motion to amend the original
motion. Okay It can be done via unanimous consent as well as long as no one objects. Yeah Do we have
unanimous consent to amend or replace the motion we do great Is there further comment or we're ready
for to vote on this
I'm just asking just a question on the scope to not make this study very long. Maybe it's not super
relevant to this discussion, but I just want to make sure that we define the scope clearly. So the scope
is just this intersection, which he said smaller is better, but it's framed in the context of our greenway
system. And that I think gives the city some latitude to consider treatments that other intersections
might not have.
Clarification are there other comments before we vote? All right Let's I think we're ready to vote on
this motion. Then can we have a roll call vote? All right Strasburg, yes Scooter scroll. Yes Davis absent
Flaherty. Yes drumming. Yes Valen
Yes Copic. Yes. All right all in favor. Thank you Thank you with that motion carries Thank you for everyone
who came to speak on this matter you're welcome to stay for the rest of the meeting but if you've got
other things to do you're welcome to So I also have a mission another making another motion
Yes, we are allowed to have more than one motion on this. Yeah, okay, and I can share just a bit of
rationale. I mean It seems to me like there are at least some low cost low barrier options to make some
progress now And that based on the data we have not only the experience shared by folks today, but the
data we have documented in the safe streets for all action plan especially as it relates to
the crash risk for vulnerable street users at this exact location and in near proximity. I think it's
warranted to at least consider taking action now and that's what a petition would allow us to consider
and vote on in a future meeting. So with that in mind, I move to direct the development of a petition
recommending action on near term achievable interventions at the Morningside and Smith intersection
with the goal of maximizing compliance with the always stop
Science to improve safety outcomes for vulnerable street users Second we have a second so this is on
the table for discussion Question for staff that does it sound like a viable option if it were to pass
I Think the motion was is clear. I think the
Being transparent, the question that's in my head is what criteria would be used to hypothetically put
two stop signs at what intersections or what intersections to do higher intensity crosswalk markings
knowing I think we need to
Do a better job maintaining the markings that we do have at the same time So those are just the questions
in my mind. The motion is very clear. We're happy to evaluate and come back on that So to clarify you're
just you're asking to us to look at this at a system perspective of like What criteria are we using
at this intersection that we would be comfortable with applying elsewhere in the city? I guess
Honestly, I think I'm more think those will be the questions that I'm going to be asking myself and
in evaluating and responding to this Yeah, that's fair. Thank you As a petitioner do you have a response
I think it's a good question. I think yeah, we often aren't thinking of those things and always need
to be Because we can't do everything at once and we have limited funds and limited staff capacity and
all the rest I think at the same time we often don't have those systems in place and we can't let that
prevent any
near-term action and again for me the kind of dispositive factor beyond, you know, the catalyst of folks
coming tonight was the Safe Streets for All action plan and the data we have again with respect to bicyclists
in particular actually at this intersection. So in the absence of a more perfect systematic approach,
I think those data-driven maps in the Safe Streets for All action plan about different crash risks for
different types of roadway users,
is a useful proxy, at least that's where I was coming from. So. Mr. Flaherty, was your, can you clarify,
were you calling for something temporary until the longer term was in place, or more actually calling
for something immediate? But immediate or permanent, you see the distinction? Yeah, I do. I would say
that's flexible based on the engineer's recommendation. I said near-term achievable interventions. The
achievable there was meant to denote
funding existing, I know there's some budget for these types of things and there's some flexibility,
but there's too many unknowns to direct with very high specificity exactly what it should be. So I'm
leaving to staff some discretion on making a recommendation with those broad contours of something achievable
and near term that would at least make improvements to maximize what they think is the best chance of
maximizing compliance with the all-way stop and improving safety.
I mean, I'm just supporting that, and I think I'm just curious, is there anything which can be done
without extra study, like near term? Like anything where we know that it's compliant with any guidance
we have in this, guidelines we have in the city, and maybe there's something missing, we can do it already
right now without extra research? That's, I think, my question for now. And anything we can do right
now. I don't know if there's anything
More the Commission can do right now. I think any time that engineering is doing things we will study
it before we do it So but what can happen? With or without the Commission getting an update something
we'll keep in mind Mr. Trummy I'm in favor. Mr. Flaherty's motion. I would like to say I guess why there's
an audience here there are ways to
There are other methods and tools that we don't have in Indiana because our state legislature won't
allow us to have them speed cameras stop-siding cameras things like that, so Just you we vote for the
people in Indianapolis And so, you know keep that in mind that there are other tools out there to make
our streets safer That we as voters can help push for change. So but otherwise I'm in favor of the current motion
I would consider framing and have it be temporary until this study is until something better is done,
right? So we're not just doing a reactive thing So I'm in favor of improvements, but I want to do good
now and and better later Can't disagree with that Okay So in your motion is that something that they
would come back to the next meeting and tell us what?
What they think could put in there like markings or stop-ahead sign or something like that. Is it I
think that's the idea I don't know. I didn't actually require a date in the motion I don't know if that's
something that's helpful for staff to prioritize among multiple options or if there's a presumption
that Yeah, we could empower them to take action without coming back to us Also true. Yeah, that would
be the fastest route to something happen
That's kind of just my process question from earlier, which is I guess that's kind of like a fourth
option. We haven't really talked about which is directing Some type of action with it without our future
consideration I Don't I don't know if we have to have I guess the directing of that action would be
a formal step this body could take but I think we've established that staff could take action without
us that question and once we've
Requested a petition if they feel as they analyze it that has warranted. I suppose they could just move
forward. That's right Right, they don't need us to take action. Yes All right, would you like to read
your petition one more time? Sure, I move to direct the development of a petition recommending action
on near-term achievable interventions at the Morningside and Smith intersection of
with the goal of maximizing compliance with the always stop signs to improve safety outcomes for vulnerable
street users. Okay. Nope. Is there any other feedback before we take a vote on this? I'm sorry to talk
about process. Well, we can. No. Okay.
Anyone else then I think we're ready for a roll call vote on Mr. Flaherty's proposal motion Yes Jimmy,
yes clarity. Yes, it was go. Yes Jasper. Yes Copic. Yes All right motion carries
Are there any other motions regarding the Morningside and Smith? Seeing none, we're ready to move on
to our next item on the agenda for those who wish to stay. Thank you all. For those of you who did attend,
I was collecting, some people wrote something that they would like to be included in a packet.
If you brought something that you would like to be included in the packet that you've not previously
submitted, so long as your name is on it, I can include it in an addendum to make it part of the record.
Thank you very much.
We will move on to the next item on the agenda, which is TCP 2607 Infrastructure improvement and title
15 amendment Roger Street Grimes to 3rd Street There's someone here to present yes, I'm over here Kendall
Kenoki engineering department. I'm just going to go ahead and share my screen here and present
So this project is the Patterson Grimes Rogers resurfacing project for your consideration tonight are
two changes to Roger Street that would have required title 15 Amendments, that's what we're going to
be focusing in on tonight, but I'm kind of going to give you a broader overview of the project
Before we zoom in on those two locations. So this is a project that we put together last year for the
2025 in dot community crossing matching grant applications so this is a Funding source that the state
provides for maintenance projects They have to be maintenance projects and they provide a 50-50 match
in funding. So it's really great and
Opportunity for municipalities to go for funding. We put together a project here that included most
of Patterson Grimes and portions of Roger Street We did not get the funding last year in 2025 so we
shelved this project But we actually received notice that there's a second round that's opened up for
the 2025 CCMG funds and we are kind of now rushing to put this project forward
Together get it finalized and out the door. So that's why it's coming to you tonight It's kind of a
unique situation where we didn't think it was gonna happen and now it's it's happening So it's coming
before you tonight. I kind of wanted to talk a little bit about When we do these kinds of projects,
you know, they're primarily resurfacing maintenance projects so we're resurfacing the roadway mill and
overlay is the by far the
largest expenditure of funds for these projects. However, we are replacing damaged curbs, damaged portions
of the right-of-way, and we also are required by federal law to replace curb ramps. And so when we go
and do one of these projects, we often end up having a large number of curb ramps that we need to replace.
And because of the city's priorities and goals, I've shown some of them here. Our transportation plan,
our Safe Streets for All plan talked about tonight.
We we look for opportunities to make safety improvements even during maintenance projects So I just
kind of wanted to review a little bit some of the safety improvements that we're doing as part of this
project This is not an exhaustive list We just wanted to draw your attention anyone in the public's
attention to the types of things that we look for So first of all, if you're familiar with Patterson,
there are several traffic signals. This is in the area of Nova Nordisk we have three traffic signals
that I've circled here that are a part of the project and
And while we're out there doing work, we have to do curb ramp work. We're gonna do some safety improvements
to the signals. So a few that we're doing here, we're adding flashing yellow arrow four section heads
to the signals. So currently I've got a screenshot of one of the Patterson signals. It's just two green
bulbs. We're gonna go ahead and add a flashing yellow arrow anywhere we have left turn lanes. This is
a proven safety countermeasure.
Also allows us to make changes to the timing of the intersection and potentially improve pedestrian
Crossings by being able to to show a red arrow There's there's tons of opportunities for safety improvements
with these so we're going to go ahead and add them We're also going to add the back plates to the signal
heads. This is another proven safety Improvement and we're going to do this at all three of the intersections
We're also going to add an additional section head around curves. I think I have no I don't have an
example of that but
This is but oh I did I drew a little you can see my sketch there This is so when you know a tree is
blocking the signal you as you're approaching it from around a curb You can actually see what the signal
is showing whether it's green yellow red And you can see it farther in advance of the intersection than
you could otherwise New pedestrian push buttons. These are just some of the changes we're making that
you know are low-cost but great opportunities for safety improvements at these intersections and
Another thing we're doing that I think is really cool is this is a screenshot of Patterson and Rogers
and one thing that we've had a lot of success with is doing truck aprons to slow down Turning vehicles
as they're making a turn. So this is the intersection of two truck routes We have to have a
large intersection to accommodate those trucks. But what we're doing here is we're making it uncomfortable
for everyone else to whip around that corner at high speeds that causes safety and
concerns at the crosswalks, of course and We've had a lot of success with these. I think something unique
on this project. We're trying is kind of going a little farther with them and and putting the Putting
them on both sides of the crosswalk. We've typically just put them in between the two crosswalks so
this will be a an opportunity to try that out and see how it goes, but I'm really excited about this
This is just we're also doing this at the other intersection Allen and Patterson
But that's another example and then here I just kind of wanted to show this is pretty standard in Bloomington
at this point But you know when we're resurfacing a road that's very wide we look for opportunities
to narrow the lanes add more bicycle infrastructure So here's just an example of kind of that very long
section of Patterson where there's no cross streets We have we have space here to add bike lanes on
both sides and actually make them buffered so we're doing that on this roadway as well and
And then again, you know if we have room we have a lot of room on this road We're gonna try to find
some opportunities. So here Adding a refuge island to help improve crosswalks. This is at Madison and
Patterson I'm in McDowell Gardens there So that's you know, just an opportunity and again, none of these
require eliminating travel lanes Eliminating parking there. There's no, you know title 15 changes that
that we have to do we can just do these but
And I have one more we're actually this is Grimes near John's Bloomington Transit facility there we're
actually trying to Buffer the sidewalks a little bit better if you've ever walked along Grimes, this
is an extremely uncomfortable place to walk so we're trying to take advantage of the little space we
have in the roadway to actually just We only are using what we need for the vehicle travel lanes and
then we're trying to protect the sidewalks and the pedestrians a little bit better so you can see here
You know at switch yard park. We're pulling the sidewalk back where we don't have right away We're just
trying to push out the curb lines a little bit where we can So just another example of some of the changes
we're making But now I wanted to kind of focus in on two locations that you know These are some opportunities
for changes that might require some additional public engagement these would require title 15 changes
because they would require changes to parking and I kind of wanted to go over these with you in a little
bit more detail tonight and
So the first one this is Rogers between Patterson and Dodds and if you're familiar with McDowell Gardens
This is the location where there's parking on Rogers on the east side of the roadway So if you're headed
northbound, you're supposed to shift taper over to the left go around the parking spaces then taper
back and then we have that crossing Refuge Island crossing at Allen and then we have another section
of parking where you shift over go around and then shift back to
Often there's no one parked here. So vehicles are kind of just charging through in the in the right-hand
side through the parking lane And you know that that space In our observation has not been heavily utilized
So one low-hanging fruit here is to eliminate the parking from those two blocks and stripe bike lanes
on the roadway so here's an example of what it looks like and
Right now so you can see none of these cars are parked. They're just kind of traveling through the area
But someone could park there and vehicles would go around So this is kind of what we're showing at this
point as an improvement to this corridor It's not complete and full bike lanes, but the brakes in the
bike lanes are only For like the Refuge Island at Allen or right at the intersection There's a small
gap before the bike lane starts but otherwise we're able to get continuous bike lanes like I'm showing here and
Between our new protected bike lanes that are going in on second Street We currently have protected
bike lanes on Rogers between second and first we have painted bike lanes down to Dixie currently This
would kind of complete that gap with a couple of notable exceptions to the multi-use path that exists
on the west side of Rogers So as you know, I've kind of shown it here but our transportation plan has
this little chart in here and shows us what we're supposed to prioritize pedestrian cyclists transit
and then cars and
One thing that these bike lanes can do let me go back to the plans is also buffer the sidewalks better
So cars are farther away from the sidewalks and this provides a safer experience for pedestrians but
what in order to do this we're we're going to have to go through a 180-day order title 15 change to
eliminate parking on this block and What I'm going to do over the coming month is reach out
to the neighborhood set up a meeting and and
What their opinion is going to be on the topic? But this is just based on the guidance that we had in
our published plans and our goals as a city This seemed like the right thing to do here. So I'm bringing
it before you tonight I'll talk about the other location as well But ultimately if you all want me to
do the outreach and then come back and report what the public says I can do that if you all want to
you know support this as is knowing that we're going to do the outreach and just
Approve it tonight. You can do that or or whatever motion you you would like to make But I'll move on
to the other location now. So this one I think has come up quite a bit I lived a block from this location
for about six years This is how and Rogers and this is a greenway crossing. This is what it looks like
currently We receive a lot of requests for improved crossings here on the house Street direction Rogers
is a busy street. And so we're resurfacing the roadway and while we're at it
We have the opportunity to do something. So what I'm showing here are Refuge islands on both the south
and north sides of the intersection To help facilitate safer pedestrian crosses across Roger Street,
which is the busy street. This is an uncontrolled intersection So it's a little bit different than the
one we were talking about last petition Cars do not stop but this is one one option for improvements.
I think there's there's more that could be done you could
Block off similar to Allen and Rogers You could block off traffic from going through the intersection
at all and just only allow bicycles and not allow Left turns just right turns out of Howe Street We
felt like you know, just given the time constraints of this project. We would go ahead with this option
that improved safety but didn't have such a drastic change to the traffic patterns in the neighborhood and
However again, just like the other location I plan on going out to the neighborhood in the next month
and hearing what everyone has to say about this idea And so I'm hoping they'll be able to give me some
more feedback as to can we do more here? I think this is this is a great first step. It's a huge improvement.
There is the opportunity to do more I also kind of wanted to show and draw your attention to Smith and
prospect so Smith is just to the right on my drawing here and
Just to the north and then prospect is a little bit farther north. These are both streets They're they're
pretty small streets Smith is almost like an alley, but they are streets officially They are named streets
and what we're showing here bump outs We we could do more here. We could do Refuge Islands You know,
we could do the type of Refuge Island you see currently at House Street. We could do something more
but you know right now we were we were just trying to make it a
Safer without impacting the traffic flows the existing neighborhood. So this is another location where
I Really do want to get more feedback from the neighborhood. I will say we do have parking on the east
side of Roger Street in this location That's why it's being brought to you tonight the addition of these
two refuge islands at how Does eliminate a very small amount of the parking? however, most of it is
Maintained basically the the parking between Smith and third is all still maintained. So it's really
not eliminating very many spaces But again, we could eliminate parking all along here and do either
additional Refuge Island improvements or we could even do bicycle infrastructure if that was desired.
So My next step like I said is to go to the neighborhood and you know as I said before you have several
options on on how you want to go tonight, but I guess first I just wanted to
Bring this to your attention and and request your feedback and I think that's all I needed to go through
right now But I'm happy to answer any questions on this. Thank you Questions for the presenter Mr. Flaherty,
thank you. First question is just how this Interacts with the the Rogers Kinzer Madison corridor study
and in particular, you know
Are we closing doors on design options or things like that or increasing costs by? Putting some of these
things in now. Can you tell me more? Yeah. Yeah, that's a great question And you know when we started
we thought we were way ahead of it And then we thought we were gonna be way behind it and now we're
right right literally right in with it The consultant was here for a week last week But yes, so this
does have some impacts to what potentially could be done. I have tried I've coordinated with
Transportation planning I've tried to go with what seems to be the most likely Direction from that study
with these changes that we're showing. However, that still could change It is possible that doing bump
outs on Rogers for example could limit future bike infrastructure It could limit refuge islands and
when I say limit it just means that we'll have to remove the bump outs that we just put in and do something else and
Again, I don't know when that the actual construction will be happening from the study So the study
may happen we may not do anything for five to ten years that would not You know that would mean we definitely
still want to do something now if that makes sense But but yes, I think like on the southern portion
striping bike lanes That's not really restricting anything from happening by adding the refuge islands
adding the bump outs very well Because those are those are all curbed. Is that right like some type
of concrete? Yes, that's correct
Thank you. First of all, I used to live in that neighborhood, so I really appreciate all the ideas around
that. I used to walk there quite a bit. I'm just curious, can you refresh one more time? So Hope is
quite more narrow than Rogers. Do you propose to have refuge islands in there, too? Did I get it right?
Or on the Huff Street? Are you planning to have any refuge islands, too?
I didn't get it right I'm sorry. Am I planning on getting Yes, so did you propose to have refuge islands
anywhere else or just on the Roger Street? Yeah, so we are proposing two on Roger Street and then one
on Patterson Street as well So I believe on this project. There's a total of three
Other questions? Okay. The staff recommendation here is that the transportation commission adopt the
proposed findings, which you can find on pages 29 and 30 of your packet and forward the petition for
a title 15 amendments with a positive recommendation. Ms. Flaherty.
I'm happy to vote in support of the proposed findings tonight, but just one thing that did occur to
me is In terms of sequencing maybe ideally like the neighborhood conversations would happen before it
comes to us in the future that definitely goes to the fourth finding around adequately conducted public
engagement and considered, you know a community-centric design Again, I don't think it's a it's a blocker
for me tonight, but just a note for the future. Maybe thanks
Just I think clarification the process to you mentioned that you will be reaching out to the to people
to people living in there, right? So that's like part of the plan or we have to choose whether we proceed
with the recommendations or you can reach out and then we'll be deciding Yeah, I think the recommendation
is that you approve it and we will proceed with Talking to the neighborhood and if if there's a change,
I'll come back to you and just respond to mr. Flaherty I
This is kind of a unique situation where I certainly would have wanted to do the outreach But like we're
out to bid right now because we have to follow these state timelines So this is kind of a unique situation
definitely not intentional. I don't plan on repeating it and Just to clarify part of what's going on.
There's a season to do these changes. So a month delay Means it's meaningful. You're right. I wanted
to get it in front of you now so we could yeah. Yeah exactly
I guess one other reflection and just a question about the flexibility. You mentioned the potential
to adjust things based on community feedback, neighborhood feedback. I've lived on or more or less on
House Street for 15 years and used this intersection a lot in just the whole neighborhood. All of the
crossings on Rogers between 3rd and 2nd are difficult. The sight lines are limited because of hills
and people drive pretty fast because similar to further south on Rogers,
It's not very parked, so it leads to folks going faster. And I also know that we don't have a neighborhood
parking permit in Prospect Hill at all. We just don't really have serious parking issues. And so losing
parking on Rogers between second and third is really not a concern to me from a policy perspective.
And I do wonder about pedestrian refuge islands as a treatment
You mentioned mr. Kenoki on you know, a couple of those other streets like prospect or Smith Which also
have traffic calming benefits. And so we're navigating trade-offs here right with bike infrastructure
bumpouts Refuge islands is their flexibility to consider or adjust to refuge islands in those places
if you all think that's warranted after engaging the community more or you know, we progress a little
further on the Roger Kinzer Madison study or are we locked in from what was here and
No, there's flexibility. We're not locked in. We're trying to proceed with our best guess We'll have
to go through a change order process with a contractor But ultimately we want to put in what the community
wants and what's the absolute best? So yes, we can change and we will if we need to okay. Well, thanks
for considering those options Further comments or a motion
I move we recommend the Sorry, I move we adopt the proposed findings and forward this petition for title
15 amendments with positive recommendation Is there a second? I'll second it. Thank you We'll call please.
I'm so sorry This is open for public comment. Oh Sorry, would members of the public like to comment
on this? Online
None we'll come back to the vote. I Think we're voting the roll call Jimmy Yes Flaherty, yes Scottish
go. Yes Strasburg. Yes Coppock. Yes, Connell. Yes Motion passes. Thank you. I
Agenda which is TCP 2608 infrastructure improvement for power line trail Mr. Seabor will you be presenting?
Actually, I'm gonna have director Street is joining us remotely today to present and just wanting to
appreciate that This meeting is supported by a number of departments. We've got engineering and planning
present public works was here we have our parks director and we actually also
Remotely had our deputy police chief present as well in case there were questions Earlier but just wanting
to appreciate that and I'm going to hand it over to director Street Yes, thank you Andrew, can you all
hear me? Okay? Yes Excellent. Sorry. I was having some audio issues on my computer. So I had to switch
to my phone. I don't know what's going on Tim Street director of parks and recreation I am here tonight
to tell you a little bit about the power line trail that has been in the works for quite some time and
This is my first time getting to be here with this commission in its current form. So good to be here
with you and thank you for the time. The power line trail is, we are very excited to build this summer.
This is a concept that has been around for a couple of decades, I think, as an idea of, hey, we should
take something underneath these power lines and take advantage of the corridor that can't be built and
put a trail in this corridor.
So when I joined the city at the start of 2021 as Parks Operations Director, this project had been about
30% designed and was stalled there. This is a project that was authorized in the 2018 Bicentennial Bonds,
so it has taken a while to get around to successful construction of it, but I'm very pleased that we
are closing in on it.
It was stuck at 30% in 2021 because there was a long delay in reaching agreement with the county
commissioners and with Duke Energy on getting all the necessary and appropriate permissions sorted out
to be able to build a trail under the power lines. In part because one, we needed to secure an easement
from the county. The county owns
the actual property that the Duke power line easement runs through. The power line easement itself is
very old. I think it dates back to the 1940s. So these power lines have been in this corridor for a
long time. But that said, it presents a wonderful opportunity for us to build a rare east-west oriented
pedestrian multi-use trail, 12 feet wide, typical specs, all of that. And as I continue just my storytelling
and how we got here today,
Even after we were securing the easement from the county commissioners, which took a little while, we
found out that Duke had their major reliability infrastructure project, which was doing some major relocation
of transmission poles and distribution poles back in this area and a revamp of the substation there
on South Roger Street, which is at the east end of the map that you're looking at here. So we had to
wait for Duke Engineering to work through the placement of all their poles.
you know, get final details to us before we could really advance this design to 100 percent. That was
about a year and a half, two years ago that we were getting that info from Duke. Duke was wrapping up
their reliability project and we were able to go back to Aztec design and sort of restart the design
of the project. I'll tell you a little bit about what it includes overall. Overall, it's approximately
nine-tenths of a mile.
It picks up at the east side at the right of way of Roger Street coming off the west side of Roger Street
where there will be a small trailhead with a bike rack and a map things like that. That is actually
the only place in the whole corridor because of the power line restrictions from Duke that we signed
and agreed to that we can put any kind of vertical infrastructure.
So we can't put any trees, we can't put any benches, we can't put any lights in there, and we really
can't change grades too significantly. We can lower grades, generally speaking, but we can't increase
grades. Let's see. So 12 foot wide multi-site use trail, starting at the east side with the trailhead,
it kind of winds its way through
the large power lines there just south of the Duke substation before it opens up to the west. It's actually
quite beautiful out there. It's a lovely wildlife corridor. It will connect to Habitat for Humanity
via the northeast corner of RCA Park. So when Osage neighborhood was built, they built a connector to
the east side RCA trail there, which in turn will now connect up to the power line trail.
So there will be good access for that neighborhood. Countryside neighborhood, all of those neighborhoods
to the south can connect through the park in a few different ways and places and get up to this trail,
which in turn can get you to the beat line. On the east side, there will be a raised concrete table
crossing of Roger Street with rapid flashing beacons.
that we've gone through and worked quite extensively with Neil and with Kendall and the engineering
department what the best options for putting in that table crossing were and the best place to put it.
We settled on it's going to be placed directly north of the Switchyard entrance because that's where
the main sidewalk coming into Switchyard is. So that way you have to cross Rogers but you don't also
have to cross the double lane entrance into Switchyard Park because
If you're not familiar, as you come into the south side, or as you come into Switchyard Park on the
south side, there's a maintenance fence and a maintenance yard, and there is not a path or sidewalk
on that side. Continuing west, I said nine tenths of a mile. Basically, the western terminus of what
you see on this map is approximately where the future Adams Street will exist. And we have also talked
with planning and transportation via Jackie and some others who have worked on the summit development
to include some plans for this to pick up if and as that develops out in the future and continue to
the West. So points of interest to the West, certainly one, you know, a connection to Adams Street itself
would be great if Adams Street goes through. Currently, this trail at the Western end is going to kind
of end with a little asphalt roundabout so that you can turn around. But
There are plans to connect it through. There is a currently parks operated piece of disparate trail
near the element at the mill development, just along breaking away, which is north of the Woolery Mill.
And there exist future options via Weimar Vanguard to continue to explore with planning and transportation
what might happen if Weimar ever realigns.
future ways to connect and potentially make a loop with the Clear Creek Trail and the Beeline and the
Rail Trail. So very exciting opportunities. I think overall this can serve as a great collector for
the artery that is the Beeline in terms of getting people from this western area either from existing
neighborhoods or from from new neighborhoods that may come and providing a safe and great way to get
connected to the park and to the Beeline.
Last feature of this is we were looking at this and because we cannot put any kind of lights back here,
we have decided to put in a glow rock. So they make an aggregate that you could just sprinkle into the
top coat of asphalt that has a glow rating and is safe and all those things. We've looked into this
quite extensively. So that will provide some illumination on this trail at night and also is sort of
just a fun
Fun nod to the fact that this is Powerline Trail. We ended up, we debated names. We thought, let's just
call it what it is, Powerline Trail. It'll have a lot of familiarity for people to understand it. And
this will become part of our multi-use trail network that Parks manages. I think those are the facts
of it. Obviously, this is an interesting one with the transportation commission getting established.
This project's pretty far along.
But in talking to Andrew, we wanted to make a point to bring this to you and talk with you. We anticipate
construction. We're going to probably do a pre-construction meeting here very soon and work on construction
this summer and coordinate with engineering in particular any work that happens along or would affect
that Roger Street corridor. That said, I am happy to go over any details or answer questions as best
I can. Thank you.
comments or questions from the commission. Mr. Drumming. The diagram that was just on the screen,
RCA park. Um, are those, are those mountain bike trails in RCA park or are you allowed to ride bikes
on those trails that are delineated? Uh, they are just hiking trails. Okay. Yep. But, uh, well, I should
delineate. Uh, so the, the loop around the Eastern part of RCA park is
Paved so there is a paved approximate mile loop around the eastern part north and south of the parking
in the pickleball and the athletic fields there That's multi-use but where you see it West which is
not being distinguished on this map, which are just the trails in the woods Those are hiking trails
Yeah, my understanding was the worst of trails you were allowed to mount bike on it's like And so I
just might was there any and I missed a little bit your presentation to step out for a moment But is
there any?
The only infrastructure of powerline will be paved right? There's no mountain biking component Correct.
Yeah, and currently there is no mountain biking component to RCA Park either that is all at behind Thank
you your Comments from other commissioners Yeah, I've explored that bike
that area by bike and I think this will be a great addition to Bloomington and the the glow feature
will be will fund we'll just assume that the power line and electricity is Is making the rocks glow?
That's right Other comments before we move from the Commission before we move to public comment All
right, we'll take some public comment now and
Sign in, state your name. My name's Jim Schrader with the Bloomington Bicycle Club. I actually talked
with the planning director 15 to 17 years ago about power line trails, so I'm real excited about that.
I would assume that this will
Hook up with the Wapahane Mountain Bike Park Is that correct No from Tim I'm sorry not being familiar
with this commission. I don't know if you would like me to you may respond Go ahead and answer the question
about he's asking will it connect with Wapahane Mountain Bike Trail? I
Absolutely, yeah. So currently, with what we are building right now, it will not. But that is certainly
on our radar long term. And we have talked about, through Jackie and Ryan and others in planning, as
Summit develops through trails and paths through there, there will be additional connection options
to the west. OK. And then also on the RCA park, there was a mountain bike
a trail developed by Eagle Scout about five to 10 years ago. So I assume that is official. I am not
familiar with that or currently with any mountain biking trails in Marciate Park. I'll invite you out
there sometime. Sure. Seeing no one else in council chambers.
Is there anyone online? Yes, I have Jeff McKim Jeff McKim you have three minutes. Thank you Yes, thank
you very much I just wanted to commend Tim and everyone in Belleville everyone else involved for moving
this project forward I really think this is the most exciting Bloomington trails project since the beeline
and it serves a major unmet need as far as East West active transportation goes as well
This trail I think is going to become even more useful and well used as a summit project builds out
as Tim mentioned. And so I just wanted to say thanks for the presentation and I can't wait to see the
trail open. Thank you. Anyone else online? If not, we'll come back to comments from our commission again,
or we can look for a motion. Mr. Drummy.
Tim, I think you mentioned it, but I didn't quite understand. Is the idea that once Summit is developed,
the trail will be extended by the developer or somebody, or is that yet to be determined? I would defer
probably to Ryan. He might be able to better answer a question about phasing of that. But what we looked
at when they were working on the development documents for Summit and everything was connecting the
west end of the current trail
where it will end at the future Adam Street with a little kind of asphalt roundabout right now. And
continuing that over to connect with the north end of a trail that was built through triggers for the
element at the mill development. So that development is just to the north and a little bit east of the
Woolery Mill. So that would bring the total length of actual trail to the north end of Woolery Mill.
from which point there are some interesting options. You know, I know one of the things that's been
around for a long time is this, you know, idea of Weimar realigning, which is development triggered
and everything, potentially Weimar becoming a multi-use trail. So we would, we would basically get trail
all the way to the north end of Woolery Mill. But also through Summit, there were also
you know, paths along the roads and different connectors and things like that, that could also be used
to facilitate safe connection over all the way to Wema Road and potentially to Wapahane. Thank you.
Other commission comment? If not, we'll move, we'll look for a motion. I move we
Adopt the proposed findings and approve the power line trail project plan. Is there a second? second
Roll call vote, please Copic Yes, Connell. Yes, drummy. Yes, Flaherty. Yes, Scott ishko. Yes, Strasburg.
Yes Motion passes
Thank you. Thank you all very much. Yep. The next item on our agenda is commission schedule
change cancellation of August, 2026 meeting. I don't know if we need a presentation about that. Uh,
this is Iris bowl, um, presenting, uh, I don't have a presentation to be honest. Um, this is, um, about
as cut and dry as it's going to get around here. Um,
I'll just provide a quick summary of the report I included in the packet that being four reasons we
have a scheduling conflict with budget hearings whether it's direct or indirect staff are concerned
about the coincidence of having a Transportation Commission meeting in the same very close proximity
of the budget hearings and Staff have recommend that we cancel the meeting scheduled for August and
but I did want to observe that Technically it may be rescheduled for August 31st if that is your prerogative
Okay We'll just make this fast I'll go ahead and any comment or go ahead and put forward a motion I
Move we cancel the August 24th and
Meeting of the Transportation Commission Great Great who was the second on that one? Okay. I think we
all wanted to be A second can we do this by a voice vote? Do we need a roll call? Just a note on the
motion. I didn't motion degree I didn't move to reschedule But I suppose we could always consider that
at a closer date if we're having trouble with the queue of things always possible. Yes, I
Okay, we are ready to vote on this meeting cancellation This one sorry to interrupt this one can be
a voice vote. Okay, great. Let's do it all in favor Any opposed Motion carries Great that concludes
the cases portion of our agenda. We now move on to discussions of topics not on the docket. Are there any such
items from commissioners Mr. Flaherty, yeah, I have to They're both relatively brief one is a follow-up
from the item. I had last month, which was about if commissioners had perspectives on whether City residency
should be a requirement to serve on the Commission or whether we might want to have flexibility for
at least one member I think the conversation we had was
Yeah, maybe not needed. We're not strongly opposed but but not warranted at this time I was then reminded
by my colleague councilmember Piedmont Smith that the particular context of that inquiry was because
one of the appointments gives preference to Board members employees or other formal volunteers with
Monroe County Community School Corporation and we had difficulty finding somebody to fit that need it's
not a requirement. That's just a preference for one of the seats and
but the idea was essentially should we be looking to, when you constrain these seats, they get harder
to fill, and so should we be looking to loosen a constraint on one of the constrained seats, so to speak,
to counterbalance that, and we could maybe just invite any brief comments on that, and I can report
back to the council committee, but I did wanna follow up, so thank you, that's the first of two items.
Any feedback for Mr. Flaherty?
I'll add that tonight is a case in point We had a very important meeting a lot of people showed up from
the public and we had barely a quorum So we do have a challenge having enough people here I'd receive
feedback from councilmember Stasberg about The importance of bringing someone from the school system
perhaps from the transportation department of the school system There are several schools along the
Roger Madison Kinzer corridor
I think it would be a valuable perspective to have on this commission. Also, we have more and more e-bike
commuters. We have good connectivity with Ellisville. I've known an e-bike commuter from there. So I
would definitely be open to that perspective, both to solve the practical problem of filling our seats,
but also to either include extra voices related to the school system, which is a county agency,
or from e-bike folks who are commuting from outside city limits. Thank you. I'll just support that in
general. I mean, I think bringing different perspectives which are like relevant to the conversations
we have in here, I think it's something we should be trying to achieve. Yeah.
Thank you all if anybody else has additional thoughts feel free to email me I will get back to the council
committee that would involve a city code change. They're considering A future ordinance to make a variety
of board and commission related changes Second item was if you're not familiar the City Council has
Most months a deliberation session, which is not the formal regular session of the council to vote on
legislation But rather more of a generative policy development type of meeting and
I requested and will be leading on April 15th, Wednesday, April 15th, a deliberation session on the
particular challenge of pedestrian safety and accessibility in the wake of snow events. We had some
real serious challenges this year. Obviously, we had a pretty big snow event or two. That's not entirely
unique to us. We've had these challenges for many years.
There aren't a lot of easy fixes, but there probably are some ways to improve and so the goal is to
Ideate with some relevant stakeholders city council members. I'll be inviting I have invited and confirmed
attendance from I think four or five of the relevant departments either engineering or planning Public
works parks, which actually has responsibilities here to and hand which controls the citations for violation
of not clearing the sidewalk
and then I thought it would be nice to have a Representative of the Transportation Commission join as
well. I plan to also reject the Council for community accessibility I know we have one member from from
that council so that could be the the Commission president or it could be another member who volunteers
and we You know if there's no one else to step up So I wanted you to be aware of it at the very least
and wanted to invite Participation in that session. They usually that's about two hours. So 630 day
30 on Wednesday April 15th
And finally, sorry, if you have particular ideas or thoughts or questions that you want explored in
that session, I would also be happy to receive those. So please feel free to email me or talk to me.
So council members can follow up with you directly if they're interested. Yes, though I was hoping we
might identify a person to join if it's the will of the commission. Just a question, can it be removed
or it has to be in person?
I would encourage in person. Those sessions tend to be kind of at a round table type of setting, and
it's a little bit trickier with remote. Anyone interested? I can hound. I'll be traveling, unfortunately,
that's why. So I think it's your turn. OK. Does that work for folks? All right.
Thank you. That's all I had Sorry, just a small question. So this such session happens regularly too,
right? Yes, and probably eight months of the year or something. We have a deliberation session. Yes,
and it's possible to participate in this later if there will be an option to Yeah, they're on a very
wide range of topics and we have someone public safety coming up after that there is
Almost always public comment available. Sometimes the sessions are designed in ways that are more about
public engagement explicitly So we had some housing and zoning sessions last year that were more about
Community input and an idea gathering. So yeah, you can keep an eye on those on the council's Calendar
and agendas. Thanks Items from commissioners Mr. Drummond
I have an item to raise. I have an issue that I'd like to bring before the commission. I'm not planning
to bring it before this evening. But I wanted to do it the right way and look at it as a member of the
public. And I'll be honest, I didn't spend a ton of time trying to figure it out, but I wasn't able
to figure it out. And maybe Ryan can help. What is the proper, if I were not a member, I understand
as a member of the commission, I understand how I could set up a case.
But if I was not a member of the Commission, how would I what would be the what is the proper process
to bring an issue in front of the Commission? Great question. There is a couple of different options
The easiest is there is on the Transportation Commission website on the city of Bloomington's website
There is a form that you can complete you just write your name email address and what you'd like to
have included number of members of the public had that the Smith and Morningside
Comments included that way this evening. You can also just email Andrew Seabor Iris bull or myself or
the Transportation Commission email address, please. Yes that actually you could email any of those
three people but then there's also the Transportation Commission email which is It's just transportation
commission at Bloomington die and duck of I Well, and I saw the I was able to see the I was competent
enough to see the email opportunity But is that?
that Does that count as I mean if I email that email address and say hey what? What's the bus schedule
for tomorrow on this route? Does that create a you know? I mean like is it is it you guys are gonna
reach out to the person that emails that and say would you like to bring a case to the Commission or
do you just want to know that we're gonna fix the pile for your house, you know, it means that make sense and
If you're submitting for a pothole, I would encourage you to use you report I understand that but not
everybody knows that yeah. Yeah. No, we would respond The same way for either if you send that to me
directly. I will also help you submit your your report. So Yeah, we keep will absolutely figure it out.
It doesn't just sit in an inbox with no response Do we need to do something more affirmatively to let
the public know? That this body is here to
issues like we heard this evening and To give them instructions to figure out how to submit those issues
That's a that's a maybe rhetorical question or a question for the Commission, but that's that's all
I have I Would like to observe as well that in the packet the very last page of the packet is actually
a public comment from someone offering something
An item that was not on the docket This was the first time and all of the public comments that we've
received where it was for something not already on the docket This is something that if a member of
the Commission was interested in taking up they could continue to dialogue with staff Because staff
have access and commissioners have access to a special tracking form right where we're gathering interest
for things that may become
Inquiries or petitions or resolutions and that's generally how those things get escalated for members
of the public and in large part as you've observed because there are lots of other ways to resolve things
like a pothole where we don't necessarily want to Give someone the impression that they need to wait
a couple months to fix a pothole people often Care less about the process of triage and simply want
the results of proper triage so
I hope that helps. That's thank you. Yes, that's I like that. There's a question from Deborah Meyerson
on Incentives for bike graphics within bike racks within the city. So she has some questions about that
So that was late breaking for us So that's something we can review and if we want to bring that back
in another form we can do that Other comments from staff
commission if not, we will move on to any Discussion of topics not on the docket from staff All right,
I'll simply flag that next week or next month's meeting The packet materials may be a little different.
I can't exactly tell you how I and assume that you will all want to continue receiving a PDF packet,
but you should know that
WCAG federal Requirements are going to be changing and that's city is getting more uniform and standardized
in its response to those federal changes but it will affect how the Commission's documents are made
available to the public but not necessarily prepared for commissioners because it is a redundant step
not necessarily the transformation of the entire process and
So if you have any questions about what that's gonna look like, feel free to email me. I'll be setting
it up. Thank you. Thank you. It sounds like some extra work for you. Yes. Then we'll move on to public
comment for items not on the docket. Is there anyone in council chambers who'd like to comment? No.
Is there anyone online who'd like to? No. All right. At that point, we have reached adjournment
And if there's one thing I know about Robert's Rules of Order, if you get the bottom of the agenda,
you can just adjourn. So we will do that, meeting adjourned.