From Here to There in Bloomington

Or How to Avoid This

The transportation plan for Bloomington is quite in-step with the city’s ideas regarding peak oil and climate destabilization. Even though it is a small city, geographically and population wise, Bloomington has some very lofty ideas and goals. Since the city has made a clear acknowledgement of the issues it will face due to peak oil, it is imperative to consider alternate transportation means. Bloomington plans to do this via a well planned bicycle and pedestrian transportation network, along with well implemented public transportation. The Bloomington Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation and Greenways System Plan addresses the issues and implementation of non-motorized transit. The plan addresses some of the concepts visited in Bicycling Renaissance in North America (Pucher et al. 1999), such as expanding bicycle facilities and making all roads bikeable. In a town where the majority of traffic occurs in a centralized area, this seems like a well thought out response towards decreasing private vehicle traffic.

Bloomington is already ahead of the curve in terms of sustainable transportation thinking around the country. The city has a centralized and rural bus system, sidewalks on almost all of the streets near and in downtown and the campus, as well as the B-line bike trail, which only continues to expand. In addition Bloomington makes good use of one way streets, and many streets are one lane, with ample street trees, and stop signs, which are all good tools towards creating “visual barriers that encourage cautious driving”, some of the techniques which are used to create street calming. However, there are some factors, which induce weaknesses to Bloomington’s transportation sustainability. The number one issue at hand here is the use of motor vehicles by the student population. Since most of the students that attend the university live nearby, it creates traffic issues when the majority use cars to get to class instead of walking or taking the bus. The streets nearby campus are continuously blockaded by cars, at times before and after class, with most of the impact around “rush hours”.

If I were to make additions to the current transportation system/planning there would be a few additions. The largest problem I see everyday is the vehicle traffic through campus, most notably on 10th street. If the campus became a car-free zone, and only allowed bus traffic, it would greatly increase the hospitability of campus to bicycles and pedestrians as well as reduce traffic and noise pollution. 3rd street and 17th could absorb much of the traffic that makes its way through 10th street, and since most of that traffic is going to points on campus, it would not be a significant burden for those people to park off campus or not drive at all, while instead taking one of the many busses available or riding a bicycle. The next change necessary would be to address more issues, which could aid in street calming. Changing the texture of some of the busier roads to brick or slate would slow the traffic, since there is already an abundance of street trees, stop signs, and traffic lights, this change could only work to enhance street calming, another measure which would influence an increase in bicycling. Since, many of my aims here are to increase bike use, another change would be adding cover to the many bicycle bays around town and campus.
The weather in Bloomington does not exactly behoove bicycle transport, since the cold and precipitation hinders the comforts of being open to the surroundings, however if there were ample awnings where bike lockups were located, it would make the transition off of one’s bicycle and into class/work that much easier during unpleasant climate. One final feature that would make life easier for bicyclists and pedestrians would be to separate lanes for the two. Both bikes and walkers create hazards for each other and well deliminated space for the two would create an easier trip for both to any destination.