City engineering officials fielded questions from community members about a series of planned improvements to West Second Street during a public meeting Tuesday at the Bloomington First Church of the Nazarene.
The city plans to construct a two-way protected bike lane on West Second Street that will run from the B-Line Trail to South Walker Street as part of its West Second Street Modernization and Safety Improvements project. This project also includes various other improvements to Second Street between the B-Line Trail and South Walker Street. By constructing this bike lane, the city will connect the B-Line Trail with a multi-use path on West Second Street and West Bloomfield Road.
Kendall Knoke, project engineer for the city, said the protected bike lanes will each be 5 feet wide with a median to separate the lanes from vehicles on the street.
Additionally, the city will replace traffic signals at two intersections on West Second Street, upgrade the current storm sewer and drainage systems, and construct sidewalks, curb ramps and bus stops.
Bloomington resident Sam Dixon said during public comment he thinks the city should add vertical deflection — changes to the height of a roadway, such as speed bumps or raised crosswalks that force motorists to slow down — where the B-Line Trail crosses Second Street to protect pedestrians and bicyclists from being hit by vehicles.
“I think the project is looking like it’s heading in the right direction, and I love seeing pedestrian islands to protect people who need to cross the street,” Dixon said. “Again, fixing the lighting and the drainage that will all help with safety which I think is the ultimate goal.”
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Bloomington resident Dave Huber said the city should focus on the overall pedestrian and bicyclist experience when designing the project.
“When I look at the project goals there are a lot of great functionality requirements in there — improving the lights, making things functional from a utility perspective and that’s excellent — and I would like to see at the top of that list creating a wonderful walking and biking experience in Bloomington,” Huber said. “I think as the world continues to change, people want to live in great cities that you can walk and bike in easily.”
Second Street resident Sarah Ryterband asked officials at the meeting how the city would maintain the land, roads and sidewalks located on the southside of her street.
“This is land on the southside, that is owned by the city of Bloomington, and I’ve certainly noticed that it’s not being cared for,” Ryterband said. “During the recent snow, none of that snow was removed from any of that land and some of us would walk on the streets. And as pedestrians, I believe not only is there an ordinance, but we deserve to be safe.”
She also urged the city to fix broken streetlights running from Maple Street to Rogers Street in Bloomington, explaining how dark the area gets at nighttime.
“It is dark, and if you’re walking at night in that area, it’s rather frightening,” Ryterbrand said.
Knoke said the city is attempting to fix the broken lights on Second Street as part of the modernization project and that he would inquire about how best to address removing the snow on the city’s southside.
The modernization project is guided by the Bloomington-Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Transportation Improvement Program and funded by the city’s Park General Obligation Bond, a bond passed by the city council in 2022 to invest in public works and park infrastructure projects.
According to the modernization project’s website, the improvements to West Second Street will also support other redevelopment in the area, including the Hopewell project.
In 2018, the city announced it would redevelop 24-acres off West Second Street — the former location of the IU Health Bloomington Hospital. IU Health transferred the property to the city after building the new IU Health Regional Academic Health Center in 2021. Hopewell, the name for the new neighborhood taking the hospital’s place, could include up to 1,000 units of new housing. The city broke ground on the Hopewell development in July 2023.
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Richard Lewis, who serves as a neighborhood representative for the Hopewell development’s public planning, encouraged the city to think about how it will accommodate the transportation needs of the future residents who move into the new neighborhood.
“We’re developing what will be a whole new neighborhood, and I think the aspiration is mixed levels of affordability in that housing,” Lewis said. “So that to me demonstrates a real need for public transportation at that spot.”
Knoke added that his department coordinated with the Bloomington Fire Department to ensure the plan properly accounts for emergency vehicles. He said that the city is also coordinating with Bloomington Transit to ensure where they place bus stops supports the Transform Bloomington Transit Strategic Plan.
The city estimates construction for the West Second Modernization and Safety Improvement project will begin in 2025 and that construction will last about a year.
Residents who were unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting can submit feedback or questions about the development through this form.
