The City of Bloomington said it will reinstall four-way traffic stops at Morton, Washington, Lincoln and Grant Street intersections along Seventh Street early next month.
A press release Thursday said the project will begin the week of March 3 and could continue into the week after.
Seventh Street’s four-way stops were originally removed to “create an efficient east/west corridor,” according to the press release. This removal occurred during construction of the 7 Line project in 2021, which added dedicated bike lanes to Seventh Street.
In 2023, a spike in accidents prompted the city to try to put them back, only to be stymied by a veto from then-Mayor John Hamilton.
A Bloomington Transit bus collided with a bicyclist on Seventh Street late last month, sending the 21-year-old on the bike to the hospital with a lower leg injury. Bloomington Transit and the Bloomington Police Department both gave feedback to the city requesting the stops be reinstalled, according to the press release.
This project was made possible by an administrative measure called a 180-day order, which authorizes the city to make temporary traffic changes for “up to six months while officials assess safety impacts, analyze data, and gather public input to inform long-term decisions,” Desiree DeMolina, the city communications director, said in an email.
