The Traffic Commission Meeting (03/22)

I attended the traffic commission meeting that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The point of the meeting was to discuss the strides that Bloomington has made on bicycle lanes in the city as well as other things that could be done to increase the safety of cyclists.

Most of the people that were observing the commission were on Zoom. However, due to security reasons, people that weren’t vital to the meeting could not turn on their webcams. I understand the policy, but it would have been nice to have a face that I could have associated with the various people that were talking during the meeting.

The environment was very interesting as they were able to mesh the virtual and physical participants that were observing the meeting. There wasn’t much conflict with trying to communicate with those that were in the courthouse, and vice versa with those joining the meeting on Zoom. Most of the council members were in the courthouse where they also hosted the zoom meeting. However, some of the other council members attended the meeting through their computers. It was very seamless to find the information to join the zoom meeting. Bloomington maintains a cohesive calendar with links that are appended to the appropriate meetings.

The Ups and Downs

Most of the meeting consisted of a council member talking about the results of the bicycle lanes that are a part of the “7-Line”, a stretch of protected two-way bike lanes that connect multiple areas of the Bloomington community. It was very interesting to learn how the trail has increased bicycle traffic throughout the area. With the bike lanes on the 7-Line being physically divided from other road traffic, it has been proven that people are more comfortable using them for transport.

With that being said, they also did note that there has been an increase in crashes after the project. Following this revelation, the members discussed the reasons why there might have been an increase in accidents. The biggest point of concern was about the two-way stops off of multiple intersections on the 7-Line. Much of the conversation was about drivers not knowing how to navigate the stop signs. They attributed this confusion to that most people are still used to the four-way stop that was there. This created some discourse about whether or not they wanted to reinstate the four-way stop that was there before the creation of the 7-Line.

Most of this information was portrayed through the usage of graphs on a PowerPoint presentation that the council member shared. A nice component of the meeting was that they also posted the agenda of the council notes, which also included concise notes of the PowerPoint that was being presented. It was very easy to discern what the main talking points were, and the different findings.

What the People Have to Say

Proponents of the four-way stop say that the stop is necessary for cyclists to be safer on the streets. Even though adding the stops would detract from the experiences of the bikers by having to stop, it would ensure that other drivers will come to a complete stop rather than driving quickly across the intersection. This is backed up by the research done by the city shows that the average amount of crashes would be reduced by this implementation.

Opponents of the four-way stop implementation say that cyclists and pedestrians shouldn’t be constrained due to drivers not knowing how to drive in a more conservative manner.

There was a decent amount of communication going back and forth on whether or not the reimplementation of stop signs would be good for the bicycle line. What I thought was really interesting was getting to hear the members of the public speak their own opinions on the ideas that the council put forth. I for one never really thought that I have much input in what goes into the inner workings of the cities I live in, but after attending this meeting, it really showed me that I can create a city that I would like to live in if I take an active role.

The Final Verdict

At the end of the meeting, the council members voted on whether or not they wanted to reinstall the 4-way stops. The first motion was to implement a 4-way stop at the intersection of Dunn and 7th, and it was voted as a yes. Before the meeting ended, however, one council member proposed a motion to reinstate 4-way stops at all current 2-way intersections on the 7th. Before they voted, they received public comment, and some people were adamantly opposed to this implementation. In response to this, the majority of the council members voted no to the proposition.

Personally, I think this was the right move as Dunn was shown that it would benefit the most from the 4-way stop. Of course, it is not very fair that cyclists have to put on the burden of drivers not driving very carefully, but if it ensures that they will be safer, I think the change will benefit them in the future. However, other intersections show that changes will be very marginal, therefore, I don’t think it is necessary to slow down cyclist traffic for the small returns.

Smart City Implementation

Instead, of implementing stop signs outright, I think there is plenty of room for technology to help with safety while also making the 7-Line a quick and efficient route for cyclists.

For example, I think it would be easy to implement sensors and connected signage to warn drivers if there are people crossing the streets. Since people will be more concerned with crossing car traffic, it would make sense to create a cohesive notification system that makes drivers acutely aware of any potential bicycle or foot traffic.

I think it would also be logical to add some type of road hump at either side of the intersection to promote people to slow down as they approach. In doing so, they will receive a greater reaction time if there are people crossing the road in front of them.

Handout from Meeting

Traffic_Commission-20230322-Packet

Image Citations

Abshier, Holden. (2021). [A rendering of the intersection of Walnut Street and 7th Street. The 7-Line is designed as an extension eastward expansion of the B-Line trail] [Photograph]. Indiana Public Media. https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-of-bloomington-begins-construction-on-two-way-protected-bike-lane.php

Gonzalez, Lucas. (2023). [Members of Bloomington City Council discuss the possible removal of Greg Alexander from the city traffic commission on Wednesday, March 1, 2023] [Photograph]. Indiana Public Media. https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/city-council-makes-no-decision-on-ouster-of-controversial-traffic-commissioner.php

(TreeTop Products). [Image of Superior Speed Hump] [Photograph]. TreeTop Products. https://www.treetopproducts.com/superior-speed-hump