Walking the B-Line
I walked the B-Line on the morning of Saturday, April 8th. I began my trail at Rey Ernest D Butler Park, which is located at the intersection of 9th and Fairview Street. I then ended my trail right at the entrance of Switchyard Park, which is located at the intersection of Morton Street and Grimes Lane. I was also accompanied by fellow classmate, Scott Wagner, on my walk along the B-Line. Below is the map of the B-Line, with the start and end points of my portion of the trail that I walked.
Overall Experience
This was my first ever time walking the B-Line, so I was excited when I was approaching the parking lot to get ready to start my walk. I have always heard of the B-Line and knew it was a walking path through Bloomington, I only ever saw it when I crossed 2nd street as there is an intersection for pedestrians to cross it. As I walked the trail on a sunny morning with slight winds, I did not assume that there was going to be a balance of going through both urban and natural areas during the trail, as I assumed most of it was going to be walking through more natural parts. I was pleasantly surprised with this, as while it was more natural towards the beginning of the walk, I got a full taste of walking through downtown Bloomington for the rest of my journey. Throughout the trail, most of my attention was focused on things that I was seeing in comparison to my surroundings that I could smell or hear. While walking past the farmer’s market, I noticed the smells occurring there and decided to peel off the B-Line to walk around the farmer’s market to see what they had to offer. I stopped often while strolling along the trail to look at interesting buildings, works of art, or other things, and while I was doing that I also made sure to soak in the weather and the environment to get as full of an experience as I could possibly get.
Stops Along the Way
Shortly after beginning the walk, I stopped to notice the hidden construction and the overgrown shrubbery in the area. It was quite honestly an unpleasant sight, as this was within the first few minutes of the walk and I was worried that this was going to be the appearance for the majority of the walk. After walking the rest it proved to me that the B-Line is quite an extensive trail, and there are going to be sections more developed than others.
Another stop further along in the trail was a much more lively one, where I walked past a row of houses all with bright colors and different architectural layouts. I am not sure how I would enjoy living in a house right next to a busy walking path, but these houses seemed to be more seclusive compared to the other sections of the trail that I encountered.
This was a great representation of not only the differences within the trail but within the city of Bloomington as well. There are clearly areas with higher and lower income in the city and this was put on display in the trail. In the higher income areas you have new houses where the environment is taken care of better, and in comparison you have more ran down areas of Bloomington.
People Along the B-Line
I knew going into my journey that around 10-11am on a Saturday morning, that there was not going to be too many students walking the B-Line, and I was proven correct. Most of the people who were on the trail were families and older couples going on a morning walk, or people who were middle aged going on a run. Most of the diversity I witnessed was when I stopped for the farmer’s market. While I was there I encountered people of a wide range of ethnicities either running their stand of local foods, or people wanting to buy their products.
This was by far the most lively part of my walk. I am assuming that part of it is due to the fact that Bloomington did not fully wake up yet, but the weather was very nice and it was at a time that I thought would not have been too early for people to be up on the trail, but I was expecting more people on the B-Line.
Transportation
I encountered many forms of transportation while walking the B-Line, which included bicycles, electric scooters, and even someone on roller blades. The trail is a great opportunity to travel to different parts of the city with alternative modes of transportation, as the large walking path makes it easier and safer for people to go from point A to point B. I did notice on my walk an electric scooter laying down in the grass next to the trail, and it reminded me of the city council meeting in Blog Post 2. They talked about scooters not being parked legally, and it was interesting to see a perfect example of this during my walk on the B-Line, as it shows that this issue is not present just around the IU campus and its surrounding areas, but in further parts of Bloomington too.
Connectivity
Overall I believe that the B-Line has great connectivity to the surrounding areas of Bloomington if you are traveling on foot or bike. There are many points that you can enter/exit on, some are by parks and there are others where a street runs through it so you could get off. While I was on the trail I got off at Kirkwood to go to the Irish Lion to have lunch halfway through the walk, and it was incredibly easy to walk from the trail to the restaurant and back. If you were using a car to get the B-Line that is going to be more difficult. I had to find a parking lot close to the trail where I could then shortly walk over to get on the path. It was not much of an inconvenience, but it is definitely easier to access the trail while on foot.
Different Land Uses
Along the B-Line there were many different types of buildings and lands that I noticed. The majority of the buildings seemed to be used for housing, such as houses, townhouses, and apartment complexes, while there was also many commercial buildings present. While it is understandable, the number of commercial buildings and construction areas present along the trail hinders the overall environment and feel of the B-Line. I found myself enjoying the nicer areas and the spots with more greenery as it gave more life to the city.
One thing I do appreciate was the use of graffiti I noticed while walking the B-Line. Some of the commercial buildings are not aesthetically pleasing, but seeing the artwork done through the use of graffiti does an excellent job at bringing life to a part of the trail that would not have it without it. I do wish I took more pictures of the graffiti as there were some great displays of art that I saw on the trail, but this was the only one that I documented. It may seem like a small difference to add graffiti, but in my opinion it makes the area much more vibrant.
Smart City Strategies
Green Infrastructure
Green infrastructure is a great way to create a better public space for the B-Line because it would be getting rid of some of the more unpleasant sights and eye sores that could be seen along the path. The bright colors from the greenery will attract the attention to that instead of things the city of Bloomington does not want you to see, and it could also be used as a way to completely block the view to look at the commercial buildings and construction sites.
Public Art
Public Art within a city is a great implementation to add more life and to promote creativity, and this would be great if there was more of it along the B-Line. While there is currently graffiti and some architectural works of art, there should be more visual things that people can look forward to seeing. I personally think a great idea would be to create a giant mural along the B-Line that shows the history of IU basketball. It incorporates the city, and it would mean a lot for the players and coaches to be permanently there in Bloomington long after they would have played or coached for the team. Art is a great thing that attracts people to go see it, so having more art would make the B-Line that much better.
Other Pictures Taken:
Leave a Reply