Over my three years at IU, I have found the B-Line trail to be one of the best ways to pass the time and get a good workout. I have visited the B-Line numerous times, but on my past couple of trips, I have walked or biked the entirety of the B-Line and the Bloomington Rail Trail.
As you can see in this screenshot, I started at the north B-Line trailhead and went south. I passed through Switchyard Park, where the B-Line trail ends and becomes the Bloomington Rail Trail, another, more rugged, urban trail to the south of the B-Line.
The B-Line features several different kinds of scenery, businesses, and restaurants. My apartment is on the north side of Bloomington, so I took my bike from there to the northmost side of the B-Line. Here, the scenery of the trail is almost completely different compared to the rest. Before the trail crosses North Rodgers Street, it is completely isolated from anything else. The area is parallel to a railroad track and is completely surrounded by woods. I found this area to be a good start for my trip due to the tree canopies creating a shady and cool path. Once the B-Line crosses N Rodgers, the scenery completely changes to being a traditional urban trail. It passes by City Hall and Bloomington Antique Mall, before crossing over 3rd Street. This area of downtown is generally bike friendly due to the lower volume of traffic and numerous bike lanes, so crossing the street on the trail is no problem. I went on Monday, April 3 at around 5 PM, and this area was not busy at all. The amount of traffic does fluctuate based on which day and time you go, as I have been in the same area on a summer weekend at noon, and the area is bustling with walkers and bikers. After crossing 3rd and 2nd Streets, the Seminary Square Kroger is right off the trail. I know this area pretty well, considering I have worked at this Kroger for the past year and a half. Generally, this area is pleasant to walk through during the day, but I would like to see the city place blue light emergency boxes, not just in this area, but all across the B-Line. Once past Kroger, the trail goes past a coffee shop and a brewery, both of which I have yet to try, but plan on doing this summer. After passing this area, I crossed another bridge across West Grimes Lane. Right across this bridge sits Switchyard Park, a former railyard, turned into the largest park in Bloomington. This is where the B-Line ends, but my journey was only half over. Past the B-Line is the Bloomington Rail Trail, an unpaved trail that intersects with the Clear Creek Trail. Once at this intersection, both trails become paved again, and the scenery around both is much like the start of the B-Line. Heavily wooded and isolated from everything, other than a glimpse at the South end of Bloomington. I heavily suggest the Bloomington Rail Trail as a way to stay cool on a hot Indiana summer day, as almost all of it is shaded and surrounded by hills that provide a nice breeze.
While these two pictures were taken on separate days, they speak to the different modes of transportation and scenery along the B-Line.
On my trips, I have come across just about every demographic in Bloomington. Primarily, young adults and college students are using the B-Line, and they are biking, walking, or running. Downtown Bloomington has a host of activities and fun things to do for all demographics, the B-Line being one of them. The B-Line is open to several types of transportation. Like me, there were several cyclists taking advantage of the large multi-use path, along with walkers, scooter riders, and busses. There are several bus stops right off of the B-Line, especially by Kroger. The overall connectivity of the B-Line is good but could be better. There are several parking lots adjacent to the B-Line, but most of these are for businesses or paid parking. The close bus stops also add an easy way to access the trail. The easy connection to the Bloomington Rail Trail and Clear Creek Trail is both convenient and an easy way to continue a walk if you desire. As far as the different land uses around the trail, the city has done an excellent job combining just about every type of business, building, and green space that it possibly can. Grocery stores, bars, restaurants, antique stores, parks, and city hall are all examples of locations that can be found on or very close to the B-Line trail. This encourages someone to switch their transportation habits because they can find almost everything they need within walking distance. The old IU Hospital on the corner of 2nd and Rodgers was just recently torn down, so we can hope to see a new neighborhood and possible green spaces being built in the area.
I love urban trails that use the rails to trails style, and I truly believe that the City of Bloomington has done an excellent job with the B-Line, but some things could be introduced to make the area safer and more enjoyable to our community. As I spoke about earlier, the city could build blue light emergency boxes along the trail. These have been implemented all over IU’s campus as a safety tool and could help keep the B-Line safe for anyone to use, day or night. This could be paired with more lights along the trail as a whole. Most of the trail is lit, but the area around Kroger is not well-lit at all. Adding these two could drastically improve safety along the trail. There are some workout stations along the trail between Kroger and Switchyard Park. Implementing more of these stations along with stats about how long a person has come while walking the trail could add to the health and fitness influence of the B-Line. There is an obvious push from the city to add more to the B-Line through expansion and more infrastructure along it, and that makes me extremely excited for the future of green transportation in Bloomington.
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