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Officials gathering input on 2050 transportation plan for Bloomington area

By Lucas González

Posted July 22, 2024

The initiative is meant to identify ways in which the area’s transportation system can be improved over the next 25 years and beyond. (Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)

Residents of Bloomington, Ellettsville and Monroe County have a chance to shape the future of transportation in their communities.

The Bloomington-Monroe County Metropolitan Planning Organization (BMCMPO) is gathering public input on the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the Bloomington metropolitan area.

This area includes the City of Bloomington, the Town of Ellettsville and parts of Monroe County the Federal Transit Administration considers urbanized areas.

The initiative is meant to identify ways in which the area’s transportation system can be improved over the next 25 years and beyond. The BMCMPO will use public input to determine how to best allocate federal transportation funding, according to Erin Grushon, a project consultant with the Columbus, Ohio engineering and architecture firm Burgess & Niple.

“We look at the funding that will be available through the Federal Highways Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, and then also local and state sources to try to identify project recommendations over the next 20-plus years,” Grushon said.

Erin Grushon *(Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)*

Grushon added this project is still in a very early phase, and specific recommendations have not yet been identified. The plan will evaluate aspects such as roadways, public transit, bikeways, pedestrian walkways and freight.

“We're about halfway through the planning process, but we haven't actually identified any project recommendations at this point,” Grushon said. “We are right in between the early data collection and analysis phase. Next, we’re going to be moving into starting to shape and evaluate potential project recommendations, but we’re not there yet.”

Members of the public gathered Monday at the Switchyard Park pavilion to share their ideas during one of three public meetings scheduled for the project. Collin Nielsen, a Bloomington resident who gets around on foot, by bike and public transit, was one of several people who attended.

Nielsen said his primary motivation for coming to the meeting was to advocate for installing a bike path along roads he frequently uses to bike to his parents’ home, which is south of Ellettsville.

“I really dislike three roads I usually use to get home, and that’s (State Road) 46, Arlington Road and Smith Pike,” Nielsen said. “All those roads are pretty unsafe to bike to my parents’ house.”

Collin Nielsen (Lucas González, WFIU/WTIU News)

Nielsen said he was happy to hear a multi-use connection along Arlington Road is being considered but added he’d like to see one along Smith Pike, as well.

Otherwise, Nielsen said he generally feels comfortable biking in Bloomington. However, he added he would like to see expansions to the area’s public transit network, especially around Indiana University’s campus.

“During rush hour, a lot of buses get stuff in traffic, and that’s why I usually avoid taking the bus around campus,” he said. “Around 10th Street and such, the traffic really backs up, and to get to my part-time job downtown, it’s practically as fast to just walk for 30 minutes.”

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Nielsen said he’d like to see dedicated bus lanes on 10th Street along Third Street, which he said could be key to improving transportation around campus. He also suggested adding protected bike lanes along College Avenue and Walnut Street. The City of Bloomington is considering changes to the College-Walnut corridor.

The last Bloomington-area Metropolitan Transportation Plan had a horizon of 2045, according to Grushon. She said the 2050 plan is a result of federal regulations, which require metropolitan planning organizations to update their long-range plans every four to five years.

The next public meeting will be held in the fall of 2024 and will allow members of the public to comment on a draft plan, according to Grushon.

Members of the public can also submit comments through a survey on the BMCMPO’s website.