Commission sends Indiana Avenue safety concept back to staff after objections over bike-lane gap

The Bloomington Transportation Commission voted 6–0 to refer the Indiana Avenue Safety Improvements concept back to staff for further refinements after commissioners and members of the public raised safety and connectivity concerns.

Commissioner Flaherty moved the referral, saying he did not "agree with the staff proposed findings" and asked staff to better align the concept with the commission's criteria, including the transportation plan's call for protected bike lanes and elimination of the so-called "double threat" pedestrian crossing risk. Commissioner Binder seconded the motion; a roll-call vote passed unanimously.

Staff presented the corridor project as the product of two years of outreach and technical study. Hank Duncan, Safe Streets program manager, said the corridor between Smith and 10th is on the city's Safe Streets priority network and listed pedestrian counts collected during a 2024 review: "Within the hours of noon to 1 on 10/03/2024, we saw 400 vehicles pass through this intersection. In that same time, we saw 1,100 pedestrians pass through this intersection." The project goals stated by staff were to increase safety for all…