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Council advances ordinance to formalize seasonal pedestrian Kirkwood, sends final action to June 3
Summary
Council members introduced an ordinance to codify a seasonal pedestrian closure of Kirkwood Avenue (April–November) and discussed accessibility, emergency exceptions and implementation. Sponsors and staff agreed to continue deliberations; the council moved final consideration to June 3 to allow more review and coordination.
Council member Daley introduced an ordinance to amend Title 15 of the Bloomington Municipal Code to create a chapter listing streets and alleys closed to vehicular traffic and to codify a seasonal, pedestrian Kirkwood Avenue each year from April through November.
Daley, the ordinance sponsor, said the change would provide “budgetary certainty” so businesses and the city could invest in higher-quality ADA-compliant infrastructure and move beyond temporary ramps and ad hoc setups. He described the ordinance as including an emergency valve that would allow the city engineer to reopen the street temporarily “if there's an emergency, maybe perhaps a utility disruption.”
The discussion focused on logistics and authority. Council members and staff highlighted concerns about deliveries, public safety routing, bus access and long-term maintenance. Director Cooper Smith told the council she was “largely just trying to be here as a resource,” and cautioned that staff currently staffs programmed activations under a consultant-driven model; a full-season closure this year would be hard to program without additional capacity and funding.
Transportation Commission members said they would hold a special session on June 8 to review the proposal and possibly issue a recommendation. Council attorney Allen said his initial read of state code suggests the council likely has authority over street regulation but that he would provide a more thorough written analysis.
Public commenters offered mixed views. Joshua Stockton noted that closing the block in front of the library would remove accessible on-street parking; Greg Alexander contested the reliability of vendor-supplied visit counts used by staff and urged decision-makers to prioritize “quality of place.” Business and civic representatives emphasized the need to ensure infrastructure and operations are in place before a permanent seasonal closure.
Rather than take a final vote, the council unanimously agreed to move consideration of the ordinance to its June 3 meeting so councilors would have time to review details and public input and—if needed—retain time to override a mayoral veto. The motion to reschedule carried 9–0. The council left the ordinance on the calendar for further review and additional refinements with staff and stakeholders.
