Primary winner
[1. What do you think is the most important transportation change Bloomington/Ellettsville can make over the coming decade? Why?
2. To this end, what are the concrete actions you will take during your term, if elected?
3. For several years, a proposal to consolidate Bloomington Transit (BT) and IU Campus Bus has been discussed in our community. This move has the potential to bring additional funding on the order of approximately $2 million per year to our community for transit. Do you think Bloomington should actively encourage the bus merger, and if so, what would you do to move it forward?
4. How can we accelerate implementation of alternative transportation projects that have been proposed, but not moved forward?
5. What’s the next step to encourage bicycle use on a daily basis?
6. What mode(s) of transportation do you use for your daily or weekly routine? How often do you use modes other than a car?]
Q1. Preparing for a post-oil economy. The Peak Oil Task Force’s “Redefining Prosperity” report identifies the key issue by stating, “Of all sectors of the US Economy, transportation is the most petroleum-dependent and the most vulnerable to disruption resulting from declining world petroleum supplies. Ninety-seven percent of transportation energy is reliant on fossil fuel.”
Our local transportation strategy must include emphasis on “obvious” transportation alternatives such as bicycle-pedestrian infrastructure and public transit services. But we also have to plan and zone in manners that reduce the frequency and length of travel for live/work purposes. Ten years and beyond, as the question asks, we must also be continuing to work with state and federal governments on passenger rail. I was able to get Bloomington included in state legislation that directed the State of Indiana to study passenger rail service in and around Indianapolis. We’ll have to stay in that mix as well as in federal rail planning.
Q2. We have already adopted a Complete Streets Policy and will continue to work to fully implement plans it calls for to ensure that all modes of transportation including biking and walking are included in transportation corridor development.
The League of American Bicyclists last year recognized Bloomington as a Silver-ranked Bicycle-Friendly Community. That was the first improvement to our designation since 2003. Our goal, though, is to achieve a Platinum Level designation. The Platinum Bicycle Task Force created by city government will be implementing numerous transportation-related improvements that will make ours an even more sustainable community. Those strategies include more bike lanes, bicycle boulevards, connector paths, and sidewalks and sidepaths. I just announced a $1.5-2 million package to implement those initiatives. See below for details.
An effective, integrated transportation system considers development patterns in addition to accommodating bike & ped, transit and vehicles. The guiding principles are diversity, efficiency, and accessibility.
We’ve already made substantial strides in Development Patterns. There has been a significant increase in Downtown residential density with the addition of 1,500 beds since 2002 and 700 more planned. We’ve also established responsible development elsewhere in the urban core that revives downtown neighborhoods, supports downtown businesses, reduces demand for vehicular transit and increases bike and ped traffic.
We have made and will make revisions to the UDO to further encourage dense, mixed use development. Specifically, the Growth Policies Plan will be revised to strengthen and refine responsible and sustainable development requirements. Those revisions will include “activity nodes” (aka neighborhood centers) in suburban areas, considering ways to make bike and ped travel feasible in all areas of the city.
Bloomington Transit has made regular and dramatic ridership increases, from 2 million to 3 million passengers since I was first elected mayor. We are continuing to support BT, most recently by keeping the BT hub in the downtown as opposed to the outskirts of the city where land is less expensive. The hope is to merge bus systems (See next question), but whether that happens or not, we will work with IU to integrate technology into the system with kiosks, smart phone applications, transit appliances, and integration with Google maps, etc.
I go into more detail on alternative transportation below, but let me say now that we will increase the number of miles of bike lanes, commit more TIP dollars to bike and ped-specific projects, and update the Long Range Transportation Plan using a multi-modal traffic demand model.
We are also going to form an internal, joint departmental committee consisting of representatives from Public Works, Planning, Parks, Economic & Sustainable Development, Office of the Mayor, Utilities, IT, HR, Council and others to ensure bike and ped projects are given equal weight in the capital projects selection process.
We will increase coordination with IU on future bike developments and planning; work with the university to expand car-sharing program downtown; and work with BPD, the Bloomington Bicycle Club and others to develop an enforcement plan targeting cycling-related issues.
Q3. City government and Bloomington Transit (two distinct entities) have both aggressively pursued a merger with IU’s bus system. There are two issues that need to be considered. First, IU wants to maintain more management authority than makes sense in a truly merged system. It’s also an important issue because State and Federal transportation officials will demand a system that is merged in more than just name.
Second, the additional $2 million is frequently sited as a justification for merging. That dollar amount has taken on a life of its own, but it is an uncertain figure. More importantly, it is highly likely that any initial funding increase will be quickly followed by a redistribution of dollars by the state legislature. Other communities will not idly allow more money to flow to another community. A new distribution formula could, and likely would, negate any temporary gain. The motivation for merger must be efficiencies and service improvement and, unfortunately, not new dollars.
Q4. Many alternative transportation projects have already moved forward. In fact, city government has allocated more dollars for alternative transportation in recent years than at any time in history.
• The number of miles of bike routes has increased from 11 to 40.
• Bike lane miles increased from 8 to 13.
• Trails and sidepath miles are up from 15 to 25.
• Total alternative system miles are up from 44 to 78.
I recently announced even more investment on this front in the form of a significant bike and ped funding initiative to address the mobility needs of bicyclists and pedestrians in the community.
The initiatives are ultimately designed to elevate Bloomington’s status as a bicycle friendly community. In October 2010, Bloomington received a Silver level Bicycle Friendly Community designation from the League of American Bicyclists. This designation upgraded Bloomington’s Bronze rating, which was awarded in 2003. Bloomington’s goal, as officially outlined in a City Council resolution adopted on May 12, 2010, is to elevate the community’s bicycle friendly designation to the highest status, Platinum, by 2016. Only three cities in the United States have attained Platinum designation – Portland, OR; Davis, CA; and Boulder, CO.
My initiative is directed to one goal — making investments that will elevate our status as a Bicycle Friendly Community and keep our city sustainable and viable for future generations.
Specifically, the City is proposing an aggressive implementation plan to fund the following projects:
A. Greenways Implementation Plan - This analysis will make specific recommendations concerning what bicycle facilities should be constructed on key street corridors identified for such facilities in the City’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation and Greenways System Plan.
The results of this analysis will allow the City to install facilities such as bike lanes, shared road markings (sharrows), and bicycle boulevards to carry out the recommendations of the Plan.
B. Installation of Bicycle Facilities as recommended by the Greenways Implementation Plan - Once the implementation plan has been completed, the City will start installing recommended bicycle facilities such as bike lanes, sharrows, and bicycle boulevard improvements. Improvements such as striping and signage will be funded by the Public Works Department. More substantial capital improvements such as bicycle and pedestrian crossings along high traffic streets may require federal funding assistance.
Those first two are a holistic, community-wide approach to promoting bicycling and pedestrian transportation in Bloomington. The next two are very significant and also related. Every time I reference the B-Line Trail, I note how important it is in and of itself. But I also always reference that I view the B-Line as the backbone of a wider trail system. It will be a 3.1 mile trail that connects into other trails north and south. Collectively, there will be more than 7 miles of connected trail. I’ve also, though, announced plans to begin to branch out to the east and west. Most significantly, we’re going to connect Bryan Park — and beyond — to the B-Line. That takes me to the following initiatives.
C. Allen Street Bicycle Boulevard – The Allen Street corridor is identified in the City’s Greenways Plan as a highly desirable biking route connecting west and east side neighborhoods to such destinations as the B-Line Trail, Bryan Park, and the City’s future park on the McDoel Switchyard property.
I’m proposing an aggressive schedule to construct a bicycle boulevard along this corridor running from Patterson Drive to the west to College Mall Road to the east. Phase I will be constructed this year and run from Bryan Park to South Walnut Street. Additionally, the City proposes to seek Tax Increment Finance District funding this year to design and construct the boulevard from Walnut Street west to the B-Line Trail, through the McDoel Gardens neighborhood to Patterson Drive as well as east through Bryan Park, and further east to College Mall Road. This portion of the boulevard would start construction in 2012.
D. Black Lumber Spur Trail Construction - In addition to providing an on-street biking corridor to the B-Line Trail, the City also proposes to create a key bicycle and pedestrian linkage to the B-Line by purchasing and constructing a trail along this abandoned railroad spur. The spur runs from South Henderson Street, along the north side of the Black Lumber property, and eventually terminates into the City’s recently acquired Switchyard property. The City proposes to construct this project in 2014/2015 using 80% federal funding.
E. Implementation of College Mall Pedestrian Accessibility Study - Increasing the safety and comfort of pedestrians who are using the College Mall, Eastland Plaza, and Jackson Creek Shopping areas is another important City goal. To that end, the City Planning Department worked closely with the Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Commission to complete a pedestrian accessibility study of this area in 2010. The City proposes to use a combination of federal and local money in 2014 to design and implement improvements recommended in this study, including handicapped ramps, sidewalk construction, transit shelters, crosswalks, and pedestrian signalization.
We are very excited to propose this new and progressive package of bicycle and pedestrian projects in addition to all the other commitments we’ve made over the last 7 years to create a balanced transportation plan for Bloomington. If we’re going to achieve our shared goal of elevating our Bicycle Friendly Community designation by 2016, these are the kinds of investments we have to be considering now. We look forward to working with the City Council’s Platinum Task Force later this year to propose even more initiatives.
Q5. Providing safe routes. Improving connectivity of existing bikeways. Continuing to promote bicycle safety courses as well as safety equipment distribution programs. Enforcement of vehicular and cycling ordinances and laws. Build upon our already strong bicycle parking program, which involves bike rack installation throughout the city and converting parking spaces on-street and in parking garages for cyclist use. Aggressive public awareness and education programming. Ordinances such as “No Right Turn On Red” and reduced speed limits have already been implemented and will continue. Bicycle Boulevards will be built — and will link important destinations throughout the city including shopping, employment, and recreation centers. As an employer, we reward employees who frequently ride to work as a part of our benefit package. We’re also making space available to the Bike Project for its good works.
Q6. I drive a union-made, hybrid vehicle. I set meetings within walking distance of City Hall that allow me to support locally owned Downtown establishments!
