Kirkwood Reopened With Pedestrian Enhancements; Board Of Public Works To Consider Petition For Temporary Weekend Street Closures

(BLOOMINGTON) – The City of Bloomington continues to advance projects enhancing safety, transportation, economic vitality, and quality of life this spring. Improvements to city streets, parking facilities, and bicycle/pedestrian infrastructure are among the essential activities permitted to proceed by state and local regulations and in compliance with current public health guidelines. Several projects have been able to proceed more quickly and cause less disruption and inconvenience than with normal levels of traffic. City employees are practicing and working with contractors to implement CDC protocols regarding physical distancing, hygiene, and disinfection of vehicles and equipment to protect workers engaged in these projects and prevent community transmission of COVID-19.   

Kirkwood Avenue Maintenance Project 

Completed this week, the Kirkwood Avenue Maintenance Project replaced aging brick crosswalks and ADA-compliant curb ramps and installed metal ground sockets (to house removable bollard barriers) at each intersection along the city’s landmark boulevard.  In all, 44 curb ramps, 20 stamped concrete crosswalks, and 90+ ground sockets were installed along Kirkwood. The length of Kirkwood has been milled and paved, with final striping being completed this week, and the street has reopened to vehicular traffic in all directions.  The project will be completed seven weeks ahead of the original project completion deadline of July 31.

A westward view down Kirkwood Avenue from the newly installed crosswalk at Indiana Avenue.

Removable bollards have been placed in racks at three locations near Kirkwood, where they will be stored when not being used to convert the street into a pedestrian-friendly plaza for street fairs and other purposes.   At their meeting Tuesday, June 9 from 5:30-7 p.m., the Board of Public Works will hear a petition from Kirkwood restaurateurs requesting temporary encroachment into the right-of-way to use the street, with bollards in place, for physically distanced seating, per current public health guidelines.  The petition specifies that the encroachment, which would restrict vehicular traffic along Kirkwood, would be limited to weekends and that traffic would continue to flow north and south on the streets intersecting Kirkwood.  Details for the public meeting follow: 

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Meeting ID: 934 5653 6370

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Adams Street Sidewalk and Intersection Improvements Project

Work continues to construct a protected bicycle lane on the west side of South Adams Street from South Patterson Drive to West Kirkwood Avenue. A  sidewalk and a protected bike lane have already been constructed on the east side of Adams.  The project also replaces the traffic signal equipment and implements lane changes at the intersection of Adams and Kirkwood.  The project is designed to improve the safety of the intersection for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists.  Drivers should be attentive to lane changes and ongoing construction at and near the intersection.  The project is scheduled for completion on July 30. More information about the project is available here.  

Milling/Paving and Concrete Repair 

The 2020 paving and concrete/curb repair season continues this week with the completion of paving along South Wingfield Drive from East Moores Pike to the street’s end, and from East Breckenmore Drive from South Wingfield to the road’s end. Paving crews are also active along East Regents Circle from Moores Pike to Regents Ct. Sidewalks are being installed this week along East Grimes Lane from South Walnut Street to South Henderson Street.  This year’s proposed paving schedule is mapped at this link

East Third Street Resurfacing/Reconfiguration Project                             

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is currently paving a 1.4-mile section of East Third Street between College Mall Road and State Road 446 as part of a resurfacing/reconfiguration project.  Motorists should drive cautiously and remain alert to temporary lane shifts.  Following paving, the roadway will be reconfigured between Clarizz and S.R. 446 to include a center turn lane, with one travel lane in each direction. Bike lanes will also be incorporated on each side. The project is scheduled to be completed by August 2020.  More information about the project is available through INDOT at in.gov/indot or 1-855-463-6848. 

More information about current City-led infrastructure projects is available here.  When encountering improvement projects, drivers are asked to travel slowly, cautiously, and distraction-free through the construction zone and be attentive to lane changes for their safety and that of the workers.