Bloomington's streetscape is getting a tweak meant to bolster the safety of those who navigate its thoroughfares on two wheels. The City has initiated the installation of new traffic barriers along East 3rd Street aimed at shielding cyclists from the hustle of vehicle traffic. Touted to enhance safety and accessibility, the work kicked off this week, hinted at completing by week's end if skies played nice, according to a City of Bloomington announcement.
Traffic might be a drag, with lane restrictions and the flagging operations that are part and parcel of such interventions, the City urges all who traverse this zone to do so with added care. The new barriers will take their stand in the painted buffer between the bike lanes and the vehicular vanguard, from South Indiana Avenue stretching to South Rose Avenue.
The effort is a continuation of the City of Bloomington’s quest to refine the 3rd Street corridor - a route where the previous year’s barriers have reportedly had success in keeping cars from co-opting cycle space for drop-offs or pick-ups. When buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians clash with vehicles errantly parked in bikeways, the scene set is fraught with hazard - something these barriers strive to mitigate.
Still, life isn’t all about barriers. At bus stops and at the crossroads of commerce and commute - intersections with turns to be made, or driveways breaking the curbside continuity - the barriers will bow out, promising not to disrupt the transit tapestry of the City.
