Op Ed on Multi-Use Bike Bridges

The following is the text of an opinion piece submitted the Bloomington Herald Times by club president Jim Schroeder in consultation with the BBC board.

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Bloomington Needs a Multi-Use/Bike Bridge Over IN-37/I-69

May is truly Bike Month in Bloomington, home of "Breaking Away" and the Little 500.

As President of the Bloomington Bicycle Club (BBC), I applaud our city government on all of its pro-bicycle programs.  The BBC is a non-political, non-profit organization that promotes bicycling for everyone, and we have advocated for safe bicycling infrastructure in the city as well as out into our county.

City Sustainability Coordinator Jacqui Bauer is quoted ("May is Bike Month in U.S. and Bloomington," Herald Times, May 3) as saying that Bloomington will make 7th Street a bicycle corridor for a good east-west route in Bloomington.  But, West 7th Street terminates at Adams Street, far short of the city's western municipal boundary at IN-37.  Moreover, none of the current or proposed city bicycle routes provide easy and safe access across IN-37.  As the idea of the economic and health benefits of bicycling expands throughout our community, it is important to find a solution for the IN-37 barrier to provide a link between the city's bicycle route system and our developed areas to the west.

The BBC has lobbied the city government for many years about the importance of having a multi-use bridge over IN-37, eventually I-69, that is fully protected from motorized vehicles.  Monroe County supports this idea, and the BBC encourages the City of Bloomington to support it also.  Such development will clearly require a multi-jurisdictional effort.

A multi-use bridge over the highway would easily link to the Monroe County Karst Greenway project, and provide access to shopping areas, elementary schools, Cook, IVY Tech, and all of the new housing development west of IN-37.  The BBC's vision for placement of an IN-37 multi-use bridge, presented in detail by Ron Brown, chair of advocacy for our club, can be found on the Advocacy page of our website (bloomingtonbicycleclub.org), and all the ideas shown there have been presented to the city, county, INDOT, and INDOT I-69 planners.  Monroe County has given the bridge strong support, and INDOT has been receptive to the idea pending City of Bloomington support.  Although a multi-use bridge spanning I-69 is no longer contained as an element of the preferred Alternative 8, a multi-use bridge bridge between SR-45/2nd Street and SR-48/3rd Street is still under consideration as a separate project championed by County Councilman Geoff McKim.  The BBC encourages all City of Bloomington agencies to support this project.

There is no good reason Bloomington shouldn't get a bridge of this sort.  Columbus has a safe multi-use path under I-65, and Indianapolis has many such accommodations.  Why should the bicycling capitol of Indiana not have one, too?