Several emails sent out to the club this past week highlighted the work being done to correct a long-standing and dangerous road condition. Club members new and old may not be aware of the work that has taken place behind the scenes by Ron Brown and former Advocacy Chair Bill Hayden, so I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge their hard work and provide a bit of history behind the effort.
A few years ago, Bill Hayden and Ron Brown thought it would be a good idea to map the location of all the dangerous storm water inlet grates around Bloomington and beyond. Ron’s effort is posted on the BBC website (http://bloomingtonbicycleclub.org/grates/index.html), and he provides regular updates as new hazards are discovered and old hazards are corrected. Here’s a picture of one version of a dangerous grate along Clarizz Boulevard that we expect will be corrected soon:
Ron has persevered in bringing the issue to the attention of any public official who will listen, and his efforts are now paying off, as indicated by recent email messages shared with the BBC list. The City of Bloomington Utilities Department has started replacing dangerous grates. Riders may have noticed upgraded “cycle-safe” storm water inlets along Kinser Pike and one replacement has been made along Clarizz Boulevard near Bloomingfoods. Here’s a picture of the new cycle-safe grate along Clarizz:
According to City Council Member Tim Mayer, the use of cycle-safe grates is now a matter of city policy anytime new construction is approved or road repairs are undertaken. The number of city officials who have responded to Ron’s activism and helped move this issue forward is impressive. These include Mayor Mark Kruzan, Council members Susan Sandberg, Tim Mayer, and Andy Ruff—my thanks to all of them. Special thanks to Utilities Engineers Jane Fleig and Mike Bengtson, and of course, Ron Brown and Bill Hayden, for helping to improve Bloomington’s bicycle infrastructure.
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