NUTTY BLOOMINGTON INDIANA PROJECTS

Things are happening that make no sense.

1. Wasting tax money on a huge convention center with hotels.

   This cost a lot of tax dollars and closed streets for weeks.

   It probably will not make the money the city expects.

   We do not need a convention center.

   
   
2. Wasting tax money on funding artists.

   Art is a luxury, not a necessity.

   Work that produces products people need is the source of all wealth.

   People who chose the arts as a profession do not need to be subsidized. They are producing no wealth.

   Nobody has a real need for art - just a desire.

   
   
3. This U-turn mess could have been a real interchange instead.

   Here is the original layout of these roads at IN 45/46 at Monroe St, and Stonelake Drive.
   Monroe Street is to the south, Stonelake Drive is to the north.
   Arlington Road is at the left edge of the diagram overpassing IN 45/46.

   

   Here is what they built with two U-turn sites:

   

   Here is the real interchange they could have built instead:

   
   
4. The city's two-way bicycle path on one side of a two-way street is hazardous.

   This was done on Seventh Street and will be on Second Street.

   This causes a hazard because the average motorist doesn't know how to drive it safely.

   The standard right-of-way rules do not work right on this design.

   Most drivers cannot see bicycles coming from behind them on either side.

   This is driven by political desires of cyclists, not safety.

   Anyone driving on these streets must exercise extreme caution.

   The page author refuses to drive on these streets and refuses to go to businesses there.

   The Terrible 7-line shows the dangers

   
   
5. Speed Humps all over Bloomington, even on major thorofares.

   This is very uncomfortable for people with bad backs.

   It also can damage certain vehicles.

   There should be a special place in hades for people who want speed bumps or humps:
     They should be eternally forced to ride over many speed humps while enduring bad backs.

   
   
6. Leading 5 second pedestrian interval before vehicles are released.

   This wastes the amount of time for two vehicles to go through the intersection.

   The left turn flashing arrow is not delayed by the same amount.
     Left turns could cross pedestrian paths during this safety interval

   Yellow-stretching cars entering the intersection on red are entering even later because the cross street lights are still red.

   They changed some signals from semi-actuated to pretimed to do this, wasting intersection time when no cars are waiting or when a short line is waiting.

   The leading interval should be skipped when pedestrian buttons are not pushed.

   
   
7. "Construct-Trap Two" blocked most streets west of Walnut - all at the same time:

   - Grimes Lane

   - First Street*

   - Second Street (often down to one lane)

   - Kirkwood Avenue*

   The only ways to the west side from Downtown Bloomington are Country Club Drive and 17th Street.
    

   At the same time these other roads were closed or obstructed:

   - Curry Pike (being repaved)

   - College Avenue* (for the convention center above)

   - Walnut Street downtown (for the convention center above)

   - South Walnut Street

   - Third Street

   - Burks Drive

   - Union Street

   - IN 46 west

   - IN 45 east

   - In 48 West

   - Rhorer Road

   - Rockport Road
    

   * The detour for this uses the construction part of Second Street.

   There was even a detour on one of the detours for a short period.

   
   
8. During the above construction, one green arrow was displayed well over 10 seconds each cycle.

   That turn (Walnut onto Grimes) was closed to traffic by the construction.

   This wastes that amount of time, because oncoming traffic has a red for the entire time of that unused turn phase.

   Either the detector is broken or the phase is set to recall max.

   
   
9. Many other traffic signals are also calling a minor turn arrow every cycle because the detector is broken or the phase is set to recall max.

   This wastes gasoline for every second a gasoline engine car is stopped.

   
   
10. The city and construction companies do not even know the correct way to use detour signs:

    The rectangular sign with DETOUR in black inside the orange arrow and a black background is a mandatory turn for the detour.
      It is usually placed on a barricade.

    The diamond shaped sign with a black arrow and an orange background is also a required detour for the major road it is posted on.
      It can also be placed at the point where the detour begins.

    The smaller rectangular sign with detour and an arrow shows the route to be followed by the detour.
      It should have the name of the street or road the detour is for on a supplementary plate.

    
    
11. The city and county are using the Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon wrong.

    This is a signal with one yellow light and two red lights that pedestrians can activate.

    The Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices says this should not be used at intersections.
      This is because the signal does not control traffic on the other street at an intersection.
      A regular traffic signal should be installed at any intersection.

    Every Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon signal in the area was placed at an intersection.

    The Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon wastes 20 seconds of driver time when only one pedestrian is present.

    Often the pedestrian crosses while the yellow light is flashing (like at a flashing rectangular signal), wasting the rest of the crossing time the signal provides.

    
    
12. HOW TO CAUSE A TRAFFIC JAM WITHOUT REALLY TRYING.

    A utility bucket truck stopped to fix a utility line next to a street.

    It stopped near the pole, blocking one lane, so it could lift a man to the utility line.

    They had one flagman to operate a sign to alternate the direction of traffic past the truck.

    Unfortunately, this location was on one leg of a roundabout.

    Every time the flagman changed the direction to release traffic going toward the roundabout, traffic from the other legs locked up the roundabout.

    This was because that traffic could not exit on the blocked leg.

    The result was that they could not empty out the direction approaching the roundabout.

    Traffic backed up on Winslow Road from High Street (the roundabout site) to Walnut Street Pike.

    When alternating directions on a roundabout leg, they need four flagmen.

    The other three block all of the approaches of the roundabout, releasing only one approach at a time.