benfulton

joined 2 years ago
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Eight arrested for drugs at Seminary Park

One was arrested for "Marijuana Possession" so I'm sure we will all sleep better tonight knowing that the person who smokes pot is off the streets!

I do not understand Mayor Thomson's war on the homeless. She says, "we are intent on supporting prevention, treatment and recovery to address the root causes of these complex issues” but we only ever see arrests. It's not why we elected her.

https://bsquarebulletin.com/eight-arrested-for-drugs-at-seminary-park-bloomington-mayor-says-move-aims-to-protect-vulnerable-residents/

@bloomington_in

#homeless

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 1 week ago

@bloomington_in Somebody wants them to geofence them off the sidewalks. Yeah, GPS isn't precise enough for that.

City is wanting to license a single vendor but that's not ready to go yet.

"We've had some issues with safety with the scooters." Not nearly as many as we've had with cars! 🀨

Now back to admin stuff. There are a couple of proposed stop signs at the very end of the meeting but I'm not sure I'll be able to hold out until then!

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

@bloomington_in The speeding person was concerned that Engineering wasn't enough, wants more Enforcement. (No word on Education, the third E.)

Finally, a former member of the traffic commission hopes the commission will be involved more than the old commission was.

Now a report on the Bird scooter license. Three vendors last year but only Bird is re-upping.

Wish we could see the speakers!

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 1 week ago (2 children)

@bloomington_in

Now discussing a left turn lane going into Blue Ridge. Apparently the old traffic commission got disbanded and left the project in limbo πŸ˜‚

I don't think it will help that much. It's turning south *out* of Blue Ridge that's dangerous. Still, if it slows people down that will be good.

Some public comment. Someone wants more Blue Ridge traffic changes. Someone agrees with me about left turns πŸ˜€ and is worried about gameday traffic. Someone is concerned about speeding.

 

Transportation Commission now meeting

Some administrative stuff - Barbara McKinney has resigned already - then going over 180-day orders that the city engineer has made. Apparently only one camera running; the engineer is talking but we can only see the commission.

I think you should be able to agree with motions not only with "Aye" or "Yes" but also, "Yer rootin' tootin'!"

Some confusion in how these 180-day orders become permanent, or cancelled.

@bloomington_in

#transportation

 

Introducing THREE πŸ†• display monitors at the Downtown Transit Center!

Oh, cool. I need to go down and have a look at this.

Live tracking information for BT fixed-route buses is now visible both inside and outside the building.

https://bsky.app/profile/bloomingtontransit.bsky.social/post/3lu6r6oc57c2i

@bloomington_in

#PublicTransport

 

Bloomington OKs $209K contract to study Rogers Street corridor, part of safe streets effort

β€œEssentially, the study, funded locally, will help the City develop a vision of the corridor”

Sounds great, but they're supposed to be studying the College/Walnut and 3rd/Atwater corridors as well. We've not heard a thing about those. Let's see some results!

https://bsquarebulletin.com/bloomington-oks-209k-contract-to-study-rogers-street-corridor-part-of-safe-streets-effort/

@bloomington_in

#UrbanPlanning #SafeStreets

 

Little 500 veteran killed in cycling crash

Steven Ballinger was a competitive cyclist and biked on a team that placed second in the Little 500 in 2003. Details are sketchy, but he was killed in an incident with a vehicle in Santa Fe last week.

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local/_news/he-was-really-loved-man-killed-in-cycling-crash-was-staple-in-santa-fes-pickleball/article/_45aad92a-b220-45ce-816e-618b3f040fa8.html

@bloomington_in

#cycling #Little500

 

Bloomington Transportation Commission now meeting for the first time

Nothing surprising happening, mostly setting down rules and figuring out schedules and agendas.

Still two vacancies on the commission, seven members have been named. Then they opened it up for public comment, and wow, three people got up to discuss the rules!

And, unbelievable, somebody got up to discuss Hawthorne-Weatherstone πŸ˜‚ We're going to be hearing about that for the next ten years.

@bloomington_in

#UrbanPlanning

 

Bloomington Transit looks to boost micro-transit numbers with free downtown zone trips

An interesting solution to the fact that people hate parking out of sight of their final destination. I've barely used this service as I've never been able to get the app to work, but I just tried it successfully so I may give it another go. Bloomington's entire downtown is tiny though, something like a six-block square.

https://bsquarebulletin.com/bloomington-transit-looks-to-boost-micro-transit-numbers-with-free-downtown-zone-trips/

@bloomington_in

#transit #parking

 

Transportation Commission inaugural meeting cancelled

Bloomington's Bike/Ped commission got shut down after they voted against adding stop signs all along a major bike route. It was supposed to be replaced with a new Transportation Commission, which has two members and seven vacancies and has never met.

Does Transportation here mean "cars" as it does in "INDOT"? It still remains to be seen.

https://bloomington.in.gov/boards/transportation-commission

@bloomington_in

#cycling #walking

 

New bike lane barriers on 3rd Street

Now we're getting somewhere! I really love these little barriers - they keep cars from encroaching on the bike lane and I'm sure they're very cheap (I still wouldn't let a six-year-old bike on 3rd Street though).

Also I went by Longview this afternoon and they're making good progress on a multi-use path there as well. Very exciting!

@bloomington_in

#BikeTooter #BikeLanes

 

Are parking fines a revenue center for Bloomington?

Good to see the B-Square getting back to solid investigative reporting! The city is doing a survey about parking, link in the article.

"When The B Square checked the city's online financial information to confirm the $1.61 million in revenue from parking fines in 2024 and $1.71 million for 2023, there did not appear to be a plausible line corresponding to those figures."

https://bsquarebulletin.com/are-parking-fines-a-revenue-center-for-the-city-of-bloomington/

@bloomington_in

#parking

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 3 months ago

@bloomington_in Got to say, Mayor Thomson is a master of the art of politispeak.

β€œI recognize the urgency many are feeling. Though our authority is limited in this space, our commitment to supporting our community within the bounds of the law remains constant.”

(Which is definitely preferable to listening to Senator Jim Banks calling his constituents "clowns", so there's that)

 

Federal Agents Conduct Unannounced ICE Operations Across Bloomington, Sparking Fear and Confusion

"A series of unannounced sweeps by heavily armed federal agents in and around Bloomington this week has ignited widespread fear, anxiety, and speculation across the community, particularly among immigrants, refugees...Videos and photos began surfacing Tuesday morning, showing agents in tactical gear conducting door-to-door searches."

https://bloomingtonian.com/2025/05/01/federal-agents-conduct-unannounced-ice-operations-across-bloomington-sparking-fear-and-confusion/

@bloomington_in

#ICE

 

Property tax measure would short school funding by $750M

"According to a fiscal impact statement from the Legislative Services Agency, the bill would reduce property tax funding for public schools by three-quarters of a billion dollars over the next three years. Cities, towns and counties would also see big cuts."

Bloomington, in particular, would lose out on $17 million over the next three years, about 10% of expected revenue.

https://inschoolmatters.wordpress.com/2025/04/11/property-tax-measure-would-short-school-funding-by-750m/

@bloomington_in

#Education

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

@Willard @Emmeline Any significant car traffic should be on 3rd or 10th, not this tiny road.

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 2 points 4 months ago

@Emmeline @bloomington_in Don't give them ideas! I suspect that the goal is to make it so unusable that they can rip out the bike lanes without anyone complaining :)

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 4 months ago

@bloomington_in Neighborhood sounds a bit like a low-flying plane is constantly nearby now. I wonder how many people are running generators?

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 2 points 5 months ago

@bloomington_in

Fortunately Kirkwood will be closed to car traffic for the summer soon. It has all the same stop signs, but a much wider car-free area and not nearly as much of a climb. Kirkwood will be a much better east-west route for biking than the 7-Line will be.

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 6 months ago

@KrissyKat @bloomington_in My guess is they're the only ones that could afford the bribes.

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

@KrissyKat @bloomington_in I only know what I read in the papers. The council refused to consider the mayor's pick for the historic preservation commission, and the deputy mayor accused the council of trying to raise the salary of the spouse of one of the members.

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

@markstos @bloomington_in So I suppose bike route algorithms recommend the bypass generally? I wouldn't. Between the debris thrown up on the path by speeding cars, and just generally the amount of carbon monoxide you suck in, I'll take my ebike quite a bit farther to avoid it.

#BikeTooter #ebike

[–] benfulton@hoosier.social 1 points 10 months ago

@markstos @bloomington_in Maybe because it is high car ownership and car density? πŸ™‚ Past Griffy there is the dog park and the north end of Cascades, so it really finishes out the circuit I think. Also at the 2500 block of Walnut there is an area designated as an "Urban Village Center", so maybe they'll do something with that as well.

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