Gentleman Agitator

Alternative Transportation and Greenways Plan, Bloomington, Indiana, SAC Member Report

    Recently, I had the pleasure of being a member of a city committee here in Bloomington, Indiana that is looking at updating our Alternative Transportation and Greenways Plan. Here is my report on the work of the committee:

ATGSP SAC Member Report, by Tim Miller

    The city of Bloomington has done a good job in providing its citizens with opportunities for alternate transportation and recreational travel via the Alternative Transportation and Greenways Plan. While the original ATGSP was a good starting point, using it as a living document that changes and grows over time is essential in meeting the needs of the community. While I am a member of B-TOP, the positions I am taking in this report represent only my opinions on the ATGSP.
    As a member of the committee, I was asked to come up with short, mid and long-term priorities concerning the ATGSP. I would have preferred that we were asked priorities in terms of low, medium and high. It was also difficult for me to have time to cover every proposal in the list of recommendations for review, even in my own area of the city.
Instead, I offer a report that looks at the whole of the city and my interpretation of how the ATGSP should be laid out in its next iteration. 
Choosing transportation other than the automobile can be a risky choice in any urban area today and Bloomington is no exception. As a member of the ATGSP In trying to lie out ATGSP goals in the method asked for, I would put them this way:
    Short-term goals in general should include making sure all present sidewalks, paths and trails for the pedestrian where one part is missing a connection to another part are completed. In addition, wherever a connection crosses a street with motor vehicle traffic, there must be adequate safety street markings and signage. This is true close to where I live at the Clear Creek trail head on Country Club near Walnut. The bridge and side path on the north side are great, but it is a game of chicken with cars at times to cross the road to access the trail again or try to approach it from east or west on the south side. There are also no signs that it is a trail crossing and no pedestrian crossing lines on the road. Given the high traffic usage of this road I would make this a short-term, high priority goal. With the added improvements, this location would make this spot a great example of the ATGSP plan at its best. The bridge and side path on the north side is great. I am all for improving pedestrian options whether by sidewalk, connector path, sidepath, or multi-use trail across the city, I especially like sidepaths and would encourage their implement in the recommendations. These seem to be the most cost-effective in development and being wider than an ordinary sidewalk off the widest possible use.
    Mid-term goals should continue improvement in options for cyclists and pedestrians.
As this community has many cyclists, it is important to create alternatives for their improved access and safety. The use of sharrows in the downtown area is a step forward for cyclist’s accessibility issues. I recommend short-term into mid-term the further use of sharrows around the city on main thoroughfares. In addition, in the mid-term, I would recommend the further extension and improvement of bike routes. I feel that signage for bike routes both on the road and standing placards are somewhat difficult to read. In addition, further development of the bike boulevard concept is needed. While there may be some difficulty in east-west connections for this, I still think this is a worthy initiative. Any program which improves bike accessibility while making it safer for cyclists, especially novices, as boulevards do, would be good.
    Long-term goals should include nurturing all the before mentioned, whilst continuing to improve, mass transit options for the public.  Bloomington is fortunate to have a system as capable as Bloomington Transit (BT) bus service already a mature entity. This year, BT expects record ridership for the second year running.
BT must be integrated into the long-term transportation plans of the city. They should be encouraged to allow their new downtown terminal to be used as an inter-modal fixture including bike racks, rental bikes and placement near enough for easy access to the B-Line trail.
Also light rail in some form seems to have a future in southern Indiana. Since B-line trail right of way still has the possibility of re-use as rail and trail, consideration of this should be in the ATGSP long-term goals. There is a study currently being done by state government for a commuter rail system between Muncie, Indianapolis and Bloomington.
     Choosing transportation other than the automobile can be a risky choice in any urban area today and Bloomington is no exception. One only has to see a mother pushing a baby carriage across the third street overpass of State Highway 37, to understand this. I reiterate that the number one goal of good alternative transportation should be the safety of the citizens in using it.
    I have been glad to be apart of this committee and thank Scott Robinson and the city for inviting me. I hope that has helped in the development process of the ATGSP that is very important to our community.

Farewell to One of Indiana University's Best

Have you ever heard the phrase, "A scholar and a gentleman?" Well, it certainly fits soon to be departing Charlie Nelms, Indiana University's vice president for institutional development and student affairs.

Indiana University is approaching a new era with incoming president Michael McRobbie. I dearly wish that Vice-President Nelms were going to be here as well. I dearly wish that he had been considered for the IU presidency himself, or at least Bloomington provost. He truly has embodied the IU spirit set by the late Chancellor and President Herman B Wells. I would have been honored to have served under Charlie in either postion.

In speaking to Vice-President Nelms on a few occasions, I know he was hoping to continue his career at the head of a traditional black college. Now, Charlie Nelms time has come. He leaves IU  to become to become chancellor of North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C. NCCU's gain is definitely our loss. For in Charlie Nelms we had kind of character, skill, dedication, insight and leadership sorely needed in Indiana University's future. I wish him all the best and God's blessings in his new position. We'll miss you sir.

What is transportation for? Notes on a Speech by Dr. Norman Garrick

On March 5th, I had the pleasure of attending a speech by Norman Garrick, Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Garrick specializes in Urban Streets and Highway Design, Urban Planning, and Sustainable Transportation Systems.  He has taught at UConn for 20 years, and consulted extensively
on facility, design, urban planning and transportation systems. His speech entitled, Smart Transportation
It’s All About Building the Communities We Desire. It was given in Bloomington, Indiana’s city hall and sponsored by the civic organization, Bloomington Transportation Options for People (BTOP), which I am a member of.

Here are some of my notes on the speech:

Dr. Garrick set the tone by referencing a March 1st article in the USA Today entitled, Cities afraid of death by congestion, by Larry Copeland. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-28-freeway-inside_x.htm

The first paragraph is an oxymoronic indeed, quote, “A plan to widen part of Interstate 10 in metropolitan Phoenix from 14 lanes to 24 is the USA's latest giant superhighway proposal designed to ease the kind of gridlock that some planners say could stunt economic growth.”

Why is this oxymoronic? It is because time and again cities increase road dimensions in response to growth and to ease congestion only to make it inviting for...more growth, more cars and more car dependency! Then, people are in a traffic jam again banging on their steering wheels, keeping the cycle going. It is a paradigm our culture seems trapped in.

Dr. Garrick stated that Phoenix and Atlanta have the most freeway miles in the nation, but also are the most congested. Makes you wonder why one would want to move to the so-called “sunbelt.” I can tell you, not me. It does once again prove one of my personal maxim, “Humans love it when they find paradise, which they promptly move to and ruin.”

Sunbelt cities are not the only trouble areas. Every major metropolitan area in America has issues with their roads and the many cars that use them. Few even have any decent alternative to the car and the daily commute. Garrick pointed out that the nearest metro to Bloomington, Indianapolis has 91% of commuters using a car and Bloomington a mini-metro we could say, has 76%. Garrick declared the present system of building of roads in response to growth, “...a sixty year failed experiment.”

When looking at the big picture, Dr. Garrick likes to reference the late American historian of technology and science, Lewis Mumford. Garrick asks in his presentation, “What is transportation for?” He quotes Mumford, “A good transportation system minimizes unnecessary transportation.”

Garrick’s translation to that is, “A good transportation system provides more access with less mobility.” Smart transportation planning is what the he wants us to think about. Good planning for him includes:

1.      Use broadly defined goals embracing economic, social and environmental outcomes
2.      Plan for desired outcomes, not continuation of past trends
3.      Develop solutions maximizing access, not mobility
4.      Always give priority treatment to the cheaper, cleaner, more efficient mode of travel
5.     Support a diversity of modes to meet different needs and context

Dr. Garrick went onto look at four examples in America of cities that actually have broken out of the old paradigm in transportation planning. Portland, OR, Arlington, VA, Cambridge, MA and Davis, CA. are the cities he reported on.

The professor challenged my way of thinking about streets. He said a street should be considered a sense of place, not just a conduit. The street network serves as the bones of the city. They are the framework on which everything else depends. A framework and place is a concept that I try to wrap my head around. I would say then that the street is at any given point a part of the environment around it as it is part of the overall framework of the greater whole.

This declaration of Dr. Garrick’s on streets also stood out to me, “Today there is nobody professionally charged with determining what the street network should look like. We have abandoned this important task to the happenstance of where the highways are routed and the whim of individual developers.” This reminded me a bit of the story of Seattle’s original street layout by bitter civic rivals Doc Maynard and Arthur Denny. One man wanted streets laid out in a grid pattern, the other wanted them follow the water line of nearby Elliot Bay. If you have ever been around Seattle’s Pioneer Square, you have dealt with this clash of angles first hand and wondered as I did, “What the heck is this all about?!” Then there is the story of lifting the streets in Seattle up; I think it was 12’ so it looked like a waffle. That is another story for another time, a funny and interesting one. Dr. Garrick showed in his presentation an aerial shot of a humongous housing development that looked to be in the shape of a crop circle. Could aliens have designed it to undermine Earth’s civilization? Hmmm...

Garrick believes that there should be different streets for different reasons. They should serve the city. Streets in an urban area were once upon a time often laid out for specific reasons, only stretching within a shopping area for instance and then stopping, not going on and on and on.

He also talked about traffic speed on streets. Traffic accident speed and fatalities rise together. He noted that in Davis, California they have I think he said a 20 or 25 mile an hour area that everyone adhered to and was especially safe of cyclists. He thought that was a good model. Oh yes it is. However, it is naïve if you think the rest of America in its never ending need to get somewhere faster and faster will adhere reasonably to speed limits out of civic awareness. Bloomington certainly is not. Bloomington drivers can be very illiterate for a college town when reading speed limit signs and especially that funny, red, octagonal sign emblazoned with the letters, STOP.

Garrick ended his talk with the refrain, “The starting place for smart transportation planning is always the same, understanding the implication of the question… What is transportation for?”

It was a thought provoking question and a thought provoking speech. For more insight into Dr. Garrick’s presentation I have a link for you to download the speech (PDF) as he gave it last fall in Carmel, Indiana, almost identical to the one he gave to us here in Bloomington.

Smart Transportation
It’s All About Building the Communities We Desire: Download

IU and the Ice Storm, Part II

Yesterday I commented on Indiana University's poorly communicating with the IU community when severe weather effects the Bloomington area.  The Gentleman Agitator believes in compliments as well as criticism when warranted.

So, a tip of the fedora to IU administration for getting the word out quickly this morning. Classes and offices were cancelled until noon today because of the winter storm that hit yesterday. I believe they acted in the best safety interest of the students, faculty, and staff given the conditions. The grounds employees that did come in are also to be commended for the good conditions of the sidewalks and parking lots by noon time. Thanks!

One of my co-workers came in earlier to take photos of campus and came across a student. He asked the student what he was doing out and about. The student said he was headed to class. My co-worker told him class was cancelled until noon.

"Class is cancelled all day!" he said and then promptly whipped out his cell phone to spread the word.

He was then told only until noon. That probably bummed him a bit. But you know a half a snowball in the hand is worth a whole day not having to take that quiz in chemistry class.

Thanks for reading Gentleman Agitator.

Does Indiana University Care About Employee Safety?

Today a major winter storm has hit the greater Bloomington area. While most area educational institutions closed, IU's Bloomington campus remained open. Now, that is no great surprise. IU would only close short of an asteroid hitting the Earth. It does not matter that the roads and sidewalks become tricky to unsafe around campus and the town. It really makes me question whether or not Indiana University cares much about the safety of its students, faculty and staff.

Whenever there is bad winter weather, I listen to both local radio stations WFIU and WGCL to hear if IU has any announcement. What you hear from IU is silence. Hey! I do not care whether you announce you are closing or staying open. I just want the powers that be to say something! Is that so hard? If every other institution of learning and public service in this area can check in with the media, why cannot you IU?

Remember IU Communications; good public relations include keeping those who need to be informed about vital matters to the institution. Weather is a vital matter to students, faculty and staff, whether you think so or not. Could you be bothered to look out the window and let us know? I wonder. I interpret your silence as a shrug of indifference to safety. C'mon, Bryan Hall, we wait for the smoke signal to come out of the chimney.

Hoosier Lawmakers Need to Go to Class on Mass Transit

Last month, in a previous dispatch, I wrote about the latest proposal from the city of Cincinnati, Ohio for new mass transit options. This month I am commenting closer to home.

I live in Bloomington, Indiana. It is not a major metropolitan area. However, being home to Indiana University we get an extra influx of around 38,000 people during the school year. We are also a city that is attracting more new people including those working at our biotech companies and retirees. The city continues to grow. Like many growing cities, we have transportation issues. Like just about everywhere else in America, in Bloomington, the car is king. We live in the heart of the proposed Interstate 69 extension corridor. This would take our main road artery, State Highway 37 that starts and stops with stoplights and supersize it to a major interstate. This most Bloomington area citizens are dead set against. Yet, most in Bloomington seem to be happy with cars. That is a shame.

Mass transit in Bloomington, consists of two bus lines, Bloomington Transit and Indiana University’s campus bus service. These are both adequate services. However, I think we could have more options in getting around town and to get out of town. Were I king for a day, we would have a tramline around the community. I would like this because it would have dedicated stops rather than a bus that can be stopped anywhere at anytime. If this were built to serve downtown and campus, it could ease the glut of cars in the area. An electrified line could also eliminate a lot of pollution that buses cause. I give kudos to Bloomington Transit however for recently adding a hybrid electric bus. Thanks BT! Also, I would like to see a commuter train that made round trips to Indianapolis. With Bloomington all but being an exurb of Indianapolis, many commuters make the trek to the big city and back on workdays. A commuter train would ease congestion on the stoplight expressway of Highway 37. It would also be another reason not to build I-69 through this area, as it would again ease traffic congestion. Then again, let us be real. We know that I-69 is not about helping Hoosiers transportation needs. It is about making money and setting up a NAFTA superhighway from Mexico to Canada. Governor Daniels is really going in the wrong direction on a road to nowhere.

Last week I was attending my first meeting as a member of the Bloomington Transportation Options for People organization. Their mission statement reads: To bring about a more sustainable culture, urban form and higher quality-of-life to Bloomington citizens through improved alternatives to driving a car. I look forward to working with them.

At the meeting, I was handed a copy of an article from the Indianapolis Star, January 31, 2007, Mass transit gets stuck in slow lane at Statehouse, by Matthew Tully. 

The first line was a cold bucket of water for all those Hoosiers who support alternative forms of transportation. It read, “Anyone looking for a serious debate about mass transit would be smart to avoid the Indiana Statehouse.” Was I surprised? No. Gee, I did not even know state government in Indiana knew what mass transit was. Lead by governor Mitch Daniels, the state plan is to build more toll roads. Then, no doubt, he will sell off the new toll roads to foreign investors. This is more so-called patriotic Republicanism, by selling off our infrastructure. Little did I know there was a pearl of hope on mass transit, from a state senator that was brought to the state senate transportation committee. True to form, that pearl was crushed in fifteen whole minutes of debate in a senate committee room by Republican leadership. Why the Jim Taylor political machine in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, would be proud of such legislative dexterity.

The article goes on to tell where the pearl comes from in detail, “All told, the panel spent roughly 15 minutes considering the wild concept of relying on mass transit to fight congestion, pollution and economic weak spots. Funny thing is that was 15 more minutes than the matter typically receives.
"It would have been unheard of to have bills like this come before the General Assembly in the past," said Mike Dearing, who heads metropolitan planning efforts in Indianapolis.

Dearing was speaking about Senate Bill 105, a modest proposal from Sen. Timothy S. Lanane, D-Anderson. Lanane's bill calls on the state to study the idea of a commuter rail system between Indianapolis and Muncie, with likely stops in cities such as Fishers and Noblesville.

The study would cost $100,000 or so. By comparison, the state raised $3.8 billion for road projects from the lease of the Indiana Toll Road last year. And remember, even if the legislature approves the study, it would be an overshadowed side note to this year's main transportation debate.”

C’mon now, it just a study. You know, study, as in educate, as in educating yourselves on something that could be of great benefit to Hoosiers quality of life and economic benefit to the state. Is that too much to ask for?

Apparently, there is a little more hope this week. The chair of the House Roads and Transportation Committee, Terri Austin wants to learn more about mass transit. She has an all day hearing tomorrow on the 14th with national experts coming to discuss mass transit. To a Hoosier like me who support transportation options, a positive response from that committee would be a sweet valentine indeed.

Are you a Hoosier who supports mass transportation options? Or perhaps you support mass transit for our nation in general. Encourage our Indiana leaders! Speak out! Write them:

Rep. Terri J. Austin
Sen. Timothy S. Lanane
Sen. Vi Simpson (for Bloomington folks)
Governor Mitch Daniels 

Thanks for reading Gentleman Agitator.