The crest of the hill on 8th street has inadequate lighting. People on the sidewalk are invisible for security purposes, and cannot see obstacles to walk safely. A neighbor hit my car door because he could not see it. People leave their porch lights on all night, so we have some visibility.
The sidewalk from High to Arden passes through a small wooded area that is not lit. It is intimidating to walk through. There is an electric transfer box nearby between two properties. Hopefully a light can be installed.
There needs to be 1 or 2 streetlights put it on east 12th street between Grant street and North Walnut. It is especially dark in between Lincoln and Washington street and at night you cannot see the sidewalk at all. Most people living on E12th street are students, many of whom have night classes ending as late as 9 or 10pm. My roommates and I specifically have classes ending at 8:30 and 9 when the streets are too dark to see anything. With the current atmosphere in Bloomington, many residents of 12th street feel unsafe walking home from class, work, or to their neighbors. Installing A street lamp or two would greatly improve the safety and comfort of people living on E 12th street. The attached photo shows just how dark the sidewalk is with out a flash light at night. No one should have to feel afraid of walking down their own street at 8pm and the addition of street lamps on E12th street can help fix this.
Hello, At 7:30am, someone began jack-hammering the sidewalk immediately outside my apartment window at 222 N College Ave. There are several apartments facing that sidewalk at this location, and it is directly across the street from the Hilton Hotel. In other words, since many people may be trying to sleep in this area, it seems a bit unreasonable to start something so loud before 8am. Thanks for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Kristen Strandberg
I am the homeowner at 3817 S Woods Edge Bend. Can the city repair my sidewalk? My insurance company is saying this is necessary, and I don't know how to get this done.
I own a home that is currently rented at 852 S Romans Way, (Gentry Honours). Today I noticed a hole in the front yard between the sidewalk and curb area. The hole is about 8 inches around, but there is a cavern below it that is about 1.5 cu ft. Thank you!!
I own a home that is currently rented at 852 S Romans Way, (Gentry Honours). Today I noticed a hole in the front yard between the sidewalk and curb area. The hole is about 8 inches around, but there is a cavern below it that is about 1.5 cu ft. Thank you!!
Once again the police have had to come into our area, following a street fight along the sidewalk between our homes. Just 2 nights ago shots were being fired less than 12ft. from my grandson's bedroom at 1am on that sidewalk. Police did find 1 of the 6 teens. Yesterday the fight landed two young adults in my driveway seeking refuge from an out of control violent young man. I'm disabled on crutches, and when I tried to stop the attacker from coming on my property he threatened serious harm to me and my grandson. Just before it got deadly, police with a K-9 arrived. Thank you BPD. The cut-thru sidewalk has become a danger and a menace to all of us and it is used mainly for bad activity. It needs to be closed, and the broken steps up to 12th street need to go. Many of us are elderly, disabled, and tired of these constant problems. City leaders NEED to come and see this area, and the trash, broken steps, empty drug needles, etc. We need help beyond having to call BPD all the time. Please take this seriously before someone is not just assaulted again, but perhaps shot. 2 gun incidents this spring is 2 too many. Thank You.
As a 25-year-old recent IU Bloomington graduate and current resident of Bloomington, I have seen many problems with the snow removal and road maintenance over the past six years of my residence here. But it wasn't until I began working full-time on the west side of town, commuting daily from Seventeenth Street to Liberty Drive (by way of 45/46 and 37), that I realized just how much of a problem this town has with snow removal. First of all, I'm originally from Northwest Indiana, where snowfall accumulates to more than 3 feet at times and does not have a chance to melt down overnight before another snow fall. My hometown gets lake-effect snow on top of naturally occurring snowfall from the months of November well into early March. This weather does not faze our road workers, nor does it deter our drivers. None of us need chains on our tires, plows and salt of our own, or large SUVs with expensive, winter-weather tires to get to work or to school. Because our roads are plowed and salted before we even wake up in the morning. This is why I find it ridiculous that I cannot get to work, schools are closed and most businesses are closed when there are merely three to four inches of snow on the ground. This just blows my mind. As a full-time employee of a large company located on the West side of town, I commute from near the football stadium to the bypass and onto 37, before using West Second Street to complete my morning drive. When I cannot safely make it to work in the morning, it is a shame. I almost find it laughable that this large, thriving city with so much to offer cannot sufficiently provide for its residents a simple task such as plowing and salting the roads. I'd like to reference the snippet provided on the city's street department website as an example of my bone to pick: "The Street Department is in charge of keeping the City of Bloomington's streets free of ice and snow during inclement weather. Whenever there is a danger of icy or snowy conditions on the roadways of the city, the Street Department will monitor conditions and respond accordingly. When snow or ice begins accumulating on the streets, plowing and/or salting operations will commence." Compared to other cities I've visited in the Midwest, the street department here seems lazy and inept to say the very least. In my hometown, the plows work all night, or at least begin working at 4 a.m. They don't wait for snow to "begin accumulating on the streets" until they *actually* do something, unlike what is written in the description of Bloomington's street department website. I realize budgets are tight and have likely already been set for 2014, as far as city services are concerned. But some re-organization of services, I feel, is in order. Some suggestions for improvement of this essential city service would be to prepare accordingly for bad weather by salting the roads prior to snowfall and ice accumulation. This way, as the snow and ice melts during the early hours of the evening, the salt will help to prevent ice from forming on major intersections (such as 45/46 and North Walnut Street, where I almost slid into a full spin this morning while making a turn at 10 miles per hour) and major roadways like Highway 45/46 and Highway 37. Last night, at 6 p.m. when I got home from work, I already had a winter weather advisory pop up on my phone that stated snow accumulation was possible throughout the night, and that ice was possible as well. If I'm just a basic resident receiving this notification, then surely a city employee of the street department would receive it. Or *should* receive it. Another suggestion would be to employ plows that will work at 4:30 in the morning, or earlier, to ensure the roads are clear. I feel this is imperative. Most people who work in this city cannot get to work at 7 a.m., let alone 8 or 9 a.m. on some days, because absolutely *nothing* has been done to ensure the safety of the roads during snowy/icy weather. This causes people to miss work, students to miss important classes and city businesses to lose customers and money. When it all is said and done, I cannot believe that this city cannot take well enough care of its roads - preventative care - to ensure the safety of its roads, when other cities have the ability to clear and salt and prepare for this weather (exponentially worse weather) without breaking a sweat. This isn't just a northern Indiana person speaking, this is a Bloomington resident speaking. And I would rather not have to call off work for a measly 3 inches of snow, when I can remember going to school as a child when there were 3 feet of snow on the ground - because the streets were clear. Thank you for hearing me out and I hope something can be done. Sincerely, Amanda Jacobson
Dear Mayor Hamilton and the city of Bloomington, I am contacting you and your office regarding the problem with the deer in our neighborhood. Once again, the deer are a problem for us and they are outright dangerous. I am not sure what the city is planning on doing with the problem, but I almost feel like I want to hire a sniper (and I am an animal lover) to get them off of our property or now purchase a BB gun. I am not a violent person, but I am at my wits end regarding this issue. Will the city only do something once a deer kills a child? I have heard of stories of dogs being killed by deer as well as homes being trashed by deer who have somehow gotten into somebody's home. The latest is that my wife got a broken ankle because of a deer and it required a trip to the ER at Bloomington hospital along with missed work for both of us. Luckily we have health insurance, but for those who don't...it is a very expensive endeavor that could have been avoided if the city would do something to cull these animals. Lately we have seen a herd of 8 deer roaming around Somax. I would like your opinion on how you plan to fix this problem because I do see this as a problem in our city and especially our neighborhood. Also, I heard that the city has a 2 million dollar surplus this year and wondered if that meant we would finally get the sidewalk and repair of the dangerous culvert that has been promised to the former owners of our house as well as to us. Our taxes go up every year (Judy Sharp just assessed another increas of $50,000 to our home value which raised our taxes again quite drastically). We can't seem to ever get a break from her with her assessments every year and it is quite frustrating. Every year we pay more and more taxes and get absolutely nothing for it. Again, I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter. Thanks. Best, Ingrid Faber 1104 S. Covenanter Drive Bloomington, IN 47401