Case Date:

4/18/2018

Hello, My name is Andrew Goodale and I am the manager of the Verizon store on West Third Street in Bloomington. I am writing in regards to the road maintenance and related traffic issues that exist around our store. Maintenance on the Third Street overpass is severely affecting our business and store traffic to the negative. Because Third Street has been reduced to a single eastbound lane in front of our store, customers are not able to access our place of business. Our entrance is consistently blocked off with a line of traffic, and even during the rare times when it is clear, people do not think they can turn into our parking lot because of all the street pylons blocking off our entrance. Further, this same issue also causes traffic to back up on Liberty road which often simultaneously blocks off our rear entrance. This traffic double-whammy is killing our business and noticeably affecting the paychecks of your Bloomington residents that work here. Because there is a Bus Stop right in front of our store, this lane merging is also creating a safety hazard for bystanders and pedestrians in the area, including my employees. Just the other day we witnessed a City Bus hit one of your sawhorse barricades and it got caught underneath the bus. We watched the driver get out, unsuccessfully try to remove the sign, and continue driving with it caught under the bus, dragging it along as they drove on the sidewalk and hopped the curb turning from Third onto Liberty. I would like to be informed what will be done by Bloomington in order to stop stunting our business and creating a safety hazard outside of our store due to construction related traffic signs and patterns. I also need to know when this construction project will be complete, and what is being done to make sure that deadline is met or exceeded. I have uploaded a photo of the typical traffic situation in front of our store, and can provide photos and video of the incident with the bus. Please advise, Andrew Goodale

Case Date:

6/4/2018

I want to start this by saying, I will vote against every single person currently sitting in our local government come next election. I live on the south side and this construction has turned my 15 minute commute into a 40 minute commute. Just to get to the west side of town! None of your projects were planned with ANY consideration of each other. You finish the tapp overpass just to close tapp/rockport and block all access to the overpass. BULL! And now you're closing Grimes for the next 2 months. How do you expect anyone to access Rogers? Do you expect me to drive 4 miles north from my home just to turn west? I am ashamed of every single one of you. You have zero idea on how to plan and coordinate these projects. And to finish, every one I know will also be voting against you next election. This was the nail in the coffin. Absolutely no sense in this whatsoever

Case Date:

1/25/2014

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

Case Date:

8/18/2016

There are no street lights next to the bus stop on East Hagan Street and it feels unsafe when having to wait for the bus during the night, or even when getting off the bus. It would be very helpful if a street light could be installed in the area.

Case Date:

9/14/2016

The alley behind our house does not have any lights in it at all. Not only does this make it a bit unnerving and dangerous to walk there at night, but it also makes it a very easy target for unwanted visitors. Last night, one of our bedroom windows was broken in and when we looked out back, we were not able to see anybody running away since there are no lights in the alley way. By adding a few lights to the already existing utility poles in the alley way, it would hopefully prevent similar incidents from happening in the future and make it much safer for all of the residents that use this alley on a daily basis.

Case Date:

9/15/2016

There are not any street lights in the alley behind my house. We had a break-in this week in the back of our house, and I think having street lights in the alley could have prevented it. Being back there at night is very creepy, and anyone could come attack us at night when we are trying to get in our back door. For safety reasons, I feel like it is important to that back there.

Case Date:

9/15/2016

In light of a lot of recent attempted home invasion activity along this block, having street lights in the alley between 10th and Cottage Grove is a necessary safety measure. It is incredibly dark in the alley and a perfect target for home invasions.

Case Date:

9/15/2016

I live at 211 e 10th st. Within the past week both houses on either side of my have been broken into. The alley behind my house is not lit very well. I believe that if the alley had street lights, that people would be deterred from breaking in.

Case Date:

9/15/2016

The back of our house was broken into a couple of nights ago (all doors locked and while we were all home) and we feel as though if the back alley was more lit up it may have deterred the suspect from approaching our home. There was also a very similar situation of an attempted break in last week two houses down from ours. It is extremely dark in the alley, especially with the wooded area being back there - perfect for people to hide in. We would feel a lot safer if lights could be installed asap. Thank you.

Case Date:

9/16/2016

Tree over grown around light. Street light not providing enough light. Safety is a concern. Multiple night incidents reported in the neighborhood. There needs to be more lighting around these area added. Very dark Very dark and dangerous at night. Particularly around 3260 N Ramble Rd E & 3300 North Ramble Road Court, Bloomington, IN 47408. Thanks for your prompt attention.