Mayor Kerry Thomson

Page last updated on June 20, 2023 at 11:12 am

College Avenue and Walnut Street Corridor Study

The City of Bloomington’s Planning and Transportation Department is launching a Corridor Study of College Avenue and Walnut Street. As our central north/south transportation corridors, College and Walnut serve as gateways to our community as well as the front door for hundreds of local businesses and thousands of residents. However, we are aware that these two streets are not meeting the needs of all of our residents. For example, the sidewalks, ramps, and crosswalks along the corridor do not all meet current accessibility standards; many of the bus stops are lacking shelters; and each year, there are several hundred motor vehicle crashes along the length of the corridors.

The Corridor Study is an opportunity to examine College Avenue and Walnut Street from the State Road 45/46 Bypass to Allen Street. The study will look at what’s working well, where challenges exist, and where improvements can be made. Using public input, research, analysis, and community goals, the Corridor Study will develop several conceptual designs for the streets. Collecting input, analyzing existing conditions, and creating conceptual designs for the street will be the focus of a week-long public engagement process for the week of June 12, 2023. 

Here's how you can be involved: 

  • Sign up for emails to hear about project updates, public meetings, and more.  
  • Share your perspective, ideas, or observations about College Avenue and Walnut Street by using this online form. We want to hear from all members of the community who use these streets. We will review all information shared, and we will use this information to help understand existing conditions along the corridor. We want your perspective because we don't want to miss anything. Keep in mind, information submitted becomes a public record. 
  • Invite city staff to join your meeting: Want to invite staff to listen and discuss the project? Or schedule a Stroll and Discuss with a specific group that you organize? Please fill out this form, and we'll be in touch.
  • Save the date: The week of June 12, 2023, there will be multiple opportunities to share your ideas, concerns, and goals for this project. There will be a public meeting to discuss the existing conditions along the corridor on Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 6pm - 7:30pm in City Hall and streaming on CATS television. And there will be a public meeting to discuss design concept ideas for the corridor on Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 6pm - 7:30pm in City Hall and streaming on CATS television.

 

Purpose: The need for a corridor study was identified in the 2019 Transportation Plan. The Corridor Study focuses on busy streets where there is a lot of automobile traffic, but where safety and comfort improvements are needed for pedestrians, bicyclists, scooter users, transit users, and drivers. College Avenue and Walnut Street are one-way couplets that are currently designed to carry high volumes of traffic at higher speed. A detailed corridor study will identify how best to support the Comprehensive Plan Objectives to “Nurture Our Vibrant City Center” and “Provide Multimodal Transportation Options,” through the design of our most prominent north/south streets. The goal should be to determine how best to:

  1. Provide pedestrians with safe passage and safe access along and across the length of the corridors;
  2. Provide bicyclists with safe, protected bicycle paths throughout the length of the corridors;
  3. Provide buses and other forms of mass transit with safe and efficient ways to travel along the corridors;
  4. Accommodate potential new and emerging forms of transportation that further the goals of the Comprehensive Plan;
  5. Facilitate safe and efficient automobile traffic to the maximum extent possible in light of the aforementioned goals; and
  6. Enhance the vitality of Downtown Bloomington’s businesses and institutions.

 

Study boundaries: The College Avenue and Walnut Street Corridor Study will examine the two streets from the 45/46 Bypass on the north end, to Allen Street on the southern end.  

     

    Transportation Plan: 

    The City of Bloomington worked with a consulting firm, residents, and stakeholders to develop a multimodal transportation plan. The Transportation Plan is used to help prioritize transportation projects, to determine right-of-way widths, and to shape transportation in our community. 

    The approved Transportation Plan includes all of the amendments adopted by the Common Council. The Transportation Plan was adopted in 2019.   

     

    Contact Information:

    If you want to share your concerns and ideas, please use this form. For more information, please contact the Planning and Transportation Department. If you have questions, please call the department at 812.349.3423.