Page last updated on March 16, 2023 at 5:20 pm
College Avenue and Walnut Street Corridor Study
The Corridor Study for College Avenue and Walnut Street will analyze what is working and not working on our most prominent north/south streets. Then, using goals from community plans, existing conditions analysis, and input from the community, several conceptual designs for the two streets will be developed. 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.
- Discuss in person: We're hosting Stroll and Discuss events throughout April, and May. Stroll and Discuss events will involve meeting with a group of up to 8 people onsite, strolling about 1 mile of the corridor, and sharing observations with each other. You can sign up for different areas along the corridor and different times. Please visit this website to view more information and to sign up for a Stroll and Discuss event. More time options will be added for mid-April and the month of May.
- 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. Tentatively, there will be a public meeting to discuss the existing conditions along the corridor on Tuesday, June 13 in the evening. And there will be a public meeting to discuss design ideas for the corridor on Thursday, June 15 in the evening.
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:
- Provide pedestrians with safe passage and safe access along and across the length of the corridors;
- Provide bicyclists with safe, protected bicycle paths throughout the length of the corridors;
- Provide buses and other forms of mass transit with safe and efficient ways to travel along the corridors;
- Accommodate potential new and emerging forms of transportation that further the goals of the Comprehensive Plan;
- Facilitate safe and efficient automobile traffic to the maximum extent possible in light of the aforementioned goals; and
- 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.