Bloomington growth plan attempts to lure business, alleviate traffic problems

Bloomington is in a major transition from a small community built around IU and industry to a place where small business can flourish, Bloomington Mayor John Fernandez said. Bloomington's 2002 Growth Policies Plan, an update to the original GPP, will be the guiding document through this period. \n"There are a lot of people who still view Bloomington as a very small town with a large, world-class University. Well, we're going through an important transition where we are now a decent-sized city with a world-class university," Fernandez said.\nAs the president of the Bloomington City Council in 1991, Fernandez helped shape the original Growth Policies Plan. Last year as mayor, he oversaw the 2002 update of the 1991 version. This update was created to reflect the changing economic environment both in Bloomington and throughout the U.S.\n"We've lost a large number of the traditional manufacturing jobs," Fernandez said. "But there's been a lot of new job creation in smaller employers, new businesses that are starting up in the health industries and in technology related firms, so that's an interesting representation of change."\nThe 2002 GPP covers a broad spectrum of issues facing the city. But the two main themes evident throughout the plan are curbing traffic problems by offering alternatives to driving and building the downtown area into a place that is attractive to both businesses and residents.\n"One of the first intermediate goals is to increase the intensity of downtown development," said Tom Micuda, city planning director. "There are not enough residents living downtown."\nThe city's vision for downtown is an environment in which residents can go to work, shop and obtain the services they need without having to frequently leave the area. Many provisions within the GPP, including the recently-added plan for West Kirkwood, are aimed at attracting new business while maintaining the historical feel of the area. Micuda said such an environment would free up roads and bring down the cost of living.\nThe interest generated in downtown is evidence of a growing trend in the city's attitude toward facilitating growth. Instead of encouraging growth in areas outside the city limits, officials said they would like to improve the existing community.\n"For the first time in many years, we're looking at moving back inward rather than continuing to progress outward as a community," Micuda said. "We want to improve the quality of land development."\nPart of that quality improvement means less traffic, Micuda said. \n"Obviously, traffic is a concern," said city council member Michael Diekhoff. The solution must be multi-faceted, combining incentives for alternative transportation and ensuring roads can accommodate more traffic, Diekhoff said.\n"We're finding that the rate of traffic growth is about four to five times the rate of our population growth, meaning there's a lot of people getting in their cars and going to every destination that they need to go," Micuda said. "So we're really trying to slow down that rate of growth. To do that, it means we have to provide more incentives for alternative transportation." \nSome of those incentives include more bike lanes on city streets, a consolidation of the IU and Bloomington bus systems and most importantly, Micuda said, putting the businesses people need closer to their homes.\nBoth Micuda and Fernandez said they believe increased dialogue between IU officials and the city would benefit everyone. Regular meetings could help create workable agreements between the two for park-and-ride bus systems, traffic, road improvements and student-landlord issues.\n"We may not always agree, but there needs to be dialogue," Micuda said.\nWhile the plan does not set forth new ordinances or regulations, it will guide city officials for the next decade by providing a shared vision of what needs to be accomplished. By outlining common goals, the city hopes to ease the transition from small town to city.