Council created bike lanes

The Southdowns Drive bike lane debate ended Wednesday night when the Bloomington City Council voted 8-1 to change Southdowns into separate one-way streets. The eastbound street will be renamed Sheridan Drive, and the westbound lane will retain the Southdowns name. \nThe change will enable the city to install a multi-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians along Southdowns Drive.\nThe multi-use paths will be similar to bike lanes that currently exist on Walnut and College Avenues but will accommodate pedestrians as well as cyclists. Previous bike lanes were designed in addition to existing sidewalks because city code prohibits operating a bicycle on a sidewalk.\nMany neighborhood residents addressed the council about the issue. There were opponents to the change, but the majority of those who spoke Wednesday night asked the council to adopt it. Those in favor said the proposal would improve the area; currently Southdowns Drive consists of separate two-way streets without a sidewalk or bike lane.\nThis project is part of the Greenways project, a Bloomington growth plan initiated in the fall of 2000 to promote alternative transportation. The plan calls for "pedestrian movement improvements" to Southdowns and Sheridan but does not specify any type of project. \nThe neighborhood is adjacent to Bryan Park, one of the "key destinations" as outlined by the plan. Besides providing a recreation area for residents, Bryan Park is used as a park-and-ride destination for the city bus system. The mixture of traffic from the park-and-ride location and pedestrian traffic that is usually associated with public parks has created a somewhat unsafe environment, neighborhood residents said.\nL. David Sabbagh, who has openly opposed the multi-use path for safety reasons since the proposal was first presented, was the lone council member who voted against it.\n"I can't believe we are going to have something without any physical separation (between pedestrians and vehicular traffic) and call ourselves pedestrian friendly," Sabbagh said. "We're going for the easy, not for the safety, and that really concerns me."\nThe project will cost $110,000. Some of that money was going to be spent in street improvements regardless of the outcome of the vote. Those costs ranged from $30,000 to $45,000.\nOther traffic-related projects passed through the council Wednesday, including the final approval from council to install permanent speed humps on Longview and Glenwood Avenues. Those projects are not included in the $110,000 sum. \nA complete list of new traffic devices and regulations can be obtained on the city's Web site or from the city clerk's office in City Hall.