Slower travel, bigger hassles

For the second summer in a row, it seems that everything in Bloomington has to readjust to the incredibly slow pace of the 10th Street construction. Students and Bloomington locals are forced to take unnecessary detours through back roads -- 13th Street, Cottage Grove Avenue and Fee Lane -- and even the Bloomington Transit and IU Campus Bus Services have been forced to alter their routes due to the lack of timeliness of the project's completion.\nThe goal of the project is to increase water, storm and sewer drains around the two business school buildings and replace some of the drains for the older building. Just because the city couldn't be held to its promise of getting the job done last summer, locals shouldn't have to suffer. The workers didn't even patch up the road after shutting down construction for the fall because they knew they'd return to work this summer -- another bumpy inconvenience for those who wish to use the road.\nFive bus routes have also been altered because 10th Street is an essential road for all of them, and estimations of five to seven minutes have been tacked onto route times. People pay to ride those buses, and now they're paying for slower travel? \nThousands of college students remain in town this summer -- many of which have had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with the construction eyesore for the past year. No one should have to drive several extra blocks and take time out of his or her day because the city is behind schedule. Since 10th Street is a major route of transportation for passers-through, better accommodations should be made for inconveniencing everyone. \nHow can this be done? The University needs to reopen 7th Street by the auditorium to offer better transportation options to the community. Why not actually open up the already closed-off portion of 7th street and open up the current 7th Street booth at 5 p.m.? If those who wish to park on campus are allowed to do so at 5 p.m., why aren't drivers allowed past the gate until 6 p.m.? Even if opening the end of 7th Street near the auditorium would only be temporary, the purpose of doing so would be fulfilled in allowing for less congested traffic on detour routes. \nIt's also been reported that the city is using what can be called "financial bribes" for the company to complete the project in a timelier manner. Who's to say the company isn't taking its time just to receive monetary incentives? It's not just the city who's paying for these workers to be slow; all of Bloomington is paying as well. They're not just paying out of their pockets, they're paying out of inconvenience.\n