I-69 sucks for the locals

In January, Governor Frank O'Bannon recommended running Interstate 69 through Bloomington on its way between Mexico and Canada. This route will upgrade much of the existing highway 37, bring new business to Southern Indiana, and substantially cut travel times and shipping costs. Sounds great, doesn't it?\nNot to some of the locals. As a Bloomington native, I grew up enjoying the quiet Bloomington summers and cursing when the students arrived in August, clogging 'my town' with endless traffic. Now, an interstate threatens to destroy what remains of that small-town feeling.\nBut before I attacked I-69 in full fury, I needed to learn how it will benefit Bloomington. So, I made a date with the local big kahuna, Mayor John Fernandez. Exactly two weeks ago, I took up 15 minutes of the mayor's time in an attempt to understand why he is a proponent of I-69.\nMayor Fernandez's reasons were traffic safety, connectivity and business.\n"We need transportation infrastructure," he said.\nIt's true, I-69 will improve safety by eliminating all of the treacherous crossroads that currently span four lanes of high-speed traffic. And, nobody can deny that a superhighway will efficiently connect us with the outside world.\nBut that's not all that will happen. Because business follows the roads, our already less-than-picturesque west side will be saturated with truck stops and burger joints when I-69 throws wide the floodgates of traffic. Attempting to regain the upper hand, some proponents talk of new factory jobs, replacing those that disappeared to south of the border. I doubt they will come back to Bloomington, and not even the mayor thinks so.\n"Nobody likes to admit it," Fernandez said. "But (Bloomington's) economy has changed, low skill jobs aren't needed anymore … As we look at the advantages of Bloomington, it's not just cheap land, it's an educated workforce."\nFernandez stressed that there is a lot of new investment in Bloomington, citing the new Cyclotron radiotherapy center and the high-paying information technology labs adjacent to city hall as two examples.\n"We're doing it 50 jobs at a time," Fernandez said. "There's lots of stuff happening, but it's never as dramatic as a plant closing ... If all you read was the Indianapolis press, you'd think this was a ghost town."\nFernandez went on to explain that investment directly correlates with access. However, what level of access does Bloomington need? If Bloomington's selling point is its educated workforce, and we're moving towards digital work a few jobs at a time, a superhighway seems unnecessary. The current road is sufficient for transporting any amount of computers, building materials or personnel needed for this new economy.\nInterstate 69, on the other hand, will also carry to Bloomington the personnel headed everywhere else. The influx in traffic will bring unwanted pollution, noise, truck stops and layover travelers to our town. Can we justify trading access for our current standard of living?\nIn fairness, I believe Mayor Fernandez is a good man who earnestly tries to do what he thinks is best for this town. However, I do not believe that expanding Bloomington is the best course of action for us to take. I enjoy not living in just another chain-store town along the highway.\nInterstate 69 will bring some business to Bloomington and provide a quick way to bring all of the RCA televisions back from Mexico (historical note: RCA moved from Bloomington to Mexico in 1998). But the best part about Bloomington is that it's not a cement and gravel town like Kokomo or Fort Wayne. It's a beautiful place to live, and we need to keep it that way.