Bicycling in Bloomington

  I had to run a couple mornings this week because of limited time. During the runs, I observed the streets in my neighborhood and a few nearby neighborhoods. The experience reminded me that I did not fully describe the causes of Bloomington’s dirty (and sometimes dangerous) streets in the earlier post.

Much of the problem of dirty streets can be attributed to the local lifestyle.Cigarette filters are a high proportion of the litter on Bloomington streets. Indiana has one of the highest smoking rates in the country and its smokers happily and quickly throw their trash in the streets. I’ve observer smokers throwing cigarette filters on their own property.

Another lifestyle characteristic that creates dirty and often dangerous streets - Bloomington residents deposit their yard waste in the street. Many residents put their grass clippings in the street. While this isn’t particularly dangerous, it can hide hazards. The over-fertilized grass clippings often block drop inlets creating little dams that trap dirt, mud, etc on the streets. The grass clippings cause problems for the local water supply but that’s a different issue.

Perhaps the most dangerous behavior is putting leaves on the street. During the fall, many Bloomington residents rake and blow their leaves into the streets. These leaves sit, sometimes for months, decomposing, blocking water flow during rains, collecting other litter, and generally making the streets even dirtier. The city has an ordinance prohibiting the practice but it’s not enforced.

For bicyclists, this practice causes some serious problems. After rains, the leaves are wet and can be very slippery. The most dangerous problem is that the streets become narrower, often creating one lane (or less) for traffic to flow. In Elm Heights, just south of campus, the streets are already narrow and the leaf piles on the street make it dangerous for bicyclists and cars to pass in opposite directions. On my commute, the streets in Covenanter are sometimes so narrow that one car can’t pass through easily.

The leaf piles cause drivers to make strange decisions and prevent bicyclists from using the right side of the road. When there is one lane (or less), drivers assume they are entitled to the lane, even if they have to cross the center to use it. I’ve often faced drivers who cross the middle and force me off the street because they are avoiding leaves. The fall is a dangerous time for bicyclists in Bloomington.

Bloomington claims to be bicycle-friendly community but its behavior is far different from its words.