By:  Diane Benjamin

Obviously the Bloomington City Council has no interest in questioning City Manager David Hales.  Years from now Hales will be blamed for all the ills of the City, but the Alderman elected to represent their Wards don’t care now.  Hales does what Renner wants, Renner has all but banned free speech of Alderman (not that many would use it anyway), Hales complies so he can get enough years here for a pension.  Hales has no vested interest in the success of Bloomington, I doubt he will retire and stay.

Normal is infected with the same problem.  Below is an email received by a citizen in Normal who questioned what is being done to the roads.  I am keeping both names anonymous on purpose.

The citizen wanted answers on why intersections on Bryan were being narrowed.  See one here:

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The comments from the alderperson speak volumes.  This is an exact copy of the email.  Your elected officials think it is fine to try new things – with YOUR money.  If it doesn’t work, oh well!

Received your phone message. I apologize for taking so long to respond. I recognize the concerns about the designated bike route across Town that utilizes Bryan Street and if going strictly by appearances would share some of the same opinions as you and others have expressed. However, I’ve learned there are some matters where others have to be trusted and recognize we all are not professional planners or engineers. That’s not to say those folks are perfect, as we know the parking bump outs Uptown may have been attractive but weren’t very practical.
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The east-west corridor came from the bike/pedestrian study/plan and identified a pathway to cross town near its southern border. That corridor will become bike friendly over time and those adjustments will be limited to that path; these will not appear all over town. The engineering of Bryan Street uses tested methods to create a corridor that works for vehicles and bikes, even though it may not appear to. Our town engineer is an avid biker, so he is in a good position to critique what was planned and constructed. I am trusting those who planned and engineered this corridor and think the best approach at this time is to let people use it, get used to it and determine over time if it is as bad as feared or if it actually is workable.

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Buses and emergency vehicles were taken into account and our public works personnel will surely be aware when snow removal is needed. Lane widths will accommodate the type of traffic that needs to navigate this area. Even without the bump outs, it probably would be difficult for a bus and vehicle to enter the street side by side, so I don’t believe extreme difficulties have been introduced by the construction.  What may appear to be constrictive will serve to create greater caution on the part of all those travelling the corridor, bikes and vehicles alike.
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At this point I think it best to let it function and allow time and actual usage be the test of its effectiveness.
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Thanks as always for being one of those willing to express and convey your thoughts and opinions about local matters.

Why can’t government spend your money as cautiously as they spend their own?

Gambling should never be an option!  They missed that lesson in civics class though.  Anybody running for Council that actually cares?

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