Bloomington installing more stop signs around IU's campus

BLOOMINGTON — If you're used to driving near Indiana University for class or sporting events, keep your foot near the brake pedal when you're near the train tracks.

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The city is placing permanent stop signs where Indiana Avenue and Woodland Avenue cross 13th Street. Both intersections will be converted into four-way stops before IU students return on August 25.

"Every year, we welcome in new people not familiar with our city and also a lot of increased traffic," said city traffic engineer Andrew Cibol. "Not everybody that lives here can afford a car or has that luxury, so we want to make it where people can feel comfortable walking or biking."

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The affected intersections are currently two-way stops where drivers on 13th Street pause while cross traffic keeps going.

The city believes the intersections are unsafe in their current form. Bloomington recorded seven crashes at 13th Street and Woodlawn Avenue in the past 12 months.

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"We have been trying to more proactively identify opportunities where there are crashes so we can do something about it," Cibol said.

This is the second time this year where Bloomington will install multiple four-way stops along one road. The city put up several new stop signs on 7th Street through downtown this spring, including at the intersection of 7th and Morton just south of Bloomington City Hall.

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Jacob Trusty often skateboards through downtown Bloomington. He said the new 7th Street stops have made a difference in his travels.

"I think I had more close calls before there was a stop sign here at 7th and Morton," Trusty said. "Cars would just whip down the hill and it was kind of hard to see if you were coming this way."

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Cibol hopes drivers also respect the new stop signs on 13th Street when they are erected.

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"Whenever we make a change, that's when I get most nervous because people drive on auto-pilot sometimes," Cibol said.