Confused by changes on 7th Street? You are not alone.

Bus and fire engine drivers said the addition of a bike lane on Seventh Street has made maneuvering large vehicles more difficult, and a business owner said the project also has confused other drivers, who have driven on and parked in the bike lane.

However, city and transit officials said they expect people to get used to the changes soon, especially after construction is completed in the next few weeks.

“It’s really super tight going down that entire corridor,” said Jeff Cisneros, a driver with Bloomington Transit and president of the local drivers’ union. “I don’t mind the city making improvements, but my overriding concern is safety for all of the stakeholders.”

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The city early this summer launched a $2.6 million project that has eliminated on-street parking for a roughly half-mile stretch on Seventh Street between Walnut Street and Woodlawn Avenue. The city used that space to add on the street’s south side a dedicated bicycle lane, the 7-Line, that is separated from vehicle traffic by curbs, traffic islands and, occasionally, bus stops.

The street previously had on-street parking on both sides along some blocks and bicycle lanes on both sides in many areas, though some of the lines that demarcate the bike lanes had faded.

The city said the project would improve the bus corridor to connect the B-Line Trail downtown and the IU campus while also improving “comfort, safety and efficiency for all road users.” Local bicycle enthusiasts have told The Herald-Times the project will make the route more popular because it will be safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

‘Accidents waiting to happen’

While the city said motor vehicle traffic lanes would remain the same size, Cisneros, the local bus driver, said they’re “barely on the right edge of legal.”

Buses have very little room to maneuver when they turn onto the street, he said. If bus drivers try to turn right onto Seventh Street, to go east, they have to hope that westbound drivers leave them enough space to make the turn. When that doesn’t happen, sometimes the drivers have to back up, putting pedestrians and bicyclists in danger.

“Accidents waiting to happen,” Cisneros said.

The city already has made alterations to the median, which extended so far that buses had to run over it to make the turn, risking damage to the buses.

Even once the bus drivers get onto Seventh Street, the tight fit, especially with oncoming trucks, poses challenges for drivers, because their mirrors sometimes extend into the other lane. Cisneros said the road is so narrow bus drivers sometimes just stop and let oncoming vehicles pass.

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Jordan Canada, president of the local firefighters’ union, said some of his colleagues also have complained about the narrow street.

“Many drivers have expressed frustration,” he told The Herald-Times via email.

While some drivers are taking alternate routes, the street is unavoidable if firefighters have to get to the Indiana Memorial Union, Canada said.

“The other side to that is this may reduce/slow our response time,” he said.

Street of confusion

Jared Eisenberg, a business owner along Seventh Street, said he supports making the area more bike- and pedestrian-friendly, but he said the project was rushed and the city failed to seek input from property owners and tenants. He said while the city sent out mailings — though he said his went to a neighboring building — he would have expected someone from the city to come talk to him and others in the area.

Eisenberg, who owns Butch’s Grillacatessen & Eatzeria, at 120 E. Seventh St., said during construction, some delivery drivers could not drop off supplies. The city also did not trim back trees along the road, and commercial vehicles that are now closer to the road’s north side have repeatedly struck tree branches and stripped them of leaves.

The timing of the work also was planned poorly, Eisenberg said. Crews paved Seventh Street the week of Lotus festival, when both streets to the south, Kirkwood Avenue and Sixth Street, also were closed.

Eisenberg said the construction kicked up so much dust that his outdoor seating area was not usable, a tricky situation given that his indoor dining room was closed because of COVID. The dust also damaged his air exchange system, he said.

Eisenberg said changes to the traffic patterns also have confused drivers and was a factor in at least one collision. East-west traffic used to have to stop, but those stop signs have been removed. Instead, north-south traffic, which used to have the right of way, now has to stop. Many motorists who head east and want to turn south expect oncoming traffic heading west to stop and often pull out in front of vehicles. Only minutes after Eisenberg mentioned that scenario last week, it occurred a block from the restaurant, causing one motorist to honk at the other one.

Drivers also appear to be confused about who is supposed to use which lane. Eisenberg posted a photo on Instagram that showed motor vehicles parked in the bike lane, and a cyclist using the street. Last week, with parts of the bike/ped lane still blocked by construction crews, an electric scooter rider used the street, slowing cars to a crawl.

‘Perfectly safe’

Bloomington City Engineer Andrew Cibor said that speed reduction is part of the point of the project.

“It’s a little narrow by design to promote slow speeds,” he said.

Cibor also said the lane width has not changed, though drivers now have a curb to their right, whereas previously they had a bike lane or on-street parking.

He also warned the area is still a construction zone and likely will remain that way for a few weeks. City leaders expected some difficulties, but Cibor said those are preferable to the alternative, which would have been to shut down traffic altogether.

Cibor said city officials have met with transit leaders and have made changes to address some of the drivers’ concerns. He said he understands it will take some time for people to get used to the new traffic lanes and patterns.

“I don’t envy bus drivers,” he said. “I know they have a tough job.”

He urged all traffic participants to exercise caution, especially if they haven’t traveled the area for a while.

John Connell, general manager of Bloomington Transit, said while the new Seventh Street corridor poses some challenges for bus drivers, he expects them to adjust, much like they do in difficult situations all over the city.

“They encounter this kind of stuff every day,” he said. “That’s part of being a professional bus operator.”

The transit boss said when he worked in Lafayette, the city made similar changes to a road there, and it just took people some time to get used to the new street layout and traffic patterns.

 “I think it’s perfectly safe,” Connell said.

Boris Ladwig is the city government reporter for The Herald-Times. Contact him at bladwig@heraldt.com.