Will Bloomington permanently close Kirkwood Avenue? Here's what we know

Bloomington officials plan to propose closing Kirkwood Avenue every year between March and late October and view the plans as a prelude to a potential year-round closure to turn the street into a “pedestrian superhighway.”

By contrast, the street this year will not be closed as it has been in the recent past because of nearby construction, which also will require changes to the Granfalloon festival, which happens in summer, and also may affect Pridefest.

Andrea de la Rosa, the city’s assistant director for small business development, said she expects the city council to discuss the annual March-to-late-October closure of Kirkwood in mid- to late March. The council would have to pass a local law to approve a multi-year closure.

Details about which areas of Kirkwood would be closed have yet to be worked out, she said, but anywhere between Walnut Street and Indiana Avenue is in play.

She said she envisions the corridor as an eventual “pedestrian superhighway.”

De la Rosa said her potential partners on the council could be members Matt Flaherty and Isak Asare.

Flaherty did not immediately reply to an email Tuesday, but Asare said the discussions remain in the early stages.

He said he wants to come up with a comprehensive vision to make sure any closure accomplishes multiple goals including greater connectivity, promotion of downtown commerce and civic engagement.

“We want to give people certainty,” Asare said.

Council member Sydney Zulich, whose district includes the Kirkwood Avenue area east of Walnut, said via email she would support both a multi-year closure between March and late October as well as an eventual year-round closure.

A closed Kirkwood Avenue “would embody the physical connection of the university to the rest of the city, which in turn would allow students to feel more like the Bloomington residents,” she said.

In addition, Zulich said, a closure would benefit downtown restaurants because they would be able to expand their service areas, driving business, stimulating the economy and providing a larger sense of community.

She said she has some concerns about how a closure would affect accessibility and is open to solutions, including offering more parking spots for people with disabilities on intersecting streets such as Dunn and Grant.

Construction impact on Granfalloon, Pride

Flood prevention-related construction in downtown Bloomington this year will prevent the usual March-to-late-October closure of Kirkwood Avenue, primarily because of safety concerns and logistical complications, de la Rosa said.

Parts of Kirkwood could be closed at various times during construction, but de la Rosa said opening and closing the street repeatedly would cause confusion, compromise safety, and require lots of work and coordination from various city departments and business partners, which makes a closure this year impractical.

“It’s a loss,” she said. “This is a thing that’s really special.”

However, she said, she expects the 200 and 300 blocks of Kirkwood to be closed during Granfalloon, though the Bloomington Handmade Market, scheduled for June 8, will be moved to the county courthouse lawn and Sixth Street.

De la Rosa said the impact on Pridefest is unknown because she had not been able to talk to the festival’s organizers. The organizers also did not reply to a phone message from the H-T.

The 4th Street Festival of Arts and Crafts, which happens around Labor Day, should not be affected, de la Rosa said, barring long construction delays.

Bloomington festivals help local businesses, especially in summer

Talisha Coppock, executive director of Downtown Bloomington Inc., said Granfalloon, Pride and other events help a lot of downtown businesses overcome some of the slower periods they experience in the summers, which many Indiana University students spend elsewhere.

The festivals also bring a lot of residents into the downtown area who tend to stay to shop and eat.

The festivals “are important to our community,” she said.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.