Mayor Kruzan's Comments Troubling

I recently read an article in the Herald Times that reported the 45/46 bypass widening project will be pushed out again, this time until 2009. It’s not the postponement of the project that bothers me but I must admit, the congestion on this main arterial has caused me to be late on more than one occasion. The most unsettling news out of this article was Mayor Kruzan’s comments regarding the project in general. He was quoted as saying “I’ve reviewed the plans a number of times and am always struck by what a monster the new bypass will be. I think people will be surprised at how much it will change the character of the northern and eastern parts of town.” He added, “given the lack of east-west connectors, the bypass is an obvious asset for that cause.” However, he went on to say “while I see benefits of the project, I have to confess to having the nagging feeling that this is going to be a lot more concrete that will play into the “build it and they will come” scenario” and then added “But I can’t help but think that we can’t always build our way out of problems without creating a whole host of other issues.” Whether he likes it or not the problem already exists and has for some time. Not addressing the problem is a dereliction of duty.

Once again we are lead to believe that building roadways and infrastructure is a bad thing for our community. Somehow he wants us to believe that moving vehicles around the city via the bypass efficiently is going to ruin the feel of that section of town. You know what happens, you build good roads and then someone is going to want to use them. This section of highway is carrying way too much traffic as it is and is well beyond the limits of safety, this is why it was targeted for improvement in the first place. Besides being the only major east west connector this is a primary route used by thousands of vehicles heading to and from Lake Monroe. Whether the Mayor and the rest of the no growth proponents like it or not Bloomington and Monroe County needs people with vision to plan and provide for infrastructure to meet the needs of our community as it exists today and in the future. They should embrace these improvements as a reward for having a growing and vibrant community where people want to work and live. They should accept the fact that not everyone wants to walk or ride a bicycle and therefore they too should have the expectation of traveling on a safe and modern roadway system. Not once have I read or heard what strategies are being put in place by our current administration to plan for growth. We constantly hear about where they don’t want growth to occur but we have never once heard where they would like growth to occur. It’s this lack of concern and absence of forethought about the future of Bloomington that troubles me the most.