Stop it. Stop fluffing INDOT. In fact, f*ck INDOT. Sherman Minton repairs should be deferred for at least a year.

It wouldn't ever be easy, but with the tribulations of COVID-19 and the challenges that independent local businesses in New Albany already have faced, to disrupt access to New Albany in 2021 without us first having the chance to regain a foothold during an ongoing pandemic is sheer bureaucratic insanity.

Automobile supremacy might well be an American religion, but sorry, INDOT is not a God. We needn't worship it. In fact, it probably should be consigned to the dumpster fires: DEFUND INDOT sounds mighty fine to me.

Are the courts a possibility in delaying this vicious kick to the skull by our own presumed state government?

Sherman Minton closures will be limited during construction under plan, by Daniel Suddeath (Hanson's Beige Machine)

After almost two years of conducting public meetings and garnering input, planners of the Sherman Minton Renewal are ready to submit their traffic proposal for the $90 million improvement project.

The recommended plan released today limits full closure of the Sherman Minton Bridge to 54 days out of the estimated 834 days of construction on the bridge, which could begin as early as April.

The full closure days would be limited to nine consecutive days per direction a year and up to a trio of three-day weekends per direction each year of the project. The 54 days of closure will not occur consecutively.

The proposal is an alternative to a full closure of the bridge for the duration of construction— a move that business owners, elected officials and residents warned could have caused devastating effects on New Albany.

“We have taken the public’s input very seriously,” said Sherman Minton Renewal spokeswoman Andrea Brady.

During full closures, Indiana traffic will be detoured via Interstate 265 to Interstate 65 under the plan. Kentucky traffic on I-64 and Interstate 264 will be diverted to the I-65 bridges for Indiana access.

“Naturally during peak traffic periods there’s going to be more traffic congestion but there will be signage in place so people can plan accordingly,” said Brady, as she added there will be “significant communication” during construction to alert the public about any closures or other traffic issues.

The plan will allow for two eastbound and two westbound lanes to remain open for the majority of the project and will keep access ramps open for the bulk of construction. One lane in both directions will be closed throughout construction.

The contractor will be allowed to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and some of the lanes may be closed nightly during construction for up to 180 nights per calendar year.

Though it’s better than a complete closure of the bridge, Joe Phillips, owner of Pints & Union in downtown New Albany, fears the project will create another burden for businesses that are currently dealing with losses due to the coronavirus ...

As with INDOT: "Good intentions get subordinated, on project after project, to destructive business-as-usual practices."

Reading this essay you begin to grasp the nature of the problem.

The same old engineering and design vendors who play the game by stuffing Jeff Gahan's pockets with cash are the ones operating by INDOT template, institutionally reinforcing mistakes over and over, and yet they're hired over and over again even as the Zombie Mayor chants "walkability," which surely cannot occur in any substantive form when the same old engineering and design suspects are car-centric, declaring drivers the victors, not people seeking alternative mobility options.

Thus Gahan's pronouncements about walkability can be viewed only as propaganda touts from a shill primarily concerned with campaign finance, not genuine solutions.

Why State DOTs Keep Making the Same Mistakes... and How to Break That Cycle, by Daniel Herriges (Strong Towns)

You know the saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?”

No; we’re not saying the people who work at most of our state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in the U.S. are insane. But advocates for safe, welcoming, vibrant urban streets just might be if we think we can achieve our goals without comprehensive institutional reform within these agencies. That’s the message of a fascinating new blog post series by our friends at Smart Growth America, called How to Build a Better State DOT.

You can read the whole series here, and it is well worth reading. Smart Growth America’s insights here are not superficial, but come from people with a wealth of accumulated experience within these agencies, and a deep understanding of how good intentions get subordinated, on project after project, to destructive business-as-usual practices.

Some key insights ...

S&M -- or, the pain and pleasure we contemplate as INDOT and KTC meet to discuss the (S)herman (M)inton's 2021 renewal.

Great minds think alike.

We all know the bridge repairs are necessary, and at least it's nice to have more than a day's notice for a public meeting.

Here are the details of the more than $90 million Sherman Minton Bridge renewal project, by Caitlin Bowling (Insider Louisville)

... Officials with the Indiana Department of Transportation and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said they haven’t decided whether to close the bridge during the construction, which would save time and money but force many drivers to find alternative routes, or opt for a partial bridge closure, which would ease traffic pains but increase the cost and length of construction.

The two government entities are seeking feedback from residents before making a recommendation in fall 2019. The input gathering is part of a federally required environmental study, which includes an analysis of the social, economic and environmental impacts of the project, as well as mitigation efforts.

Two open houses will be held in October, allowing residents to comment on the project and ask questions. The first is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at Scribner Middle School, 910 Old Vincennes Road in New Albany. The second is from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 4, at Chestnut Street Family YMCA, 930 W. Chestnut St. in Louisville.

Construction is slated to begin in early 2021 and take two to three years to complete. The work is expected to add up to 30 years onto the life of the 56-year-old bridge ...

Cleanliness is next to ... Zionsville? Meanwhile, a Satanic Temple chapter joins Indiana's Adopt-A-Highway program.

Photo credit: WISH-8

Thanks for the tip, Blake.

First it was Baphomet's relocation to the Arkansas state capital ...

SHANE'S EXCELLENT NEW WORDS: Baphomet was transported to Little Rock for your sins.

 ... and now this.

Indiana Residents Are Furious That Satanists Are Picking Up Trash on the Highway, by Hemant Mehta (Friendly Atheist)

Two months ago, The Satanic Temple’s Indiana chapter, having just been accepted into the state’s Adopt-a-Highway program, completed their first clean-up event. They’ve done a second clean-up since then. In short, the Satanists are really making that stretch of highway in rural Zionsville a nice place to drive.

So naturally, locals are furious.

Maybe, but Fritz Kolmerton, also an area resident, has the right idea.

"My reaction was if they wanna clean the highway, they're more than welcome to," Kolmerton said. "It doesn't matter to me who's doing it one way or the other."

I'm liking this organization more and more. They don't merely preach cleanliness, they follow through.

INDOT to make funding available for railroad crossing safety projects. The path to the amphitheater might be one of them.

Recently State Senator Ron Grooms passed along information of importance to downtown (below). First, some background.

Among the impediments (both real and imagined) to greater use of the amphitheater is one that largely has remained outside the city's control: a railroad track carrying passing trains.

Local folk wisdom holds that the levee acts as a sort of forbidding mountain range, dissuading riverfront use. For my money, trains are a far bigger safety concern, as well as a periodic roadblock: they'll queue to the west to leave the 6th Street automotive crossing open, thus blocking the pedestrian path from downtown to the amphitheater, often for a very long time.

And I'm probably not the only person who has witnessed people climbing over the couplers. It's very dangerous, indeed.

I chatted with Grooms yesterday at WANA's Political Social. Previously he had met with Mayor Gahan to discuss the railroad crossing, and then the new INDOT program arose. It provides funds to address railroad crossing safety through competitive match grant applications. I'm told that the city has responded favorably to this, and is dispatching John Rosenbarger for due diligence.

Let's hope something comes of it. If we can't have forward-thinking, multi-modal transport networks including a light rail stop at the amphitheater, and if we must tolerate freight trains, then crossing the tracks safely is job one.

Indiana to provide $125M for local railroad safety projects (The Republic)

CHESTERTON, Ind. — Indiana’s transportation authority will provide at least $125 million in matching grants to local governments that undertake railroad safety projects.

The Department of Transportation program will require local agencies to contribute 20 percent of the money for land acquisition and construction. The state would take care of the rest.

The plan is part of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s agenda to upgrade the state’s infrastructure. Holcomb signed a bill last year authorizing funding for the program, which was part of an infrastructure improvement plan approved by the Legislature that hiked taxes and fees.

Local communities may submit proposals from May until the end of August. INDOT is expected to hold several meetings this month to answer questions from local officials.

Grant winners will be announced starting in late summer.

ASK THE BORED: It's a pretty penny, but safety for humans at the intersection of Main and W. 1st draws nearer.

Three weeks ago, councilman David Barksdale confided that the Redevelopment Commission would be seeking bids at its March meeting (no minutes will be available until they're approved in April) for the crosswalk and "intersection improvements" at Main and West 1st.

This is welcome news, and takes on added importance given the resistance with which City Hall initially greeted the idea. I'll never forget being informed in detail as to the absolute impossibility of such a human-friendly notion -- although negotiating with INDOT to ensure 2015 election-year street paving on Main rather than substantive dialogue about safety proved to be a very do-able priority.

Thanks again to Barksdale and others who helped resolve the impasse, which as this excerpt from October, 2016 was facilitated by the Redevelopment Commission, not BOW.

Note that while Bob Caesar remains a hypocrite concerning the sanctity of budgets and expenditures, his question here is timely, and you're reading it right: $250,000 to get this done. Might it have cost less had the work been incorporated with "get out the vote" paving, rather than resisted by functionaries who hadn't yet bothered to read Jeff Speck's book?

Only Deaf Gahan knows for sure. Here's a repeat of the most recent summary of the long march toward safety at Main and W. 1st.

---

November 8, 2016

ASK THE BORED: Red carpet pedestrian treatment for Hausfeldt Lane as the trucks roar past the corner of Main and W. 1st.

As a prelude to a discussion that occurred at last week's Bored Conclave, where the plume of white smoke indicates a pants leg on fire -- a meeting kept mercifully short so the political appointees could resume their partisan beak-wetting campaigns -- recall that NA Confidential has placed the topic of crosswalks and pedestrian safety on the front burner way for years.

Here is a sampling of links since 2014. Recently, we've placed the spotlight on the increasingly busy corner of Main and W. 1st, but there are multiple candidates for scrutiny throughout the city, most of them being ignored by the somnolent timer-servers in municipal government.

Must we wait for a traffic study to slow traffic and put crosswalks at the corner of Main and W. 1st?

Walkability might as well begin with the intersection of Main and West 1st, so can it begin now?

As Team Gahan snoozes, the intersection of West 1st and Main is an accident waiting to happen.

Two weekend posts about Team Gahan's arrogant auto-centrism.

Team Gahan's breathtaking passive/aggressive answer to the question of making a safe pedestrian crossing at Main and W. 1st.

ON THE AVENUES: Requiem for the bored.

There is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets, and yet there's one in the middle of the block by the hospital (2 of 2).

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

Dangerous intersections: Something for Greg Phipps to consider, though it's unlikely they will.

Back in June, thanks to the intervention of councilmen Barksdale and Knable (if memory serves), the art of the possible suddenly came to the attention of the snoring usual suspects.

A crosswalk at Main & W. 1st? One month ago it was utterly impossible, but now Redevelopment says anything's possible.

Taking all this into consideration, you'll understand why we're fascinated to learn of the following conversation at last week's Bored of Works gathering.

In short, on Hausfeldt Lane we'll sound alarms, construct non-standard guides and post a city employee to escort folks back and forth across a street made potentially dangerous by passing trucks, but at Main and W. 1st, with thriving businesses on all four corners, and the same dangerous trucks barreling back and forth, uncontrolled in terms of speed on a street too wide, the same argument will be deferred, and until recently ignored, by virtue of ineffectual gurgling sounds, at least until an elected official or two applies pressure and calls the city's perennial bluff.

Why is Team Gahan constantly contemptuous of pedestrians and cyclists?

Could it be, at least in part, that none of them know what it's like to walk?

ASK THE BORED: Red carpet pedestrian treatment for Hausfeldt Lane as the trucks roar past the corner of Main and W. 1st.

As a prelude to a discussion that occurred at last week's Bored Conclave, where the plume of white smoke indicates a pants leg on fire -- a meeting kept mercifully short so the political appointees could resume their partisan beak-wetting campaigns -- recall that NA Confidential has placed the topic of crosswalks and pedestrian safety on the front burner way for years.

Here is a sampling of links since 2014. Recently, we've placed the spotlight on the increasingly busy corner of Main and W. 1st, but there are multiple candidates for scrutiny throughout the city, most of them being ignored by the somnolent timer-servers in municipal government.

Must we wait for a traffic study to slow traffic and put crosswalks at the corner of Main and W. 1st?

Walkability might as well begin with the intersection of Main and West 1st, so can it begin now?

As Team Gahan snoozes, the intersection of West 1st and Main is an accident waiting to happen.

Two weekend posts about Team Gahan's arrogant auto-centrism.

Team Gahan's breathtaking passive/aggressive answer to the question of making a safe pedestrian crossing at Main and W. 1st.

ON THE AVENUES: Requiem for the bored.

There is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets, and yet there's one in the middle of the block by the hospital (2 of 2).

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

Dangerous intersections: Something for Greg Phipps to consider, though it's unlikely they will.

Back in June, thanks to the intervention of councilmen Barksdale and Knable (if memory serves), the art of the possible suddenly came to the attention of the snoring usual suspects.

A crosswalk at Main & W. 1st? One month ago it was utterly impossible, but now Redevelopment says anything's possible.

Taking all this into consideration, you'll understand why we're fascinated to learn of the following conversation at last week's Bored of Works gathering.

In short, on Hausfeldt Lane we'll sound alarms, construct non-standard guides and post a city employee to escort folks back and forth across a street made potentially dangerous by passing trucks, but at Main and W. 1st, with thriving businesses on all four corners, and the same dangerous trucks barreling back and forth, uncontrolled in terms of speed on a street too wide, the same argument will be deferred, and until recently ignored, by virtue of ineffectual gurgling sounds, at least until an elected official or two applies pressure and calls the city's perennial bluff.

Why is Team Gahan constantly contemptuous of pedestrians and cyclists?

Could it be, at least in part, that none of them know what it's like to walk?

A crosswalk at Main & W. 1st? One month ago it was utterly impossible, but now Redevelopment says anything's possible.

Only a few weeks after imperiously dismissing the possibility of a crosswalk of any configuration at Main and W. 1st -- paraphrased: the traffic isn't slow enough and we won't slow the traffic -- the same cadre of city officials who regarded it as impossible now apparently have commenced a study to achieve it.

Before proceeding to the story, kindly note that NA Confidential placed this topic on the front burner way back in 2014. It's nice when folks catch up.

Must we wait for a traffic study to slow traffic and put crosswalks at the corner of Main and W. 1st?

Walkability might as well begin with the intersection of Main and West 1st, so can it begin now?

As Team Gahan snoozes, the intersection of West 1st and Main is an accident waiting to happen.

Two weekend posts about Team Gahan's arrogant auto-centrism.

Team Gahan's breathtaking passive/aggressive answer to the question of making a safe pedestrian crossing at Main and W. 1st.

ON THE AVENUES: Requiem for the bored.

There is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets, and yet there's one in the middle of the block by the hospital (2 of 2).

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

Dangerous intersections: Something for Greg Phipps to consider, though it's unlikely they will.

Illustrating yet again that the unelected Redevelopment Commission holds the real power in New Albany, the commission apparently decided at Tuesday's meeting that a crosswalk feasibility study is necessary, as farmed out to the usual suspects at Clark Dietz.

Does this firm have a non-compete clause?

My use of "apparently" owes to the fact that while this occurrence was printed in the Jeffersonville paper on Wednesday, and read to me over the phone by a friend, the paper deemed it sufficiently unimportant that it does not appear at the paper's web site, and therefore cannot be referenced here.

Redevelopment's feasibility study also has been corroborated by councilman David Barksdale and city engineer Larry Summers, who adds that whatever crosswalk proposal is made, it "still has to get INDOT approval."

This observation is revealing in itself, as such INDOT approval might have come prior to the crucial pre-election West Main Street paving project last year, when city officials already were aware of pedestrians having problems crossing Main at W. 1st.

Had the city sought INDOT approval in 2015, perhaps the problem already would be resolved. But as Rep. Ed Clere once piquantly observed, one first must ask in order to receive ... an answer.

Straight up: City Hall blew it in 2015, and now, for whatever reason, City Hall is trying to rally. If readers with connections to the Down Low Bunker will let us know who pushed this dramatic reversal of the previously impossible, I will publicly thank him or her, sans snark.

That's because a human-friendly intersection at Main and W. 1st is an imperative. It has been for a while. Better late than never, I suppose -- but can the momentum please be carried to other flash points, too?

Wait, I've got it: A non-binding city council resolution urging walkability in New Albany. 

We've heard of stripper poles, but this sidewalk pole is a marvel of genuine INDOT innovation.

NA Confidential tends to restrict its gaze to New Albany, but when the Green Mouse received this photograph from a Georgetown resident, it seemed too weirdly instructive to ignore. The submission is appreciated.

It is at the corner of Walts Road. INDOT is paving the highway through Georgetown. Under Title 5 they have to put in ramps. Georgetown has nothing to do with (the pole). It is all on INDOT. My guess is if they can get away with this they will, hoping that when all said and done Georgetown will have to go to the expense to get it moved.

Goodness gracious, even John Rosenbarger hasn't commissioned anything this bizarre. INDOT can be inspiration, all right, as in this recent New Albany episode.

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

It reminds me of the old saying in the USSR during Stalin's rule:

"Engineers -- can't live with 'em, but there's always Siberia."

There is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets, and yet there's one in the middle of the block by the hospital (2 of 2).

(1 of 2)

(2 of 2)

Traveling southbound on State Street. You see a yellow sign warning about the forthcoming crosswalk.

Then a flashing yellow light.

Finally, the crosswalk itself.

However, we've been told that nothing comparable can be done here ...

 ... presumably because the state still controls this stretch of road, and the city's hands are tied. But why are caution lights sufficient at one heavily-trafficked stretch, and not another?

At times like this, you find yourself thinking. Ignoring for a moment whether the city might have resolved to act aggressively in favor of safety for all users, and pushed the state harder prior to last year's "get it paved by election time" project on W. Main Street, it remains that we possess the ability to lobby INDOT for better terms.

His name is Ed Clere, and he's our state representative. He'd likely be able to help. He's done so before, as during the negotiations between state and city for the relinquishment of 111.

Consequently, here's my next question: Has anyone from City Hall bothered to ask Ed Clere for help?

I think the answer is painfully obvious.

City engineer Larry Summers and INDOT explain why there is no crosswalk at Main and W. 1st Streets (1 of 2).

(1 of 2)

(2 of 2)

On May 10, city engineer Larry Summers and I had a chat via Facebook messaging. Here it is, complete and unexpurgated. There'll be a second post with a follow-up question. Larry is to be thanked for answering the question; while we might suggest that all public officials should do so, we know it isn't always the case. Thank you, Larry.

---

Roger
I've been chatting with INDOT Seymour about the Main/W 1st non-pedestrian friendly area*. They say that the city's solution during last year's paving was to add bike lanes to and from nowhere, thus reducing lane width to 12 feet and instituting traffic calming at a spot where the sidewalks don't have pedestrian ramps pointing across Main. Now, I think this sounds like an opportunity ingloriously blown, BUT my reason for writing to you is to give you or someone else on the Team a chance to explain this in plain English for publication so that I can have both points of view. You tell me Gahan understands better than I realize. Okay. How was this one missed, and what's to be done about it? Thanks.

Larry
Roger, it was an engineering decision. The Mayor was not involved because I made the decision in the field. It is inadvisable to place a crosswalk at an uncontrolled intersection because it gives pedestrians a false sense of security. It is important to note that when a sidewalk extends to both sides of the street, a crosswalk is presumed whether marked or not. Therefore, a pedestrian should be able to cross with the same protections as a marked crosswalk in terms having the right of way to cross and vehicles should yield accordingly.

Roger
That does not inspire confidence, but thanks. And the bike lanes from and to nowhere? Do you think that lane narrowing means anything, or was that INDOT's delusion?

Larry
The lane narrowing was introduced to help control excessive speeds. The bike lanes will be incorporated with an overarching scheme, in the future. Parking was introduced in locations where none was previously which will hopefully boost economic development potential and the center turn lane helps accommodate turn movements on Main St and has improved the overall safety and functionality.

Roger
Try to understand. What you've just said has only to do with cars, not people. It makes sense for autos. There's nothing there for walkers; nothing there for businesses on those corners who see the benefit of walkability. You're saying that cars come first. Is that really what you want to say? There's nothing in this to indicate your previous words about Speck implementation are valid. Is it time to level with us yet?

Larry
People are the central focus of all my projects. Walkers, bikers, homeowners, business owners, car divers, and semi drivers. The primary concern I gave is safety. I don't want walkers to feel they are safer than they are at an intersection--if I do, I'm doing the walkers a disservice and have put them in harms way. I always strive for safety for all citizens ... I'm typing on my phone and near dangerous machinery. Please forgive typing errors.

Roger
No problem. Look, I like you. Wouldn't bother if I didn't, but that's political drone speak. Speck's not happening, is it?

Larry
That striping plan is effectively Speck. Compare.

Roger
I was prepared to concede that point, though the lanes are still far too wide. But what you're saying about the intersection of Main and W 1st is that because the city won't protect walkers, walkers can't be protected. It's a circular argument. What about the REST of the Speck plan on Elm, Spring, etc? Nothing incremental so far is encouraging. Can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, can you?

Larry
We are awaiting the costs and the costs won't be know until we know the railroad component and CSX has been less than easy to work with. It's never as easy as flipping the switch. Especially with federal money.

Roger
Thank you. Final question: If we are not Specked by toll time, what's Plan B -- and your vapid boss already conceded tolls would happen first.

Larry
We flipped the switch on the Silver and Spring project before the tolls. It's an important component that will improve safety along that dangerous corridor and limit the traffic volume that can cut through New Albany.

Roger
Okay, thanks. How much of this is on the record? People ask me. Team Gahan won't speak publicly for attribution, and I'd like to provide answers.

Larry
West Main is definitely on the record. We've done a news release on the Silver Spring project. Much of what I told you was in there. We need to attribute it to safety, which this project will greatly improve.

Roger
I'll try to be gentle. But can you answer my question about W 1st? Why not take measures to protect the walkers, rather than say they can't be protected? Does the state prevent you from being proactive?

Larry
MUTCD cautions against marked crosswalks at uncontrolled intersections. I am protecting the walkers by not letting them think they are safer than what they are. If I mark it, they could walk out thinking a driver will stop and an inattentive driver could kill a pedestrian there.

Roger
We're not communicating. Why can't the intersection be controlled? Why not a four way stop?

Larry
That is a state controlled intersection, for one. BOW cannot place controls on a state highway without the consent of the state. I was surprised they even let us guide them with striping.

Roger
So, hypothetically, if the state had included that block of Main in the relinquishment, you could have acted?

Larry
The request could have been brought before BOW. I don't know the hypothetical outcome, but the request could be made.

Roger
Though as with your field decision on the uncontrolled intersection, BOW likely would defer to your expertise?

Larry
In some cases they defer. In others, the board relies on their on decision. Ultimately, it is their decision to make.

Roger
Okay. Thanks. Appreciate it.

Larry
You're welcome. Trust me, I'm working my hardest to improve this City with each and every project I'm involved in.

Roger
I believe you. I don't believe your boss. So it goes.

---

* Here is the response to my inquiry from INDOT Seymour.

Dear Mr. Baylor,

"Thank you for contacting the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) with your inquiry. The Seymour District Communications Department has received your message concerning the intersection of Main and W 1st Street, New Albany.

"Your inquiry has been sent to the Traffic Investigation Department. They have investigated this location and reported back to me stating INDOT recently partnered with the City of New Albany and repainted this section of SR 111. When these markings were applied, the lanes were reduced to 12’ lanes with a bike lane and parking on both sides of the road. The reduction of lane width and the bike lanes were indeed traffic calming devices.

"There are currently no marked crosswalks at this location because the curb ramps run parallel to SR 111 and not perpendicular. We must mark crossings where curb ramps are present to allow pedestrians a safe refuge from the highway. They also give guidance to individuals in wheelchairs and since the curb ramps are facing incorrectly, we can’t mark it as a safe location to cross.

"There are marked crosswalks one block east at the signalized intersection of SR 111 and State St. This intersection has pedestrian push buttons which allow more time to cross SR 111 when activated. It is also the main entrance to the YMCA.

"Thank you, again, for your inquiry and the opportunity to assist you with this matter. If you have additional questions or require further assistance, please feel free to contact me from the information provided below."

Four years later, and City Hall still can't explain this sign. Feeling good about New Albany's "plan" to cope with tolls?

If heavy trucks are not supposed to be using Spring Street, why does it happen? Did something change? Is there a law, or not? If there is a law, why isn't it being enforced?

We've been asking these questions for years, without answers. Now there are many more questions, and still little sign of a pulse.

Bridge tolls, social injustice, NA's street grid ... and the silence of the culpable.

Meanwhile, this article appeared on July 17, 2013.

That's two and a half years ago.

Feeling confident yet?

New Albany concerned drivers trying to avoid new toll bridges may cause gridlock, by Lawrence Smith

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- The new bridges are expected to ease traffic congestion across the Ohio River, but at least one community is worried the bridges may actually cause more traffic headaches ...

... But officials here are concerned about too much of a good thing.

According to the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency, KIPDA, some 90,000 cars cross this bridge everyday.

Depending on the amount of the toll, that could jump to 120,000 a day when the new bridges are finished.

City planners say that could cause gridlock in downtown New Albany.

"Adding that traffic volume to our urban street grid is an issue for us because we don't have the additional right-of-way to add additional laneage and we wouldn't want to do that anyway," said Scott Wood, director of New Albany's Plan Commission.

The city is planning to install counters to get a better gauge on traffic patterns.

Officials may ask for federal funds to study possible solutions, including turning New Albany's one way streets into two-way.

"And we're flexible. We're willing to adjust things on the fly as we need to as we see an issue arising," said Wood.

David Scott believes the city will find answers.

"Personally, I would like to see more two-way streets. It makes for more stop-and-go where people don't try to fly through," said Scott.

No one will truly know the impact of the tolls until the bridges are finished in 2016. But officials here say they need to get ready now, before it's too late.

Thanks, JP.

Bridge tolls, social injustice, NA's street grid ... and the silence of the culpable.

Yesterday the grisly details of bridge tolling began making the rounds of Louisville media outlets. Einstein's theory of relativity is more readily accessible than RiverLube's byzantine explanations, although one point is crystal clear:

You should drive more in order to save money!

What's the use in overbuilding auto-centric infrastructure if we don't become even more dependent on cars?

RiverLink tolls: How much it is really going to cost to cross Ohio River

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - In just a few short months, tolls across WAVE Country will be a reality. The price will range from $1 to $4 per way for everyday drivers, but getting that discounted rate may be harder than you think ...

... what if you miss one day of work? Or only work a three to four day work week? You could be racking up $76 in tolls for that month. That's why RiverLink officials encourage you to keep an eye on your account and if you're under, get in your car.

"It's absolutely going to benefit you to go ahead and have dinner across the river, go and see a show, or do something because you are saving money at that point and you are saving quite a bit of money to hit that 40 mark."

A few short months, indeed. Remember these words, waaaay back in 2010?

It's deja vu all over again: "While Finn did not directly answer the question ... "

"With tolls, I for one believe if it’s any more than a dollar a toll then we are in serious trouble ... Our hope is that it will be significantly less than that. I know $3 tolls would be devastating to this community.” (Jerry) Finn added that he would never vote for imposing a $3 toll for each trip.

Fast forward to yesterday, and this comment from a Southern Indiana resident.

I will change my commute to the Sherman Minton simply because I can't afford tolls. Doesn't matter how much longer that commute will take, I have no choice ... I just can't comprehend the thought of making them so costly. Just no regard for the common man/woman -- really a shame.

Perhaps Jerry would like to explain.

Perhaps Ron Grooms, Ed Clere and Kerry Stemler can chime in.

Meanwhile, here in Nawbany, does anyone care to predict how long it would take for Dan Coffey, Bob Caesar or someone like them to step forward and demand (not induced demand) that not only should there be no consideration of two-way street reversions, but that the third Spring Street lane should be put back into place to handle the traffic of all those nice folks wanting to shop New Albany during their pass-around excursions to and from work?

Come to think of it: As of this moment, we still do not know what City Hall intends to do about this. Are our streets to remain as they are? To change? The mayor is silent. We are told to trust this silence. Do you?

The following post is from 10 November, 2015. 

---

AAUGH: Gahan, Speck, gridlock, bridge tolls and timetables. 

File under idle curiosity on a day when I clocked a few cars going 50 mph down Spring Street.

If one of the publicly stated purposes of the Speck downtown street network study was to prepare NA for tolling-induced gridlock ...

(it says so here)

 ... and if tolling is to begin by the end of 2016 ...

(as noted here)

 ... and if the need for monetization-friendly engineering studies from Indy-based consultants pushes back any conceivable progress toward street grid reform implementation a full 18 months from April, 2015, to somewhere around October of 2016 ...

(quoted right here)

 ... and if INDOT's published "letting" date for two-way street changes on Market and Spring from Vincennes to State does not occur until January, 2017 ...

(as originally revealed here, but let's have a nice pictorial, too)

Then tell us, exactly how is Team Gahan going to "prepare" New Albany for tolling by the time tolling actually starts?

Or, are we “prepared to take steps to avoid gridlock in our downtown,” only “where feasible"?

As we await an answer from the bunker where transparency goes to die, it may be a good idea not to hold our breaths.

AAUGH: Gahan, Speck, gridlock, bridge tolls and timetables.

File under idle curiosity on a day when I clocked a few cars going 50 mph down Spring Street.

If one of the publicly stated purposes of the Speck downtown street network study was to prepare NA for tolling-induced gridlock ...

(it says so here)

 ... and if tolling is to begin by the end of 2016 ...

(as noted here)

 ... and if the need for monetization-friendly engineering studies from Indy-based consultants pushes back any conceivable progress toward street grid reform implementation a full 18 months from April, 2015, to somewhere around October of 2016 ...

(quoted right here)

 ... and if INDOT's published "letting" date for two-way street changes on Market and Spring from Vincennes to State does not occur until January, 2017 ...

(as originally revealed here, but let's have a nice pictorial, too)

Then tell us, exactly how is Team Gahan going to "prepare" New Albany for tolling by the time tolling actually starts?

Or, are we “prepared to take steps to avoid gridlock in our downtown,” only “where feasible"?

As we await an answer from the bunker where transparency goes to die, it may be a good idea not to hold our breaths.

Matt surveys INDOT's "bridge to nowhere."

You can almost see INDOT scratching its turbo-powered head, muttering: "Whass them pad-estrians want, aneeway ... the hole damn werld?"

NASH: Our ‘bridge to nowhere’, by Matt Nash (N and T)

During the 2008 presidential election “the bridge to nowhere” got a lot of press. The Alaskan bridge that hundreds of millions of federal dollars were earmarked for became the poster child for pork barrel spending.

Fast forward a few years and the citizens of Southern Indiana and Louisville have been sitting around waiting for the completion of the Big Four Bridge which has been a literal “Bridge to Nowhere.”

Here's the takeaway, one that most driving commuters never stop to consider.

Most people don’t realize it but hundreds of people utilize the Clark Memorial Bridge to get to work on a daily basis. Whether walking or riding a bike you can see people on the span at all hours of the day whether for exercise or for their basic transportation needs. Without a way to cross the Ohio River many people will not be able to make it to their jobs for several weeks without being able to utilize the Big Four Bridge.

As though INDOT would consider any non-automotive conveyance, whether a bicycle or one's own feet, as constituting "transportation."

News and Tribune thinks Rep. Clere's bridges, aesthetics and tolls really aren't so keen, after all.

Make no mistake, this editorial is appreciated, if for no other reason than the a annoyance it brings to the local oligarchy. After all, the Kerry Stemlers of our community are accustomed to barking orders, not being questioned.

But something else should be said, too: Where were you two or so years ago, when we really needed you?

The News and Tribune editorial board is comprised of Publisher Bill Hanson, Editor Shea Van Hoy and Assistant Editor Chris Morris. Better late than never, I suppose.

OUR OPINION: If you’re going to do it, do it right

The Ohio River Bridges Project is massive. It’s projected to cost more than $1.6 billion and will take about three years to complete, construction officials say.

With primary construction kick-off just weeks away, some of the smaller details about the project are getting scrutiny, like the bridges approach and overpass aesthetics recently questioned by city of Jeffersonville officials ...

SNIP to the chase.

... issues like the disparity in the quality of aesthetic touches — let alone the fact that Hoosiers will be paying a disproportionate amount of tolling for the new bridges — can do nothing but make Southern Indiana residents feel put-upon. How else should Hoosiers be expected to feel given the facts?

But Wingfield does bring up a good point — there’s still time for Southern Indiana residents and officials to do something about the slight, on aesthetics at least.

We’re calling for construction officials to set aside funding to make the Indiana portion of the project uniform and on par with the planned aesthetics in Kentucky. We urge readers to write INDOT officials and their area state legislators calling on them to take action. And while they’re at it, it wouldn’t hurt to talk about the still-undecided tolling plan.

One whole year after our bridge fell ill, tolls still suck.

On Sunday, September 9, 2012, it will have been one year since the Sherman Minton Bridge closed "indefinitely," a period that turned out to be six months long.  The resulting snafu was so devastating that New Albany very nearly was compelled to market itself as "Come To City," although saner heads eventually prevailed.

The photo above was taken early in the evening of Friday, September 9, 2011, at the Carnegie Center's annual fundraiser.

Bring on the acid: Kerry Stemler sips, picks and grins as the Sherman Minton Bridge closes.

Looking back on it a year later, I stand by what I wrote on the following day, when the fog of uncertainty as yet enveloped us. Perhaps KStem will be back tonight when the Carnegie event reconvenes. If so, perhaps I'll ask him about CART joining the River Fields lawsuit.

---

Sept.10, 2011: Sherman Minton bridge down, Kerry Stemler high like a kite.

What we know, apart from the inevitable sensationalism and multi-generational rumors, is that the Sherman Minton Bridge has been closed "indefinitely" owing to cracks, and that we'll now awake to helicopters each morning as though we were living in one of those places that we routinely bomb in order to ensure a reliable supply of petrol to feed Kerry Stemler's "mobility" solution.

Standing for a couple hours at last night's Carnegie Center fundraiser, serving beer samples and watching the inveterate bridge fetishist Stemler cradle insipid white wine while grinning like a screaming skull on acid, does nothing to inspire one's resistance to conspiracy theories, but being an adult, it is possible to compartmentalize: Nothing that Mitch Daniels says can be trusted, now or two days ago, and at the same time, nothing can be done about any of it right now.

The heavy governmental hitters now will reach a conclusion, and once they reveal it, we'll work through the resulting mess and survive, while at the same time knowing that there has been little money or effort allocated by the state of Indiana to maintain such infrastructure, even as the Tolling Authority devises methods to inflict daily incremental pain, which will be more severe in the coming weeks, and all the errant conclusions derived from the Sherman Minton's structural condition, as trumpeted by the folks at 1Si, can now be used to fluff the oligarchs -- as though they needed any more fluffing.

So it goes. Stay tuned.

At The Urbanophile: "Indiana’s Bridge Deal Boondoggle, Part 3 – INDOT’s Mini-Big Dig."

Links to the first two parts of the series are included, so click through to The Urbanophile, and join Renn in asking: Does INDOT really know what it’s getting into with this tunnel and this project segment?

Indiana’s Bridge Deal Boondoggle, Part 3 – INDOT’s Mini-Big Dig, by Aaron M. Renn (The Urbanophile)


In previous installments in this series I highlighted how Indiana managed to increase its share of the Louisville bridges project by $200 million even as it bragged that the total price tag had gone down by $1.5 billion, how this led directly to Indiana having to allocate $432 million in regular highway funds to the project, and how tolling puts Indiana at significant risk of paying an even greater share of the project.

Today I’ll highlight how Indiana is stepping into a potential quagmire by agreeing to take responsibility for building a high-risk mini-Big Dig tunnel under a portion of Louisville’s most affluent community.

INDOT's Folly, Volume 1: Six wonderful weeks.

Compartmentalization does not preclude merrily contributing to the rumorama, and so here goes the first offering, as sent to me by a local official who shall remain nameless.

INDOT wanted to shut the bridge down last week for a period of 6 weeks so they could finish construction without having to worry about traffic. They received a lot of opposition locally, sooooooo they found cracks ... bridge closed indefinitely ... or about 6 weeks ...

Sherman Minton bridge down, Kerry Stemler high like a kite.

What we know, apart from the inevitable sensationalism and multi-generational rumors, is that the Sherman Minton Bridge has been closed "indefinitely" owing to cracks, and that we'll now awake to helicopters each morning as though we were living in one of those places that we routinely bomb in order to ensure a reliable supply of petrol to feed Kerry Stemler's "mobility" solution.

Standing for a couple hours at last night's Carnegie Center fundraiser, serving beer samples and watching the inveterate bridge fetishist Stemler cradle insipid white wine while grinning like a screaming skull on acid, does nothing to inspire one's resistance to conspiracy theories, but being an adult, it is possible to compartmentalize: Nothing that Mitch Daniels says can be trusted, now or two days ago, and at the same time, nothing can be done about any of it right now.

The heavy governmental hitters now will reach a conclusion, and once they reveal it, we'll work through the resulting mess and survive, while at the same time knowing that there has been little money or effort allocated by the state of Indiana to maintain such infrastructure, even as the Tolling Authority devises methods to inflict daily incremental pain, which will be more severe in the coming weeks, and all the errant conclusions derived from the Sherman Minton's structural condition, as trumpeted by the folks at 1Si, can now be used to fluff the oligarchs -- as though they needed any more fluffing.

So it goes. Stay tuned.