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Raised Median To Limit Turns (And Hopefully Accidents) On Frontage Road

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The intersection of Fairway Drive and Frontage Road is a high-accident area.

The City of Bloomington is taking measures to reduce the number of accidents at Frontage Road and Fairway Drive.

Bloomington Public Works Director Jim Karch said the city is planning to add a raised median to prevent left-hand turns on Frontage when it resurfaces that road this summer. The median would prevent left-hand turns on Fairway as well. Karch said he believes motorists will get used to the change.

“The downside is, you do impact that Frontage Road, where people have access. There’s access in other areas along that Frontage Road, but it would not allow that same free-flow of access that you have right now,” Karch said.

Karch said another option the city has considered to improve safety is a traffic circle at nearby Fairway and Robinhood Lane. That isn't part of the plan for now based on need and because of cost.

“Traffic circles do, under the right circumstances, improve safety,” Karch said. “They improve the traffic flow. They make some intersections safer. The downside could be that we have to look at acquiring additional right-of-way. There’s also additional cost.”

Part of Fairway and Regency to the south will also get bike lanes when the roads are resurfaced this summer.

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Dania is a reporter at GLT, as well as a student at Illinois State University.
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