The City of Bloomington began work on it’s Seven-Line project at the beginning of June. The aim of the project was fairly simple.

Bloomington officials had hoped to build on the prior success of the B-Line bike trail with an eastward expansion that ran along 7th street. The new protected two way bike lane would cut through town and connect the IU campus and even the neighborhoods to the east of campus.

The city listed its initial timeline for the project to be complete by the fall of 2021. But as students returned to campus, only the stretch from 7th Street and Woodlawn Ave. in front of the IMU, to 7th and Indiana Ave. was fully paved and painted.

And as the semester rolled along and summer turned to fall, the construction only intensified, leaving less parking and space for vehicles to navigate, and more confusion and frustration among residents.

“I’m not (going to) complain about it once it’s already there,” IU junior Zak Greenbaum said, “But while they’re building it I’m (going to) complain. This is my walk to class every day and I have to walk through this construction site. I’d rather just have it what it used to be.”

Greenbaum is not alone when it comes to questioning the decision to install the bike lane in the first place.

IU sophomore Mason Williams felt that once completed, the protected bike lane would be a positive way for commuters to make their way through campus and the city. But Williams also felt that ongoing construction and a lack of clear signage was leading to dangerous situations, like vehicles turning down the bike lane.

“With the increased foot traffic and just the sheer amount of people that go through this intersection, whether it be via car or bike or just walking through, and really just up and down the whole road, it’s an issue that probably could have been resolved over the summer,” Williams said.

What’s more, buses have more difficulty turning down 7th Street thanks to narrowed lanes, often forcing westbound traffic traveling to go in reverse to give the buses space to turn.

“It causes an opportunity where a lot of accidents can happen, and that’s simply just not safe,” said Williams.

With the project not expected by the city to be complete until the winter, law enforcement officials at IUPD have taken to the street to protect and educate pedestrians and motorists alike.

“First and foremost is all the safety of our students, faculty staff and visitors that come on our great campus,” IUPD Deputy Chief Shannon Bunger said.

Bunger noted that IUPD doesn’t give out citations to those vehicles going down the wrong lane. Instead officers merely seek to explain and educate drivers, letting them off with a warning.

But in a city like Bloomington with it’s numerous one-way streets and ever-changing traffic patterns, a little self policing is necessary too.

“What we’re asking people is just to slow down and take their time,” said Bunger.

Once completed the 7-line will stretch nearly three quarters of a mile across campus. The project is one of seven included in Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton’s $10 million Bicentennial Bond proposal.