Two IU students were hospitalized over Homecoming weekend after being struck by a car at the intersection of Eagleson Avenue and 17th Street. For many Indiana University students, this crossing is part of their daily routine, crowded with pedestrians walking to class during the day and partygoers at night.
Pedestrian Safety Coordinator Hank Duncan said the intersection has long been on the city’s radar as a problem area.
“We had a meeting with some folks at IU last week, and a big concern we heard was people speeding on 17th Street,” Duncan said. “They are speeding, and that’s how this happens. It’s a lack of sight distance and a lack of ability to brake in time.”
The intersection sits at the top of a hill and has no speed cameras, no stoplight, and no stop sign. Cars traveling down 17th Street have little to slow them as they pick up speed. Students admit they’ve also felt the pressure to get up the hill quickly.
“With it being on top of the hill, you can’t see anything,” IU senior Katie Templeton said. “I know personally driving once, I couldn’t see that there was someone crossing and I’ve had to slam on my brakes before. It’s really hard to tell when someone’s crossing.”
Katie said she’s even more cautious as a pedestrian.
“I would only cross it if no cars were anywhere in sight, because I just don’t think it’s a safe option,” she said.
Allie Udler recounts what happened the night her friend was hit.
IU senior Allie Udler witnessed the dangers firsthand when a friend was hit by a car there last year.
“She shattered her pelvis and wasn’t able to be operated on, to my understanding, at the IU hospital,” Udler said. “It was really scary in the sense that she was injured so horribly that our on-campus hospital couldn’t treat her.”
After the most recent accident, a student in the injured girls’ sorority started a petition calling for a stop sign on 17th Street.
“These conversations are happening because of that push from the community to make something happen,” Duncan said. “That warms my heart frankly, that is the silver lining behind all of this. We have this passionate community who wants to make our street safer who wants to make it safer for our classmates, for our coworkers, our friends, our family to get around.”
Hank Duncan answers questions about the future of the intersection.
Finding a solution has been difficult. The City of Bloomington owns 17th Street, while Indiana University owns Eagleson Avenue.
“When you’re working on an area where two streets are owned by different organizations, it makes it tougher,” Duncan said.
For now, yield-to-pedestrian signs are the immediate fix. Long-term changes to the intersection are still under discussion.
