Construction on Kirkwood Avenue this summer will increase accessibility and safety, the city says. And with support from Downtown Bloomington Inc., the city will host a series of events downtown through November.  

Throughout the summer, the city will invest nearly $4.7 million in improvements along Kirkwood, Rogers St., Grimes Lane and Patterson Drive. Work includes street paving, crosswalks, accessible curb ramps, traffic signal improvements and stormwater infrastructure.

The Community Crossings Matching Grant program from the state will provide $1 million for these improvements. The rest comes from the City’s Public Works and Engineering funds, pedestrian safety funds, utility funds and bond proceeds. 

Over $800,000 will go toward paving downtown streets and downtown-adjacent streets, as well as surface parking lots. The city will also spend over $107,000 on alley bollards, which are vertical posts used to manage traffic and protect pedestrians, and to promote safety during festival setups. 

Over $400,000 is going toward replacing sidewalk bricks on Kirkwood. 

Adam Wason, public works director for the city, said the issues involve fixing trip hazards. 

“And then the other really great benefit of this is they'll all get reset with an adhesive underneath of them,” he said. “It may have been the case that a few of those bricks may have gone home as souvenirs with a recent graduate or somebody wanting to memorialize their time in Bloomington.” 

There will be block-by-block road closures of Kirkwood, which started in May, for sidewalk maintenance. Wason thinks these projects will improve accessibility to the downtown area.

“Mobility, accessibility, those would be great improvements, and overall, just beautification as well,” he said. “When you've got new and fresh pavement and such, it shows that you're investing back into your downtown.”  

Construction will conclude in mid-July. 

Read more: City council revisits carless Kirkwood; mayor not on board

Activities 

One activity, Bloomington Bingo Bites, involves people visiting downtown restaurants and completing squares on a Bingo card. Those with completed bingo cards are eligible for prizes such as restaurant gift cards. 

On the second Wednesday of each month, there will be family-friendly games and activities on Kirkwood from 5-8:30 p.m. as part of the Family Night Out program. And on the third Wednesday of each month, Downtown Shop Night will allow people to shop locally during extended evening hours, from 4-7 p.m. Busk at Dusk will feature local musicians and performances downtown.  

Wason said this effort encourages people to spend time downtown and support local businesses. It’s also a way to use the space more; in a memo explaining why closing Kirkwood is unsustainable, the city noted limited community and business use of the space. It also said there are limited resources and staff to organize continuous programming.  

According to data from the city, average daily visits to Kirkwood decreased 8 percent from 2024 to 2025, even though event activity increased 57 percent. Other challenges the city has faced include accessibility for delivery drivers and limited community interest in programming. When no special events were taking place, closed streets “invited negative activation such as crowd surges, violence and threats of violence and high-risk behaviors.”   

Wason said activities are a way to address these concerns. 

“Just outside of your traditional dining hours, the more people you bring down to Kirkwood on a regular basis, the more folks that are going to be in your shops and such,” Wason said. “When the students leave here in May, it's seemingly been a trend where less and less students stay back in Bloomington for the summer, so the more economic activity we can bring to the downtown during that slow period is really the intent.” 

When considering whether to keep Kirkwood open or closed to vehicle traffic, Wason says the city will aim to balance pedestrian safety, transportation and economic development.  

Last week, city council introduced an ordinance to make portions of Kirkwood closed to vehicular traffic from April 1 to Nov. 15 annually. But for this summer, Kirkwood will remain open to vehicular traffic, and businesses have the option to have parklets, where they use metered parking spots in front of their property along Kirkwood for outdoor dining.    

“It's the stance of the city administration that we want an open Kirkwood for now. You know, we've got plans to study Kirkwood,” Wason said. “…Overall, I think what's taking place on Kirkwood right now is exactly kind of a great balance of having the outdoor dining opportunities, having it open to vehicles, and also keeping it a safe place for pedestrians and bicyclists.”