By Andy Dahn

BLOOMINGTON – A traffic signal and left turn lanes on all approaches of Hershey Road could be on the way as the Bloomington City Council voted to continue future discussions Monday night.

The change would install a traffic light where Hershey intersects with Arrowhead Drive and Clearwater Avenue and would prohibit weekend on-street parking. Driveway turnarounds would be added for residents affected by the change in parking. Public Works Director Jim Karch said a majority of residents have asked for this.

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“This really is an overall benefit for the community,” said Karch. “As long as we can work with the residents and allow them some additional parking in their front yards, that’s where we’re trying to find a nice compromise. They’ll still need to find a place to go to park. But with a major roadway such as Hershey Road that currently takes 16,000 vehicles per day, you want to be able to safely get people to where they’re going.”

If the council decides to move forward with the additions construction would begin in 2016 while school is out of session.

The city is also hoping a newly approved task force will help generate community input on the city’s budget. Mayor Tari Renner said the Budget Task Force that the council approved Monday will offer fresh perspective to the frustrating budget.

“What we’re talking about here is a committee that will have three aldermen that are appointed,” Renner said. “And six (community members) that do not have electoral pressures, but will all hit the ground running to help this community. Now at the end of the day, final decisions are up to (the council). This is just a way of clarifying options, another way of looking at things, other than the (council) going through a budget session that was not very productive back in March.”

Those three elected officials include include Renner, alderman David Sage and Amelia Buragas. The six other members will be residents and community leaders. The committee will meet on a regular basis before reporting back to city officials at a Sept. 14 council work session. Renner said meetings could begin as soon as next week.

The city also adopted the Bicycle Master Plan, which includes designated bike-only lanes on roadways as well as more areas for bicycle parking in town.

Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].