Planning and Transportation

The City of Bloomington Planning & Transportation Department provides a continuity of City government services to support the community’s well-being by offering both remote and in-person services. 

6TH ST BACK-IN ANGLE PARKING - To improve visibility and safety for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, the City of Bloomington has converted the on-street parking on East 6th Street between Walnut and Washington streets to back-in angle parking. What changed exactly? In conjunction with a scheduled street paving of 6th Street, the new parking stall lines were striped at a different angle to allow for reverse parking. Some of the meters and bicycle racks were moved to better align with the new parking spaces. Drivers will now drive forward, just passing the parking space to then back in slowly, similarly to parallel parking. A good rule of thumb is to line up your side view mirror with the third line counting from the outermost line of the parking space you are backing into. Overall, drivers will have better visibility when driving out of a parking space.

Please fill out this survey to leave your feedback on the new back-in angle parking on 6th Street. For more information about the project please visit the Engineering Department's Current Infrastructure Projects webpage. The survey can be found here: https://forms.gle/xfGncrggeRyFcwh97

When Conducting Business with Planning and Transportation:

• Call first - speak with staff as most inquires can be addressed over the phone.  This includes payments, permits, and general questions.
• Email or use standard mail -  permits, others forms and materials can easily and safely be emailed or mailed.
• Walk-in service is welcome, but please consider on-line and remote service options we offer.    
• Exercise patience - our goal is to provide the best service.
• Permits and Information - access on-line permit applications and annual petition map information at: https://bloomington.in.gov/planning/permits

As Bloomington continues to evolve and change as a community, the City of Bloomington Planning and Transportation Department has a very important mission: To ensure that the elements that make Bloomington special are maintained and enhanced as new development and redevelopment occurs. In order to ensure that our community retains its unique qualities, it is important to proactively plan for the impacts of this future development.

Accomplishing this task requires the Planning and Transportation Department's corps of professional staff to develop long-term plans which address important community issues such as the provision of adequate transportation infrastructure, the development of sidewalk, pathway, and trail networks, and the protection and enhancement of Bloomington's neighborhoods. 

In addition to developing these long-term plans, the Planning and Transportation Department must review both permits for construction, as well as development projects requiring public hearing approval. As part of this review, the Planning and Transportation Department strives to ensure that environmental features are protected, buildings exhibit high-quality architecture, and pleasing streetscapes are created.

Most of all, our department works hard to review development projects and create long-term plans in order to protect and enhance Bloomington's great quality of life.

The Planning and Transportation Department is organized into two divisions: Development Services and Planning Services. Development Services provides expertise on zoning and land use questions, reviews development petitions, administers and issues permits, enforces zoning ordinances, and provides policy direction related to environmental protection. Planning Services provides expertise on long-range planning studies and sub-area planning studies for land use and transportation policy, collects, analyzes and disseminates data, assigns addresses and issues permits. 

The Planning and Transportation Department provides support to numerous boards and commissions linked at https://bloomington.in.gov/planning/boards. More specific information on Department projects, programs, and services is provided at the links below. If you have any questions, please contact the Planning and Transportation Department at (812) 349-3423, or send an E-mail to Planning@bloomington.in.gov.