BWAM has engaged on one of the big road projects facing Missoula in the next decade: the rebuilding of Russell Street. For many years, local residents have argued for a neighborhood-friendly road, a “complete street” that would serve walkers, cyclists, and motorists, keep traffic at sane speeds, and avoid harm to nearby homes.
BWAM recently caught wind that the city and its consultants may not share that vision and wrote a letter to the Public Works Department with a reasonable approach: reconstruction of the Russell Street Bridge, with better car access, bike lanes and sidewalks; a multi-lane boulevard between the bridge and 3rd Street; roundabouts at key intersections; and three auto travel lanes with bike lanes and sidewalks between 3rd and Mount streets, in part to preserve the local neighborhood and slow traffic speeds.
We got a speedy and polite response from Public Works Director Steve King, which indicates that the city administration may have a different vision, with limited or no roundabouts and five travel lanes all the way from Brooks Street to the bridge across the Clark Fork – essentially another Reserve Street in the heart of Missoula. Does Missoula really want or need another Reserve Street, probably the least popular street in the city? You can share your thoughts on the subject at a public forum on the evening of April 16th; for more information, contact John Wolverton in the Franklin-to-the-Fort neighborhood at (406) 543-6696.
Missoula is bursting with new processes to develop plans for long range transportation, downtown, and the county’s urban fringe areas. What’s interesting is that local participants in these processes are strongly urging that more attention be paid to biking and walking issues. In a recent forum on downtown’s future, 160 participants were asked what were the top three issues facing the district. The reply? In order of importance: retail, housing, and bike/walk safety (ahead of parking or auto access). In February sessions on long-range transportation planning, participants overwhelmingly opted for a future development scenario in Missoula County that emphasizes biking, walking and transit facilities. These processes are still ongoing. If you’d like to learn more, check in with BWAM’s 3P (Policy, Project, Program) Team, via Jeremy Hood at 3PTeam@bikewalkmissoula.org or 529-3467. Or you can check with the Missoula Downtown Association or Missoula’s Office of Planning and Grants.
BWAM, Adventure Cycling Association and Missoula Bike Works (MBW) will be hosting a fun-filled spring cycling kick-off party at MBW on Thursday, April 3 from 6 pm till the drinks run out (more or less). There’s no charge and it will be a great chance to meet a cross-section of folks who care about self-propelled transport in the Garden City. Snacks, beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks will be served and you can enjoy the sight and feel of many fine bicycles on the MBW floor. For directions or more information, go to MBW at www.missoulabicycleworks.com or call 721-6525.
On Thursday, March 20th, Missoula will be hosting an expert on biking and walking from Portland, Oregon, thanks to Missoula in Motion (MIM). Jessica Roberts, a planning consultant with Alta Planning (one of the foremost bike/walk planning firms in North America), will be in town to deliver a speech at MIM’s transportation awards luncheon.
Also, Adventure Cycling Association (at 150 East Pine St, corner of Pattee, in downtown) will host Jessica that morning from 8-9:00 am. She’ll be talking at a roundtable discussion about effective advocacy for biking and walking. With her background as a former staffer for Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance (one of the largest local membership bike groups in the U.S.), Jessica will have a lot to share.
For info on the Missoula in Motion lunch (free with your RSVP), call 258-4961. If you plan on going to the Adventure Cycling session, call and let then know you’re interested so they can plan ahead on refreshments: 721-1776.
BWAM spoke loud and clear at the March 6th TTAC meeting, and now the DOT is going back to the drawing board in order to find a way to keep bike lanes in the redesign. Read all about the TTAC meeting, including quotes from not one, but two, BWAM board members in the Missoulian's March 7th article.
Thanks to everyone who wrote us in support of keeping the bike lanes. We heard you!