HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-13-20 Public Comment - A. Hoitsma- TOP Bond Front Street ConnectorFrom:Amy Kelley Hoitsma
To:Agenda
Cc:reno walsh; Dillon Gruber; Chandler Dayton; Vickie Backus; Jeanne & Paul Wesley-Wiese; Matt Marcinek; Addi
Jadin; Dani Hess
Subject:Tonight"s vote on Resolution 5147
Date:Tuesday, October 13, 2020 12:03:07 PM
Honorable Mayor Andrus and Bozeman City Commissioners:
I enthusiastically support the memorandum prepared for you by Parks Planning and Development Manager Addi Jadin, recommending you vote to support Resolution 5147:
“Authorizing the Allocation of Additional Funding up to $110,681.76 from the Trails, Open Space and Parks Bond for the Front Street Connector Trail."
Given Ms. Jadin included as part of her packet to you my comments before the TOP
Committee in February of this year, I will keep my comments very brief.
The Front Street Connector Trail has patiently waited its turn since its initial approval by the Commission in 2015. It is shown in the 2017 Transportation Master Plan as a
pedestrian/bicycle connector trail between Wallace/L Street and Rouse at Oak Street. The reconstruction of Rouse Street caused a years-long delay, during which time pedestrians and
bicyclists heading from our neighborhood to the Cannery District and points west had been forced to negotiate Rouse under construction. Now that this section is completed, it is arguably
much safer with sidewalks and clear lane delineations. And yet, as I pointed out in my February letter to the TOP Committee, we lost the life of a young Bozeman woman in
December 2019 as she biked home from work on N. 19th and was struck by a drunk driver.
It is always safer to route pedestrians and bicyclists on a dedicated pathway where one is available. There is one available here in the Front Street Connector Trail, which will open up
an important connection between the east and west sides of our ever-expanding city.
Please vote yes on this resolution. We have waited a long time for this final vote of approval.
With my very best,
Amy Kelley Hoitsma706 E. Peach Street
Bozeman, MT 59715406-581-1513