HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-08-20 Public Comment - S. Haraldson - Text from Public Comment Provided in Person at 8-Dec MeetingFrom:Sam Haraldson
To:Agenda
Subject:Text from Public Comment Provided in Person at 8-Dec Meeting
Date:Tuesday, December 8, 2020 8:13:04 PM
Good evening, Mayor and commissioners. My name is Sam Haraldson and I reside at 211
Lindley Place.
I am the president of the non-profit Bozeman Bike Kitchen and previously served eight yearson the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board.
Tonight I urge the Commission to bring to the attention of the Montana State DOT issues
with the newly constructed portions of Peach street at its intersection with Rouse Ave.
On behalf of the Bike Board in the Spring of 2011 I played a key role in presenting the meritsof re-striping Peach street to include bicycle lanes. Peach and it’s extension West on Durston
are arguably the most important piece of bicycle infrastructure in Bozeman and possibly thelongest stretches of continuous cycle path in the City.
Ensuring this type of connectivity is written as City Policy in the Commission’s Complete
Streets Resolution signed by Mayor Krauss in 2010. My issue with the reconstruction of theWest side of Peach Street at Rouse may seem minor for it is but a stretch of asphalt about a
hundred feet long. But in that short stretch the DOT obliterated the bicycle lanes and replacedthem with traffic lanes devoted only to cars. You can imagine the discomfort of a family
riding their bicycles from the West and suddenly encountering a sign that simply states “BikeLane Ends”. This is the bike lane that I devoted hours of work to get installed and that
brought Peach up to the standards of the adopted Policy.
Years ago I attended the listening sessions for this reconstruction put on by MDT and Iattended the meetings of the Northeast Neighborhood Association as they preemptively
planned this intersection to ensure it’s proper construction. Now that the project is completeenough to travel through it is clear that DOT chose to remove key pieces of bicycle
infrastructure. The Complete Streets resolution states that “any project that does not meet theprinciples should be confirmed and filed with the City Commission for review”. It is this
issue that I wholeheartedly request the City take up the State DOT. It should be made clearthat there was perfectly good existing bicycle infrastructure at this intersection prior to this
reconstruction and that it’s removal and replacement with a handful of signs about bike lanesstarting and ending is unacceptable and not in line with our City’s commitment to providing
equality to all road users.
Thank you for hearing me out.