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Home My WebLink About07-25-22 Public Comment - J. Gildea - Fowler Road Expansion IdeaFrom:Jessica To:Agenda Subject:Re: Fowler Road Expansion Idea Date:Monday, July 25, 2022 12:49:36 PM Attachments:Cottonwood Corridor Study.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. I forgot to attach the study! Jessica Gildea | 200 RYT Swim Instructor & Marketing Director makinwaveswithjes.com ThePureBag.com 717-575-5337 Sender notified by Mailtrack On Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 1:43 PM Jessica <jlgildea@gmail.com> wrote:Hello ATB, Thank you for holding space and time for our ideas about Fowler Road at the meeting tomorrow evening and for receiving comments and questions ahead of time. Great idea! I'd like to outline my biggest Concerns: Bozeman is not maintaining its status as the most "liveable" city status (trees are living) and instead is leaning towards being the most "driveable" city. When we place value higher on roads than trees in the "Last Best" state, what message are you sending to the community? We the residents believe trees and this existing tract of land hold intrinsic value. Bozeman IS Bozeman because of trails like this, and for its quaint charm and because of the people. Let's preserve that. The massive environmental harm and destruction to aquatic life, plants and animals. Over 28 endemic birdspecies and migratory nesting birds and mammals call this home. Many people recreate on this trail which creates shade, peace and beauty. It is one of the last green corridors in this area providing shade and peace. The lack of community engagement and comprehensive environmental studies (where are the studies?) presented in a timely manner. The City of Bozeman has only told a portion of the story, to a small samplingof the public. It's been quiet. I believe it is quiet because everyone I tell is against the road, and the morepeople that learn of these plans, the more public outcry you will have (and is already happening as wordtravels!) Pedestrian safety and recreation. Children are currently using this trail to get to 4 different schools. This allows kids to ride their bikes and safely walk to school and offers the wonderful experience of being in nature on their way to/from school. So many people use this trail and LOVE IT! Here are my Questions: At the Open House I attended on June 29th, we were presented with 3 or 5th lane highway, but not a no road option. In the City of Bozeman's report, they shared how many residents preferred 2 over 5 lanes. "A two lane roadway with turn lanes as needed was supported by a vast majority". However, many people I spoke with wrote in, No Road at ALL! What was that number? You need to know that information as well, even though it was not presented as an option to us, because those were responses and should be counted. Why have thosewritten in comments not been reported? If we are truly listening to the community's desires, that information isbeing included. If we are providing biased information, that is neglecting some very important desires and wouldcause me to have some trust issues wtih those who reported back partially information. We have petitions with hundreds of signatures for NO ROAD. That list is rapidly growing each day. "Pre-design environmental review found no conditions that would preclude the project from moving forward" The conditions are the thousands of birds and mammals that call this home and rely on the water for nourishment. Where is this report? When you say preserve the trees, is that preserving the water and the life in and around it? Or putting a road rightup to the trees? There have been no depictions so we are attending this meeting, again, without the full information. Why are we looking at reduced vehicle miles traveled instead of the fact that trees absorb 30% of emissions? And once they're gone, they are gone. https://www.bu.edu/articles/2022/city-trees-and-soil-are-sucking-more-carbon- out-of-the-atmosphere-than-previously-thought/#:~:text=Forests%20actually%20store%20more%20carbon,called%20the%20terrestrial%20carbon%20sink. "Without a well- connected grid like that which Fowler will provide, adjacent streets would inevitably need to be widened into larger footprints in order to handle the diverted demand that the Fowler connection will serve." We have 19th, Ferguson, Cottonwood and believe adjacent streets would not need to be widened, but that if people were instructed to park in their driveways, (sympathizing with multiple people households due to rising rent costs), there would be more room for cars driving by. Speed bumps, speed limit lights, and signs, and patrolled by officers, all are better approaches that would cost less than $10-12 million dollars. Why not divert traffic to the major existing arteries instead, put in excellent Pedestrian Crossings at major intersections, and expand on the precious nature resources we already have in place and make the whole thing a gorgeous trail - instead of fouling up Fowler? Have you read the Cottonwood Corridor Study in 2001? If it was a fragile and ecologically sensitive area then, imagine how much more valuable this is now? Document attached. Jessica Gildea and Patty Dickerson Jessica Gildea | 200 RYT Swim Instructor & Marketing Director makinwaveswithjes.com ThePureBag.com 717-575-5337 Sender notified by Mailtrack