HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-22-22 Public Comment - M. Egge - Re_ SIF009 CIP CommentFrom:Mark Egge
To:Agenda; Cyndy Andrus; Terry Cunningham; Christopher Coburn; I-Ho Pomeroy; Jennifer Madgic
Subject:Re: SIF009 CIP Comment
Date:Tuesday, November 22, 2022 4:42:02 PM
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Madam Mayor, Mr. Deputy Mayor, and Commissioners,
It's a new year for an old project. CIP item SIF009 (Kagy Widening) is
once on your Capital Improvement Plan for consideration. The only thing
that has changed since last year is that the cost of the project hasincreased from an astonishing $16m to an incredible $25,353,600 (while
the forecasted increase in traffic volumes fail to materialize).
If the city is prioritizing its projects based on which investments providethe greatest benefit, I'll note that costs have more than doubled in the last
decade while traffic volumes have remained flat or declined (depending on
where you count).
The 2007 Greater Bozeman Area Transportation Plan (page 9-3) includes a
table of target capacities for roadways of various types:
This table indicates that a three lane road can support volumes of up to18,000 vehicles per day based on how we've historically managed our
roads, and could support up to 22,500 vehicles per day with improvements
like roundabouts and synchronized traffic signals.
The chart below shows the traffic volume trends since 2008 (when the
estimated price tag on this project was ~$8m).
At current trend rates, Kagy should have adequate capacity under historic
management conditions until 2055, and—with some improvements in
management—until year 2098.
When Arnold and Opportunity Way connect to 19th it's likely that volumes
on Kagy may decline further.
Nothing about current traffic volumes or trends suggest any sort of
urgency for completing this project. Widening Kagy will make our system
worse for pedestrians and cyclists crossing Kagy to reach campus. Basedon current traffic counts, it's not clear that widening Kagy would even
benefit motorists.
I would urge you at your CIP meeting on tonight to send this projectSIF009 for a meaningful round of public engagement. In the meantime, I
urge you to move forward design and construction of SIF157 and SIF158
(College Street reconstruction, to include sidewalks and bike lanes) and to
send Church Street (SIF165) for preliminary design. These projects willmove the needle in support of Bozeman's goals for providing an effective
transportation network for users of all modes.
Thank you for your consideration,
Mark Egge
219 E Story St
Bozeman, MT 59715