HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-14-22 Public Comment - M. Kaveney -Sustainability Board Meeting commentsFrom:Marcia Kaveney
To:Agenda
Subject:Sustainability Board Meeting comments
Date:Wednesday, December 14, 2022 12:07:12 PM
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Hi all-
I won't be able to join the meeting tonight so I am writing to add my comments instead.
I am interested in both the Transportation Demand Management presentation as well as theUDC work session #3.
Some things to add to the two conversations:
-Keeping bike paths and sidewalks clear in the winter is essential to the notion of year round
multimodality. (Sidewalks along N.Rouse have sections that are currently covered in snowremoved from N.Rouse- difficult to pass.)
- Recognize that bike and walking options do not apply to the very young and the very old,
and during the winter- to the majority of residents.( i.e. In winter climates such as ours, biking is a seasonal activity.)
- lessen restrictions for biking on sidewalks outside of the downtown or other densely built
locations
- Bus stops need to be accommodated in all new developments over a certain size andespecially those with new commercial zones. I.e. Billings clinic has added 2 bus stops in their
50 acre development. Canyon Gate so far has not added any. If we want drivers to stopdriving, then we need many more bus stops and we need to support our bus system getting to
all the dense developments.
- Bridger Bowl may need support to offer mid-week buses as their current system isinadequate for many mid-week skiers. A regular bus system to the Bridgers, the M trail, and
Sourdough trail would help with a lot of recreational drives.
- The new commercial pockets spread around the valley has made my own driving patternmuch worse- i.e. Ferguson Farms for a skin doctor, Billings Clinic or Bozeman Health for
GPs, College and 19th for PT and Eyes,etc. Things are becoming so spread out it's harder thanever to compile errands and was even worse when I had kids at one of the new middle
schools. I would encourage a shift in thinking to contain growth rather than allowing newcommercial districts to spring up around the valley.
- Sustainable Building Materials- Good Insulation is one of the best things we can install to
ease heating and cooling needs. Minimum standards should be added to the code for allbuilding including "attainable" and 'affordable" housing.
- I think insulation should take a priority to public electric car and bike chargers
- Add preservation of mature trees to the UDC code. Trees regulate temperature in thesummer, block wind in the winter, and use less water to maintain. (i.e. Several large spruces
removed in Bridger View may open the subdivision to east wind problems.)
- Use codes to prevent blocks of black or darkly colored buildings which create heat collectorsin the summer and large walls of windows which are not good insulators.
-Add passive solar design requirements to building codes. We often do not see appropriate
overhangs for our south and west windows and far too much glass. This will naturally cutdown on heating and cooling energy use.
Thank you for being on the Sustainability Board and for the work you do. I hope thesecomments are helpful.
Kind regards,
Marcia Kaveney