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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-20-22 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - Traffic Advisory Board Comments- for PRAT work session, Wed. 2_22_23From:Marcia Kaveney To:Agenda Subject:Traffic Advisory Board Comments- for PRAT work session, Wed. 2/22/23 Date:Monday, February 20, 2023 1:49:34 PM Attachments:Missing Connector Pathways.png Missing Connector Pathways.png Traffic Advisory Board Comments (final)2.20.23.docx 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.Dear members of the Bozeman Traffic Advisory Board- I am writing to you to offer comments for your upcoming work session on the PRATplan. I hope you will consider adding them to your discussion and yourrecommendations for the Parks and Urban Forestry Advisory Board. My comments areorganized by reference to the consolidated comments that are attached to the meetingagenda. They are attached to this email below as well as a screen shot of suggestedadditional pathway connections to add to the anchor routes map.Thank you for your time and consideration. Best regards,Marcia Kaveney Traffic Advisory Board- PRAT Plan comments In response to the TAB comments compiled by T. Lonsdale on 1/25/23 Strategy #2- Anchor Routes, and #5 Improving Crossings. The city continues to approve housing projects and annexations on the northeast side of town but this area is landlocked between the edge of town, rivers, creeks, and large private landholdings, Interstate 90, and 3 railroad crossings. The existing annexations and pending developments warrant additional attention to this area to provide pathways to move east/west, at least seasonally. McIlhattan Road-shown on the anchor map for future connectivity is currently much too narrow to travel safely on foot or bike. And the connection of Story Mill to Springhill might be good for residents at Riverside to bike to the M, but it does little to connect the residents in the Story Mill district to anything of great value. From personal experience, I would suggest adding the following routes to the anchor map of desirable connections. 1. Connections to add to the Google Anchor Routes doc. on the NE side of Bozeman. (see attached screen shot). Seasonal =because I do not think the smaller pathways I am suggesting below need to be available for year round use. In an area that has 6 months of winter, it does not seem realistic or a smart use of resources to remove snow on all pathways. Winter use could involve Nordic skiing instead. a. Seasonal connection from Glen Lake development to gaining pedestrian access across RR tracks to N.7th. Personal experience proved this to be very difficult with no trails and blocked by barbed wire fences and yet only about 100 yards exist between the commercial park gravel pathways and the parking lots behind N.7th businesses. b. Seasonal connection needed for bikes and pedestrians from Cherry Creek Access across Frontage Road, highway, and RR tracks to access commercial areas near Costco/Target. Taking the long way around via Oak St. simply is not a viable option for foot or bike traffic. c. Frontage Road between Cherry Creek and Springhill road is currently too dangerous and unsafe to travel on foot or bike even though a short distance. Separated multiuse pathway needed here. Additional Strategy #2 comments: 1. I share the concerns about continuous lighting on pathways and in parks, especially. Bozeman’s parks close at night and do not need to be well lit. Adding lighting to parks does not follow the dark sky ordinance of Bozeman and further distances local residents from natural experiences. 2. I do think better attention to winter snow removal should be paid to all sidewalks and bike routes that already exist on paved roads and trails. If we want the sidewalks open in front of businesses perhaps the city should take over clearing the snow or better enforcement is needed. Businesses could opt to pay the city a rate that would pay for services and also contribute to a snow removal fund. Example- the sidewalk is not clear this winter from the Story Mill district to the Cannery district on Oak. The bike path in the road is also not clear and is too dangerous for me even in the summer. Residents north of Oak Street really have no reasonable option but to drive in the winter months. Strategy #8 Watercourses and Linear Parks In general I am a big fan of linear parks as trails and connecting natural spaces for habitat as long as they add to the overall park plan but are not used in lieu of additional parks. In the case of Watercourse setbacks, I hope you will join me in recommending against all forms of trails in any zones of Watercourse Setbacks. It is my understanding that watercourse setbacks were put in place to support both human property and wildlife habitat. When these setbacks are not followed, great expense and harm can occur. Please note the following example of what can go wrong when required setbacks are not adhered to. Legends at Bridger Creek II contains a perfect example of why trails, roads, and private lots do not belong in watercourse setbacks. According to Bozeman’s UDC, the watercourse set back from Bridger Creek is 75 feet. However, this was not adhered to when the subdivision was approved and Boylan Road, some subdivision lots, and a public trail (on private HOA property) are all located within that setback. This has led to many time consuming and expensive problems that both the city and Legends II HOA are still dealing with. In 2018, Legends II experienced vandalism of ditch digging to redirect flooding off the public trail. That vandalism cost Legends II HOA Board members hundreds of volunteer hours and the Legends II HOA spent $10,000 to try to “fix” the problem. Next, beavers moved into the area, a location they have long populated. This natural process increased sedimentation in the creek and it started forming new channels- also a natural occurance in Bridger Creek. This stream braiding and subsequent flooding encroached towards Boylan Road to the point that city staff felt they needed to act on protecting the infrastructure resulting in a $100,000 dollar (tax dollars) capital improvement project to armor Bridger Creek and protect Boylan Rd. Simultaneously the homeowners of Legends II voted to maintain the trail in their open space also located within the watercourse setback and after two years of trying to live with the beavers, found they had no choice but to use lethal methods of removal (drowning/underwater trapping) of 12 beavers between December ’22 and January ’23. This process will likely have to be repeated by the HOA every 3 years to maintain the public trail on the HOA’s private open/natural space. All of this trouble, expense, and death could have been avoided if the subdivision lots, trail, and road did not encroach the watercourse setback. For more details on the city capital improvement project contact Brian Heaston or Nick Ross. Strategy #10- The dirt pathways between the westernmost apex of Boylan Road to Glen Lake are needing fill and widening. They are too narrow to have two bikes pass each other and fill with water in the spring. In the same area, the dirt pathways within the watercourse setbacks could be returned to a natural state with brush. Pathways connecting to bridges that cross over waterways are exempt from watercourse setbacks. Social trails for fishing and creek access will probably still arrive but will hopefully be small enough as to not worsen erosion. In response to comments consolidated Chair Pohl 2/15/23: General. 1. I agree that Active Transportation does not fit neatly into the PRAT plan and deserves it own attention and effort. Further I think any of the trails that access paved roads should fall within the transportation department purview. A strong communication system will need to be established between the parks department and transportation department for the active pathways to succeed. Chapter 3: Connect 1. I do not believe that winter paving on non-paved trails is possible. The plowing of regular sidewalks is damaging enough. I don’t think the gravel could hold up to even the smallest snow removal machines. 2. I somewhat disagree with the comments on routes feeling “natural”. The safety of removed pathways along Griffin and Oak far outweight their natural appearance. That said, I do think that native trees, grasses, shrubs, and flowers could be planted alongside these pathways rather than turf. This would also support the climate and water conservation plans once establishes and would go a long way towards connecting habitat for pollinators and other small wildlife species. Non-native tree species should be limited as they are sterile in regards to habitat support but could be interspersed as shade producting”statues”. Chapter 5: 1. I completely agree that transportation staffand the Transportation Advisory Board should be included in the plans for AT and Trail maintenance and renovations. 2. I completely agree with avoiding over signage and limiting lighting to areas of safety issues and areas with nighttime activity but not using lighting in parks or near natural areas. Who pays for the lighting? Will it be solar powered? 3. I especially like the idea of winter trail use for xc skiers and not trying to plow the natural material trails. That is something I could and would take advantage of.