HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-26-23 Public Comment - M. Egge - Transportation Board Resolution 2023-01From:Mark Egge
To:Agenda
Subject:Transportation Board Resolution 2023-01
Date:Monday, June 26, 2023 7:45:14 PM
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Members of the Transportation Board,
I'm writing to express my support for Resolution 2023-01, Recommending
that the Bozeman City Commission Support Ordinance 2142 Setting Safe
Speed Limits on Arterial and Collector Streets.
Reducing motorist speeds improves safety for all users—and, especially,
vulnerable road users including pedestrians and cyclists. The image below
illustrates the relationship between speeds and outcomes when apedestrian or cyclist is hit by a vehicle. Basically, 90% of pedestrians
struck by cars will survive at 20 MPH; 80% of pedestrians hit at 40 MPH
will die.
Vehicle Speed comparison to chance of Pedestrian Injury and Fatality
Data source: US Department of Transportation, Literature Reviewed on Vehicle Travel Speeds
and Pedestrian Injuries. March 2000.
Image credit: San Francisco MTA Vision Zero Action Plan, February
2015: https://view.joomag.com/vision-zero-san-francisco/0685197001423594455?short
I wanted to add a few considerations to the discussion:
1. In general, drivers choose their speed based on the visual cues given
to them by the roadway more so than posted speed limits. Reducing
a posted speed limit by 5 MPH has typically only produced a reduction
in average speeds of 1 – 2 MPH.
2. Montana law prohibits cities from setting posted speed limits lowerthan 25 MPH, except near parks and school zones. That said, the
state does not place any limits on urban design speeds—that is, the
speed that "feels natural" for drivers.
3. Reducing posted speed limits is a good first step, but the key toreducing vehicle speeds is actually to design roads that encourage
slower speeds. This includes strategies such as narrower lanes,
removing the center lane striping (e.g. 15th Ave near Bozeman High
School). For instance, consider the speeds that people drive in thewinter when lanes are narrowed by snow banks versus speeds in the
summer months. While the most complex road environment "feels"
more dangerous to drivers, paradoxically it tends to improve safety
outcomes for all users by keeping drivers engaged and payingattention.
4. Many of the most dangerous streets in Bozeman with the highest
speeds are owned and operated by the Montana Department of
Transportation (MDT). MDT has declared a commitment to "VisionZero" (a set of principles intended to eliminate all traffic-related
deaths). It is within MDT's authority to reduce the speeds on its roads
that are within Bozeman's city limits (e.g. all three of the cyclists
killed within city limits in the last four years were killed on MDT roadswith 40+ MPH speed limits). This resolution should also be sent to
MDT (to our Butte District administrator and to MDT's senior
leadership).
I recommend strengthening the resolution by directing the City to designfor slower speeds (in addition to posting lower speed limits), engage MDT
is a conversation around reducing vehicle speeds on its roads within
Bozeman city limits (in support of its Vision Zero policy), and to further
direct the City to include in its legislative priorities for the 2025 legislativesession to introduce legislation that would allow cities to establish a speedlimit of 20 MPH on local roads.
Thank you,
Mark Egge
219 E Story St
Bozeman, MT 59715