HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-18-23 Public Comment - W. Kilian - Funding for bicycle pathsFrom:Wren Kilian
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Funding for bicycle paths
Date:Tuesday, December 12, 2023 5:19:50 PM
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Dear City Commissioners,
It is very important that you include funding for the CIP budget for the next 5 years for the Frontage Rd.
Pathway and the Haggerty Pathway.
The need for safe pathways for pedestrians and bicyclists is especially important as our city grows, and
traffic increases exponentially.
Many individuals rely on healthy and clean modes of transportation, especially as the cost of owning a
vehicle increases.
We are having more and more injuries and even fatalities as bikes and vehicles collide due to a lack of
safe routes.
The failure to include these important assets to our community for safe alternative transportation is
neglectful. We always seem to find funding to expand roads, put in stoplights, and deal with infrastructure
needs for vehicles, but are remiss in seeing the big picture.
Please be attentive to the needs of all members of our community, and do not continue the gross misuse
of taxpayer monies by disproportionately funding one mode of transportation over another that is actually
healthier for our community. By providing funding and support for safe bike routes, we could have a more
sustainable and healthier community as more and more people will utilize the pathways. It is also a boon
for marketing our city, as a town that cares about providing safe and sustainable transportation. We are
the last best place, but we don't seem to realize how to take better care of it through simple but invaluable
assets like safe bike routes.
By failing to include funding for the Frontage Road and Haggerty Pathways in the CIP budget for the next
5 years, you are delaying the projects to the point where all the work that has been done up to this point
is defeated.
Your lack of action on this issue will undoubtedly cause more bicyclists and pedestrians to be injured or
killed, and a family will lose a loved one, or a life will be irreparably damaged. Your conscience will have
to deal with that sad fact.
Please do the right thing and include the Haggerty and Frontage Rd Pathways in the CIP budget for the
next 5 years.
Sincerely,
Wren Kilian
Bozeman, MT