HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-04-24 Public Comment - M. DiBerardinis - Guthrie BuildingFrom:Mikaela DiBerardinis
To:Agenda
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Guthrie Building
Date:Tuesday, April 2, 2024 5:28:14 PM
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Dear City Commissioners,
I am a life-long resident and grew up in downtown Bozeman. I am currently raising 4 childrenjust 2 blocks from the proposed Guthrie Project. 2 of my children attend Whittier Elementary
School and one will be starting kindergarten in the fall of 2025. With the growth of Bozeman,my children are no longer allowed to walk to school alone and furthermore it has required me
to walk or drive them to school many days of the week because of transient residents anddistracted drivers and folks who do not shovel their sidewalks because they do not reside here
9 months out of the year and those who do not stop at intersections for pedestrians.
I encourage you to try to park near Whittier Elementary school during school drop-off or pick-up and more importantly try to walk with small children crossing the streets. North 7th traffic
is bumper to bumper from Main Street to the interstate during morning and afternoon/eveningcommute. Can you imagine the traffic that would be caused by adding 200+ vehicles with
nowhere to park? I can, and it is not conducive for a school setting. The buses have a hardtime getting their routes done on time because of the traffic which impacts ALL of Bozeman,
not just the Whittier district.
I am asking you to SAY NO to the Guthrie development until they have addressed the parkingissue. 27 parking spaces for a building set to house 300+ people is unacceptable.
I have additional concerns for the short term leases and being so close to an elementary
school. The people staying in short term "attainable housing" are not going to be citizenscontributing to our community or voting for any of our local politicians. Their money will be
sent to their full time residences to support the community they came from. Bozeman does notneed short term attainable housing for transient workers to build these developments, we need
AFFORDABLE housing for the people who live here and make our community function.
Is Andy Holloran/HomeBase willing to pay for speed bumps, flashing crossing signs andspeed radars on the adjacent streets? I doubt it.
Thank you for your time, you will continue to hear from me and the rest of the residents who
this will drastically affect. Gone are the days that the old people would wave at our kids fromthose windows on 5th while walking by after school, but that doesn't mean we cannot keep
this NEIGHBORHOOD safe for our children.
Mikaela DiBerardinis406-548-7539
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Mikaela DiBerardinis
406-548-7539www.diberardinis.com
hello@diberardinis.com