HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-20-24 Public Comment - B. Alsaker - Attn_ City Commission and Transportation Director - Fowler ConnectionFrom:Britt Alsaker
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Attn: City Commission and Transportation Director - Fowler Connection
Date:Wednesday, June 19, 2024 2:56:19 PM
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To whom it may concern,
I want to add my response to the recent Letter to the Editor comment- "Fowler development
calls our priorities into questions."
My response:
Of the locals I've spoken with, 100% of them share this same perspective and are saddened by
the idea of this project. I've watched bald eagles nest in this corridor, and foxes raise their
young. It's teeming with wildlife. Who doesn't like walking next to a shady creek with mature
trees while listening to the soft babble of the moving water while birds are chippering?
Wouldn't it be amazing to save this gem of a corridor and make it into a safe biking/walking
corridor that our community's kids can use to commute to GHS, CJMS, and the handful of
elementary schools scattered around, not to mention others who would like to bike commute,
but don't feel safe in a bike lane next to zooming cars and trucks. If we're talking about
connecting communities what better way than to create more environments where it's easier
and safer to get out of the isolating domes of our vehicles and say hello, smile, and wave at
our neighbors and community members and actually connect with one another- like Bozeman
used to be. Not to mention the significant tax dollars we could save, and could be allocate to
other more dire traffic issues. Last I saw this project was budgeted for over $22 million, and
that was before inflation. Once these increasingly rare islands of green are gone-they are gone
forever. I believe our leadership has a pivotal choice to make in the kind of Bozeman they wish
to create. I vote for a Bozeman where everyone has access to green corridors and a commute
that does not require a vehicle to get to their destinations safely while prioritizing genuine
community connections. Make the Fowler connection about people, not cars. Let's keep
Bozeman wild :)
Thank you for listening to the voices of this amazing community and taking the care required
to deliberate cautiously on such a profound community altering decision.
Kind Regards,
Britt Alsaker-Smith, Bozeman resident since 1997