HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-14-24 Public Comment - M. Kaveney - Fowler Avenue Connection comments for CC mtng. July 16, '24From:Marcia Kaveney
To:Bozeman Public Comment; Mitchell Overton; Nicholas Ross
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Fowler Avenue Connection comments for CC mtng. July 16, "24
Date:Sunday, July 14, 2024 8:39:10 AM
Attachments:Fowler Avenue Connection-comments July 14, 24.docx
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Dear Staff- Please add the following comments to the Fowler Avenue Connection comment folder for the
July 16, 2024 City Commission meeting.
Thank you,
Marcia Kaveney for the Bozeman Tree Coalition
July 14, 2024 Re: Fowler Avenue Connection
Dear Mayor Cunningham, Deputy Mayor Morrison, Commissioners Madgic, Fischer, and Bode, and fellow city officials and advisory boards: Transportation and Engineering Director Ross, Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), Parks and Recreation Director Overton, and Urban Parks and Forestry Advisory Board (UPF):
The Bozeman Tree Coalition (BTC) originated as a group of concerned citizens coming together over the loss of native trees and forests within Bozeman city limits. The six founding members have extensive backgrounds in natural resource management and related fields. In addition, there are over 200 additional members of the public who are interested in these issues. It is our belief
that housing and trees can co-exist, and this extends to transportation corridors. The BTC works
to protect the ecological functioning of Bozeman’s urban forest and the ecosystem services it provides to the Bozeman community as a whole. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Fowler Avenue Connection (FAC) road
project (Oak St. to Huffine Lane), now in its 30 % design phase. The FAC corridor of primarily
native willows and cottonwoods is perhaps unique in our quickly growing city. Its native trees provide ecological benefits and ecosystem services for people and the wildlife that inhabit it (e.g., 38 species of birds documented in 2022). The FAC corridor presents the City of Bozeman with a rare opportunity to keep the connectivity that remains and improve on fragmented islands
of habitat.
First and foremost, the BTC suggests the FAC may not be necessary at this time. However, we understand the City may decide to move forward with it. If the City does move forward, we concur with the Gallatin Wildlife Association’s July 2, 2024, letter and other concerned residents
that the following design features are some of the most important to include in the design plan:
1. Commit to disturbing the absolute minimum number of trees as possible for this project, recognizing that a small but ecologically functioning linear forest (especially the riparian area along the irrigation ditch) is much more valuable than planted trees on the boulevard.
2. Commit to a native vegetation buffer/setback from the road and shared use path to protect the root zone of existing trees and current ecological function and habitat. 3. Limit the width of the proposed two lanes of vehicle travel to the minimum required.
4. Locate a shared use path on the west side and a boulevard/sidewalk on the east side from Babcock to Oak to retain as much existing native vegetation as possible. 5. Allow the existing trees to remain in an unimproved natural state to maintain their ecological
functioning. Retain a largely unmowed buffer as habitat for birds and pollinators. To deter birds
from the right of way, mow a narrow portion on a schedule that avoids ground nesting bird breeding season.
6. Formalize a zoning designation that will protect this habitat corridor area into the future.
7. Incorporate ecology professionals early in the design process and through project completion. 8. Install one shared pathway to eliminate the need for an additional bike path/lane.
9. Eliminate additional east-west connectors because they are not warranted by the current
transportation design, which currently calls for connectors to be located every half mile. 10. Eliminate medians from Oak St to Durston Rd, which is an efficient use of space and is supported by the lack of existing medians on the other two sections of the FAC (Durston Rd to
Babcock St and Babcock St to Huffine Ln).
We greatly appreciate Deputy Mayor Morrison and Transportation and Engineering Director Nick Ross meeting with engaged citizens who are also members of the BTC on Wednesday, July 11, and Thursday, July 12, respectively. Joey and Nick were both engaging and seemed to
understand our concerns.
The FAC could be an excellent pilot project for engaging diverse stakeholders and placing the emphasis on the protection of the urban forest and adjoining ecosystem while also meeting the perceived transportation needs of the city. Protecting the existing ecosystems in the FAC corridor
also meets many of the stated goals of the City of Bozeman, including those listed in the
Bozeman Climate Plan; Parks, Recreation, and Active Transportation Plan; and Gallatin Valley Sensitive Lands Protection Plan. Thank you for your consideration of our comments.
Sincerely, Bozeman Tree Coalition