HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-28-25 Public Comment - P.McGown - Patty McGown with responseFrom:Nicholas Ross
To:Patty McGown
Cc:Bozeman Public Comment; Chuck Winn
Subject:RE: [EXTERNAL]Patty McGown
Date:Friday, February 28, 2025 10:47:47 AM
Good morning, Ms. McGown.
Please allow me to start by apologizing for any confusion our alternate side parking pilot
program has caused. I fully acknowledge there will be some bumps to smooth out but could
not sit by and wait an additional winter to try solutions that can now be refined with the help of
community members like yourself.
The Jandt Neighborhood has some unique issues with water services that preclude us from
regular grading to reduce risk of water main breaks. My intent of including your neighborhood
in the program was to acknowledge our future intent to provide weekly plowing service on the
Tuesday schedule once our 12th, 13th, and 14th Street Water Renovation project is completed
this spring. The ticketing that occurred was not enforcement of the alternate side parking
program, but longtime city ordinances prohibiting parking for more than 72 hours and
inhibiting street maintenance. This enforcement was requested considering the severe
accumulation we received between January and mid-February and our interest in
appropriately clearing streets for emergency access.
While I certainly appreciate the conveniences of street parking, the long-term storage of
personal vehicles in the right of way becomes an intractable problem in severe winter climates
such as ours. Our city ordinances are intended to provide the necessary flexibility for
maintenance when access to the curb is required for snow storage.
I fully concur with you that the time has come to put significantly more resources into local
street plowing. Bozeman has historically accepted these conditions in the past, so hearing
from residents such as yourself is the public process necessary to justify improvements.
By next winter, the Streets Division intends to implement the following improvements:
Staffing five additional operators
Adding two additional motor graders for a total of eight in the fleet
Outfitting existing work trucks with plows for additional service of drive aisles
Procuring routing software with in-cab monitors to assist operators with direction and
coverage
Securing on-call contractor support for residential street plowing to supplement city
services when ongoing snow events require our day shift to serve priority routes
I appreciate the sharing of your concerns and hope to bring a higher level of service to our
residential streets in the future.
Thanks for your time,
-Nick
Nicholas Ross, P.E.
Director | Transportation and Engineering
City of Bozeman
From: Patty McGown <pmcgown23@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2025 12:48 PM
Subject: [EXTERNAL]Patty McGown
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Dear City of Bozeman:
Patty McGown
S 13th Ave
Bozeman
The recent plowing debacle is exactly why the city needs to slow down growth and
density. The city is having a difficult time managing the streets now, especially when
plowing during the winter. The new plan roll-out has too many wrinkles.
And it is unfair!!! The city said they would only be handing out warnings and not tickets
during this learning phase of alternate street parking and confusing instructions. AND
the city did not hold up your end of the bargain on your own mailer on the scheduled day:
plow the streets marked in red.
And then the city came through at other random times and plowed many cars and
driveways in. Then the city issues tickets for being plowed in!?!? This is not what I heard
at the city commission meeting in January, when Mr Ross made his initial presentation
for this pilot plowing program.
Additionally, one neighbor's ticket indicated that the car is supposed to be parked 500
feet from the previous parking spot? I don’t recall this being stated at the city
commission meeting as a requirement. We have a lot of duplexes and triplexes and
density in Jandt so many renters cannot always park in the driveway of the house they
live in.
Some of the cars in Jandt neighborhood can't even navigate the ruts in the street right
now, due to the poor conditions and lack of plowing. This is just so unreasonable to have
expectations that are unexplained and unattainable.
Please ensure that elderly or disabled residents are not asked to park 500 feet away from
their house to move 500’ away from their last parking spot. Who’s keeping track of this
anyway?
Do not plow-in driveways because this creates a health and safety risk by blocking
access to emergency vehicles, and makes travel in annd out inaccessible.
Do not ticket residents for conditions created by the city plows!!! I watched a city
employee in a road grader try to plow in front of my house and, bless their heart, it
appeared that they had no idea what they were doing. Driving a road grader in crowded
and snowy city streets requires skills. This situation is a safety hazard.
Please, plow when you say you're going to plow, otherwise don't put our streets on the
pilot program.
Thank you for your time.
Patty McGown
406-600-1349
Patty McGown