HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-09-25 Public Comment - A. Kociolek - Application 24655From:Angela Kociolek
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Application 24655
Date:Sunday, March 9, 2025 7:52:50 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you
recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
ATTN: Zachary Moon
As a neighbor and a mother of a child who walks Cottonwood Street between N Tracy and
Rouse Avenues often, I read this application with great interest.
I believe beloved neighborhoods like ours deserve individualized attention and creativethinking in order to save what we love. I strongly support saving mature vegetation (and
protecting it during construction) in every instance. Additionally, I’d like to talk about safety.Today, Cottonwood Street does not see as much east-west traffic as Tamarack or Peach
Streets. However, when the North 3rd Avenue apartments become inhabited, this is likely tochange - drastically. If I’m not mistaken, a driveway from this new apartment complex will
spill directly onto Cottonwood Street. Therefore, a sidewalk (even if it takes years throughorganic redevelopment) makes sense - in addition to potential future traffic calming measures
at intersections.
Bozeman is a “Tree City USA” so following the Arbor Day Foundation’s bulletin (link below)
is absolutely fitting - “Sometimes […] curving a walk can preserve the root space of a
prized tree." Indeed, all levels of the City's Community Development staff would do well to
become familiar with this bulletin and perhaps use it as a guide to educate developers andimprove upon existing environmental protections in the UDC.
In addition, I suggest the City consider foregoing a boulevard along the remaining future
sidewalk sections of this street and instead "bump out" a new sidewalk. This would meanoffsetting the alignment from the newly installed sidewalk between Rouse and Montana
Avenues but is a solution worth considering. Notably, Director of Transportation Nick Rossrecently informed NENA neighbors at our fall potluck that narrower streets (such as N
Willson between Peach and Villard) are statistically safer. Therefore, using five feet or less ofexisting right of way to preserve the mature vegetation should not be an issue. In fact, it may
be just the forward-looking safety measure we need given the anticipated increase of vehiculartraffic using Cottonwood Street by hundreds of new dwellers from the North 3rd apartments.
Installing a safe route (sidewalk) - while protecting existing mature vegetation - is an action
worth taking for the greater good.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Angie Kociolek620 N Tracy Ave
Bozeman, MT 59715
Arbor Day Foundation Bulletin:https://www.arborday.org/tree-resources/saving-trees-during
construction#:~:text=Mark%20and%20Fence%20Trees%20%E2%80%94%20If,equipment%20must%20be%20kept%20clear.