HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-22-25 Public Comment - E. Talago - Public Comment on Winter Maintenance and Parking ManagementFrom:Emily Talago
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment on Winter Maintenance and Parking Management
Date:Tuesday, April 22, 2025 12:00:00 PM
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The proposal to initiate a parking management program to improve winter street operations is
commendable. I am commenting to recommend that we leverage these efforts to maximizeefficiency for parallel improvements, namely the management of on-street parking in
neighborhoods. That is to say, before we print and install a thousand metal signs for managingsnow removal, let's also incorporate the management of on-street parking and other street
maintenance activities. Please resource the collaboration between the engineering department and neighborhoods to
ensure we have a solution that works for our street maintenance workers while minimizingconfusion or consternation in neighborhoods. Temporary orange signs are deployed a few
days out in my immediate neighborhood. This appears mostly successful. Clear instructionsand consistent expectations work well. Engineering needs access to the street to get work
done. Creating that access will require us to shift collective cultural norms and address thedisparity between historic expectations and the current reality of our growth.
In the summer of 2024, the InterNeighborhood Council conducted a survey and submitted
responses to the City Commission. One of the questions on the survey was:Do you support Midtown's request to recommend the City Commission adopt a resolution
requiring the establishment of managed residential parking districts for establishedneighborhoods that are in proximity to and can reasonably expect to be impacted by any
zoning, overlay district, or development proposal utilizing relaxed parking minimums?98.2% of the 221 responses were in support. Detailed responses can be found in the comment.
The city code currently has two tools available for managed parking: Residential ParkingPermit Districts (RPPD) and Parking Management Districts (PMD).
The City has already established the Downtown Parking Management District which does notencompass the entirety of the Midtown Neighborhood Association boundary. However, part of
the west side of the neighborhood association is already located in an RPPD (Bozeman HighSchool).
Given the vast mix current users, and variability of block-by-block supply, we are working ona parking management proposal, guided by the following draft conceptual framework:
-streets and sidewalks are part of a transportation network, people use to come and go fromproperties.
-streets allow adequate access for emergency services and contain other buried infrastructure. -street parking supply and fairness of the exclusive allocation thereof should be deferential and
proportional to source of funding for the historic and projected supply and maintenance.Challenges were are accounting for in our neighborhood proposal:
-Variability of street widths-Incomplete sidewalks
-Lack of boulevards for snow storage-Variable curb cuts
-Lack of city ROW for boulevards
During your work session tonight, please address what resources, if any, are available to
support neighborhoods in a collaborative effort for these parallel endeavours. Thank you foryour consideration.
Emily Talago
INC Representative, Steering CommitteeMidtown Neighborhood Association