HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-02-25 Public Comment - Friends of Fowler - Fowler Avenue Connection project_ Walking Tour RequestFrom:FFC
To:Nicholas Ross; Takami Clark
Cc:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Fowler Avenue Connection project: Walking Tour Request
Date:Wednesday, July 2, 2025 11:39:24 AM
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(For Public Comment and Public Record)
Director Ross, Director Clark,
Thank you for offering a walking tour of the Fowler Avenue Connection (FAC) project’s 60% design phase.
As you know, members of the public are not familiar with reading plan drawings, so this walking tour will
be very beneficial in helping folks understand how this proposed development will impact 1.5 miles of
existing neighborhoods, trees, and tree root zones.
As was provided at last summer’s walking tour, the public would benefit from seeing the extent of the FAC
development impact with survey stakes. It was very helpful at last summer’s FAC walking tour when
Transportation Director Nick Ross set up survey stakes to show the extent of impacts, which was
instrumental in facilitating a discussion on lessening those impacts. Now that the 60% design reveals more
details about the extent of impacts resulting from the proposed facility, the grading plan, and storm water
management, Friends of Fowler requests that the City to again:
Set survey stakes to show the road width, boulevards, and shared use paths on both sides,
especially where the FAC is close to the riparian corridor and to residences. Ask them to
make sure the survey stakes show not only the road and paths, but also the limits of
disturbance from earth moving (grading) and impacts from storm water infrastructure.
Identify trees proposed to be cut down using ribbon tape or tree-marking paint to allow the
public to visualize the proposed tree loss.
Additionally, we look forward to hearing about progress made in incorporating ecology professionals and
progress made in meeting ecology and climate goals:
Incorporate ecology professionals early in the design process and through project
construction. Last summer, FFC was heartened to learn that the City’s Transportation
Department was exploring a collaboration with MSU’s Western Transportation Institute Road
Ecology Department on this project. This is a step in the right direction to becoming better
stewards of the natural resources we still have in and around Bozeman. What is the status of
this partnership?
The City's Climate Plan goals and Branch Out Bozeman (BOB)’s tree canopy expansion
project will both need metrics to make the loss of trees real and provide quantitative data for
the City to feed into a data base that would inform the City's long-term Climate Plan goals.
Please provide those metrics as requested in our correspondence to you on March 3, 2025.
Friends of Fowler continues to strongly recommend that the FAC design team preserve/protect the
continuous 1.5 mile forested riparian corridor. This corridor is important to vulnerable migratory birds and
offers pockets of refuge for displaced wildlife due to the development of surrounding land. The open watersource and mature tree canopy have been here for over 120 years, faithfully doing their part to cool our
ever-warming valley. Friends of Fowler also strongly advocates that this proposed road is safe for members
of the community, including kids who are crossing FAC to get to schools and families living in the
From:FFC
To:Nicholas Ross; Takami Clark
Cc:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Fwd: FFC Public Comment on the Fowler Ave and Cattail Creek Projects
Date:Thursday, July 3, 2025 10:19:05 AM
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(Please post in public record for Fowler Avenue Connection project)
FYI. The letter Friends of Fowler sent yesterday referenced this letter, which was emailed toyou on 03/03/202. It recommended staking-out the project, visually identifying trees that
would be impacted, providing information regarding ecology professionals, and metrics ontree loss. Please see below.
Thank you
Begin forwarded message:
From: FFC <friendsoffowlerconnector@gmail.com>
Subject: FFC Public Comment on the Fowler Ave and Cattail Creek
ProjectsDate: March 3, 2025 at 12:15:06 PM MST
To: Bozeman Public Comment <comments@bozeman.net>,
TCunningham@bozeman.net, jmorrison@bozeman.net, Jennifer Madgic
<jmadgic@bozeman.net>, dfischer@bozeman.net, ebode@bozeman.net,Nicholas Ross <nross@bozeman.net>, ajadin@bozeman.net, Emily Kiely
<ekiely@bozeman.net>, moverton@bozeman.net
Please post in public comment record for Fowler Avenue Connection and Cattail Creek
Corridor. Please also distribute to the City Staff involved in the City Climate Plan, Branch
Out Bozeman, and the City Forestry Division.
Honorable City Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Commissioners, Director of Transportation and
Engineering, Park Planning and Development Manager, and Community Engagement
Coordinator:
Members of Friends of Fowler Connector (FFC) attended a Valley Unit Neighborhood
Association (VUNA) meeting on February 13, 202. The newly revitalized VUNA, which had
been inactive for several years, was fortunate to have a presentation by Nick Ross on the
Fowler Avenue Connection (FAC) project and a presentation by Addi Jadin on the Cattail
Creek Corridor project. The FFC is very grateful for both Nick and Addi’s presentations, both
of which show a continued commitment to public engagement.
FOWLER AVENUE CONNECTION (FAC)
Nick Ross presented a preliminary look at the 60% design of the FAC. Meeting attendees
learned that the 60% phase design will be the public’s last opportunity to recommend
changes. For this reason, FFC recommends that the consultant’s 60% design package show
sufficient detail to convey the proposed development and how trees, tree root zones,
neighborhoods, and residences will be affected:
Show plans at 1” = 20’ scale for the entire length of the project
Show grading plans and limits of disturbance, including how storm water
management is handled
Show grading limit lines and edges of project disturbance on the plans
Many members of the community are not familiar with reading plan drawings. This is a
proposed road that will lessen the traffic from the congested 19th Avenue and divert it
through 1.5 miles of existing neighborhoods. It is important that community members
understand how this will impact 1.5 miles of existing neighborhoods. Director Ross did the
community a great service by setting survey stakes to show the width of the proposed
development while he also led us on a community Walking Tour last summer. The FFC
recommends the City continue this type of information-sharing with the community and do
the following:
Lead another FAC Walking Tour as part of the community engagement plan at this
60% design stage, where there will be better details:
Set survey stakes to show the road width, boulevards, and shared use paths on
both sides, especially where the FAC is close to the riparian corridor and to
residences. The survey stakes should show the limits of disturbance that include
grading for storm water management.
Identify trees proposed to be cut down with ribbon tape or tree-marking paint to
allow the public to visualize the proposed tree loss.
Using graphics, illustrate how all pedestrian crossings will be handled throughout the
FAC, keeping in mind that school kids will be using these shared-use paths and will
need to navigate rush-hour traffic at and near traffic circles.
Show section and section-elevation drawings that illustrate actual proposed conditions
at critical areas such as where the development gets close to existing housing.
Long Term Tree Loss
FFC continues to strongly recommend that the FAC design team preserve/protect the
continuous 1.5 mile forested riparian corridor. This corridor is important to vulnerable
migratory birds and offers pockets of refuge for displaced wildlife due to the development of
surrounding land. The open water source and mature tree canopy have been here for over 120
years, faithfully doing their part to cool our ever-warming valley.
Lessening the development footprint is the first step to meeting this goal and FFC is
encouraged to see that the 60% design shows the centerline medians were removed from road
sections and that in-road bike paths were relocated to the shared-use paths. FFC continues to
strongly recommend the following:
Incorporate ecology professionals early in the design process and through
project construction. Last summer, FFC was heartened to learn that the City’s
Transportation Department was exploring a collaboration with MSU’s Western
Transportation Institute Road Ecology Department on this project. This is a
step in the right direction to becoming better stewards of the natural resources
we still have in and around Bozeman. What is the status of this partnership?
The City's Climate Plan goals and Branch Out Bozeman (BOB)’s tree canopy
expansion project will both need metrics to make the loss of trees real and
provide quantitative data for the City to feed into a data base that would inform
the City's long-term Climate Plan goals. Additionally, wildlife habitat loss will
be substantial, especially for birds. Their wildlife disturbance will occur due to
increased motorized activity. For these reasons, FFC strongly recommends the
ecology professionals (as described in the above comment) do the following:
survey and document the metrics necessary to calculate the totality of
the carbon storage and annual carbon sequestration that will be lost
calculate the total tree canopy area (to the tree dripline) that will be lost
calculate how many years it will take the "replacement trees" at different
survival rates (e.g., 25%, 50%. 75%, and 100%) to achieve what the
existing trees are achieving now with respect to carbon storage, carbon
sequestration, and canopy cover.
Link to the BOB initiative: Currently, the GIS team (part of BOB) is
being coached by the Green Infrastructure Center on "how to map tree
canopy and to analyze and collect data that can be used by the city for
future decision-making.”
Please integrate this project with the BOB initiative and review
how costly it can get to plant trees for a mere 3% increase in
canopy cover. Planting trees is great. Keeping trees standing is
even better. In the paraphrased words of BOB consultant “Trees
are the only infrastructure that appreciate over time."
CATTAIL CREEK CORRIDOR
Addi Jadin’ s helpful presentation of the Cattail Creek Corridor showed some indications of
where other area-trail-systems will connect with this project. FFC has consistently advocated
that safe, accessible, and comfortable trail systems on the west side of town are important for
the community and to attain the City’s climate and sustainability goals. For these reasons,
FFC recommends the following:
Provide an overview/context plan that shows how FAC and its shared-use paths fit
within the context of other adjacent roads and trails, such as the Cattail Ck Corridor.
Show where share-use paths cross roads and intersections and identify how these
crossings will be made safe for school kids and other vulnerable pedestrians. Unlike
the more continuous trails on the east side of Bozeman, these trails will have multiple
road crossings on higher-volume roads.
Show where access roads and pathways for the proposed affordable housing will
dovetail with FAC.
LINEAR PARK CONCEPT ALONG RIPARIAN CORRIDOR
FFC applauds Nick Ross’s proposal that the area between the road edge and the centerline of
the Section Line Irrigation Ditch be designated as a linear park for the northern-most third of
the FAC project between Oak Street and Durston Street. FFC recommends this linear park be
assigned to the entire 129-year old riparian corridor along the entire FAC between Oak and
Huffine. The cottonwoods and the waterway that sustains them should be protected along the
entire corridor to provide a continuous habitat for raptors and other birds, as well as other
wildlife. It will also encourage more trail use along a shaded parkway. In fact, FFC
recommends this kind of protection be built into other future portions of the FAC going south
of Huffine.
FFC is grateful for the continued communication and outreach by Director Ross and looks
forward to the City’s formal launch of the 60% design drawings for the FAC and the more
detailed public review.
Respectfully,
Friends of Fowler Connector
Our goal is to work constructively with the City to make the FAC asneighborhood friendly and environmentally responsible as possible.
neighborhoods that this proposed road will run through.
Respectfully,
- Friends of Fowler