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Home My WebLink About07-21-25 Public Comment - Friends of Fowler Connector - Public Comment on the Fowler Avenue Connection ProjectFrom:FFC To:Terry Cunningham; Joey Morrison; Jennifer Madgic; Douglas Fischer; Emma Bode; Nicholas Ross; Takami Clark Cc:Bozeman Public Comment; Mike Maas Subject:[EXTERNAL]Public Comment on the Fowler Avenue Connection Project Date:Sunday, July 20, 2025 11:01:04 PM Attachments:FFC comments 60% FAC.pdf 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. Please post the attached PDF public comment in the Transportation Advisory Board folder and ensure each of the board members receive it. Additionally, please post this comment in theFowler Avenue Connector project folder. Thank you, — Friends of Fowler Our goal is to work constructively with the City of Bozeman to make the Fowler Avenue Connection project as neighborhood-friendly and environmentally-responsible aspossible Honorable Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Commissioners, Transportation Advisory Board Members, City Manager, Director of Transportation and Engineering, and Communications and Engagement Manager, Friends of Fowler would like to ﬁrst thank Transportation Director Nick Ross for the on- site walk-through of the FAC and the 60% level design plans. Mr. Ross continues to encourage free-ﬂow of question-answer conversation during the walk-through, which is very appreciated by the public. The following comments apply to the 60% design plans for the Fowler Avenue Connector (FAC) and the on-site walk-through on July 9, 2025. As you know, the Friends of Fowler began as a group that represented Bozemanites from all over town, particularly from the city’s West Side, who advocated for a non- motorized N-S Greenway for bikes and pedestrians as part of a vision for a more walkable and less car-focused West Side. After the 2022 Commission decision to pursue the plans to build the FAC minor arterial, Friends of Fowler reorganized to work constructively with the City of Bozeman to make the project as neighborhood-friendly and environmentally-responsible as possible. The environmentally-responsible aspect of this goal has largely been to protect the 1.5- mile long riparian corridor of existing 130-year old trees and wildlife sustained by an open free-ﬂowing irrigation ditch. We are grateful for the City’s design work to lessen the impact on this riparian corridor by narrowing the road from 3-lanes to 2-lanes and changing the alignment itself to avoid the trees. Comments below continue to speak to this goal, given the higher level of detail provided in the 60% plans. The neighborhood-friendly aspect of this goal has always been to mitigate the safety and socio-economic impacts of increased traffic on school kids, pedestrians, residents, pets, home values, and neighborhoods. Comments below continue to speak to this goal, given the changes to the FAC project brought about by (a) the decision to design a shared-use path on both the east and west sides of the FAC and (b) the changes in traffic and intersection design as a result of the addition of a new affordable housing project at the north east side of the FAC project. SAFETY AND INCREASED TRAFFIC The FAC essentially bleeds-off 5,000 and up to 9,000 Average Daily Traffic (ADT) from 19th Avenue and wedges it through existing neighborhoods. This traffic would consist of a minimum of 5,000 cars, trucks, construction equipment, and buses rumbling through these neighborhoods. Commuter bikes would also be introduced to this mix. Shared-Use Path Along Fowler Place Subdivision: Within the middle 0.5 mile section of the FAC between Durston and Babcock, the FAC and is wedged through the most constricted section of existing neighborhood and trees, bringing traffic within 40-feet of the front porches of 17 existing housing of the Fowler Place Subdivision. During the 30% FAC design public comment period in 2024, the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB) recommended and the City Commission concurred that a continuous 10-foot shared-use path would be added to both sides of the FAC. The 60% FAC design shows how this shared-use path would work within this constricted area: it would bring the shared-use path within 25-feet of the front porches of these 17 homes, causing families to cross a gauntlet of fast-moving bikes as they attempt to reach their cars that are parked on the street. Upon checking other examples of shared-use paths around town, we could not ﬁnd any on the front side of homes, especially within this close proximity.  Additionally, the existing boulevard trees, which provide shade from the western sun and some buffer from the proposed increased trafﬁc, would be impacted. RECOMMENDATION: Though we support separated shared-used paths along the other portions of the narrow 2-lane FAC, Friends of Fowler strongly urges that within this narrow section of the Fowler Place Subdivision, the proposed bike lane move on-street rather than having a shared-use path in front of the homes. The existing sidewalk should remain in place for pedestrians and the established boulevard trees should be protected in place. Increased Trafﬁc on New Holland: Since 2022, the City stated that the FAC was needed to mitigate increased and speeding trafﬁc that currently occurs on existing N-S residential streets such as New Holland Avenue. Currently, many cars cut between Durston and Oak Street by way of New Holland Avenue, traveling at dangerously fast speeds. During the public engagement period for the 30% design in 2024, the City decided that multiple interim residential street connections from New Holland Avenue to the FAC by way of neighborhood streets such as Caterpillar, Farmall, Annie, Lily, Rose, and Oliver were not necessary when in fact it was only 0.5 miles between Durston Street and Oak Street. Additionally, the new intersections at these cut-over streets interrupted shared-use paths, thereby creating pedestrian-automobile conﬂicts. Now there is a new affordable housing project proposed on the north east corner of Fowler (FAC) and Oak Street. The housing project proposes to reintroduce these interim residential street connections between the FAC and New Holland Avenue, thereby defeating one of the reasons the FAC was proposed in the ﬁrst place - to reduce cut-through vehicular trafﬁc on New Holland Avenue. Annie Street Connection: There is only 0.5 miles between Durston and Oak Street. Adding a roundabout on Annie Street is only convenient for cars that want to cut through residential areas to reach the FAC and, in so doing, they interrupt the shared-use paths and create safety hazards for school kids. Additionally, this Annie Street connection cuts through the riparian corridor and requires that the open, free-ﬂowing ditch be placed in a culvert. Additionally, this roundabout requires a swale and retention pond that also impacts the riparian corridor. RECOMMENDATION: Friends of Fowler strongly recommends that the affordable housing project would NOT provide vehicular access from New Holland Avenue and instead utilize the ﬂexible opportunities for entry/access roads off of Fowler Avenue. Leave the back portions of the affordable housing development vehicle-free and incorporate pedestrians pathways that connect to the proposed shared use paths along FAC. The above ﬁgure illustrates this recommendation. RECOMMENDATION: Friends of Fowler strongly recommends that Annie Street not be connected through the FAC. Recommendation for Safer Pedestrian Crossings: Due to the fact that a minor arterial carrying between 5,000 and 9,00 ADT is being wedged into an existing residential area, Friends of Fowler strongly recommends that all pedestrian crossings be raised, well-marked, and include crossing lights activated by pedestrians such as what has been installed on 27th Ave, at Hyalite School, etc. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS The FAC design team has made good progress on protecting the 1.5-mile riparian zone and the 130-year old trees and the wildlife sustained by the open, free-ﬂowing irrigation ditch. We are grateful for this work. Friends of Fowler continues to strongly recommend the following measures to mitigate inadvertent impacts that would undo all of the design team’s work: 1.Linear Park: Director Ross mentioned that the City is pursuing the designation of the 1.5 mile riparian corridor to be a linear park from the far edge of the shared use path (on the side of the FAC closest to the riparian corridor) to the centerline of the Section Line Ditch, which sustains the riparian corridor. Friends of Fowler is very supportive of this designation and is very grateful for this effort. Thank you. We are willing to help pursue this goal. 2.Storm Water Management: Retention ponds, catch basins, etc. and associated swales should be placed where they will not impact the riparian corridor and/or existing trees, particularly at the Annie and Durston roundabouts. 3.Contractor Management: After all the work the City has put into mitigating environmental impacts of this new facility, it would be unfortunate if the protected resources and values were inadvertently negatively impacted during construction. Therefore, Friends of Fowler strongly recommends the following mitigations: •Project Staking: In order to avoid any error, the project should be staked out and vegetation ﬂagged for City approval PRIOR TO ANY DEMO OR TREE REMOVAL. •Snow fencing should be placed all along the limits of disturbance along both sides of the road in order to avoid any inadvertent damage to existing vegetation due to stockpiling, equipment parking, etc. •Staging Areas should be designated and fenced in order to contain the impacts. Respectfully, — Friends of Fowler