HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-12-25 Public Comment - P. Dickerson - Fowler Avenue ConnectorFrom:Patty Dickerson
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Fowler Avenue Connector
Date:Tuesday, August 12, 2025 10:01:51 AM
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City Commissioners
Tonite you will vote on the 60% of the plan for Fowler Ave Connection. The plan has someflaws and I would like you to consider taking these out of the current plan.
The plan calls for narrowing the road, by bumping out the blvd 5 feet and widening thesidewalk for 2 way commuter bike lanes.
The road is already quite narrow, so making this road more narrow, makes it dangerousfor people parking in the street. It is difficult to grow trees on this blvd. Many of the home owners have replaced theirtrees 2-3 times. There are some older trees, that would not make the move. We havehad a very easy summer, so far, but this is not the norm and as our climate gets warmer,we need those trees and the shade they are currently providing. Starting over with newtrees, means our neighborhood will be even hotter for quite a few years. The reason for bumping out the blvd and widening the sidewalk, is to accommodate 2way commuter bike lanes.No where in the city is there a bike lane on the sidewalk. And in this case, it’s for just 2blocks. The speed limit of 25 mph is too fast for an E-bike on a sidewalk, with people walkingand crossing to get to their parked cars. Some E-bikes can reach speeds of 35 mph. There are children that live on the 2 block section of Fowler Ave. The front yards arebigger to play in than the backyards, so there are children that play in the front yards.Everyday there a lot of people who walk on this section of the sidewalk. Old andyoung, some with dogs and some with strollers.The speed limit in the road is 25 mph. There is traffic calming on the corner of Jenniferand Fowler Ave, which is in the middle of the 2 block section. This section should beone of the safest to have the bike lane in the street. By not bumping out the boulevard,there would be plenty of room to have a commuter bike lane on the south bound side ofthe street, so those commuters in a hurry to get to work would not encounter people onthe walk ways. The expense of bumping out the boulevard, widening the sidewalk and the cost ofmaintaining this should be taken under consideration.
Please, put yourselves in the shoes of the people that live on this street. If you lived here, youwould not want a commuter bike lane on your sidewalk. Or consider, where you live. Youwould not want a commuter bike lane in front of your house.
Thank you for voting to take this part of the project out of the plans.
Patty DickersonSent from my iPad