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Home My WebLink About30 Traffic Impact Response Letter 619 Milestone Drive Belgrade, MT 59714 E5EngineeringPLLC@gmail.com (406) 209-3960 January 15, 2026 Jillian Bowers Bertelli JBBArch 140 East Main Street, Suite G Bozeman, MT 59715 Re: Revision – The Depot on Church TIS Update | City of Bozeman Engineering Comments Response E5 Engineering, PLLC Project No. 25-0110 Dear Jillian: This letter summarizes responses to comments from the City of Bozeman Engineering Division via email on Friday, January 9, 2026, regarding the review of The Depot on Church Traffic Impact Study (TIS). Responses to those comments are provided below. 1. Traffic Impact Study: Background Growth, BMC 38.220.080.A.2.i.(5) (site plan submittal requirements) & BMC 38.220.060.A.11.g (traffic impact study requirements) – The background growth does not include the approved 6-story Canopy Hotel project at S Rouse & E Babcock, or the approved 7-story Block B mixed use project on E Babcock between S Church & S Wallace. Prior to site plan adequacy, please revise the traffic impact study to include the projected traffic from these two known developments. Estimated vehicle traffic generation for the Canopy Hotel and Block B Condominium developments have been incorporated with the updated TIS. Forecast traffic generation from these two developments is shown in the following figures:  Figure 13 – Estimated 2028 Build-Up Traffic Volumes South Church Avenue & South Wallace Avenue Intersections  Figure 14 – Estimated 2028 Build-Up Traffic Volumes | Alley Intersections 2. Traffic Impact Study: Figures 10 & 11, BMC 38.220.080.A.2.i.(5) (site plan submittal requirements) & BMC 38.220.060.A.11.g (traffic impact study requirements) – Figure 10 in the traffic impact study incorrectly labels intersection 1 as E Babcock & S Church instead of E Olive & S Church. Figure 11 incorrectly labels intersection 2 as E Babcock & Alley instead of E Olive & Alley. Prior to site plan adequacy, please make sure all the figures are labeled correctly.  Figure 10 has been corrected to relabel Intersection 1 as East Olive Street & South Church Avenue and is now shown as Figure 11 within the updated TIS.  Figure 11 has been corrected to relabel Intersection 2 as East Olive Street & Alley and is now shown as Figure 12 within the updated TIS. Revision – The Depot on Church TIS Update | City of Bozeman Engineering Comments Response January 15, 2026 25-0110_The-Depot-on-Church_CoB-Comments-Response_20260115 Page 2 of 3 3. Traffic Impact Study: Recommendations, BMC 38.220.080.A.2.i.(5) (site plan submittal requirements) & BMC 38.220.060.A.11.g (traffic impact study requirements) – Prior to site plan adequacy, please remove all discussion of mitigation that is not required due to the impact of this project. The mitigation section should be limited to discussion of mitigation required based on the impact of this project. All discussion of mitigation that is not required due to any forecast impacts from the proposed Depot on Church development has been removed with the updated TIS. There are existing concerns that do warrant mention; so, those are being provided in this letter. The City of Bozeman may already be aware of these concerns and have proposed mitigation in process or to be reviewed as part of future programming efforts. As provided in the originally submitted TIS from November 2025: Crosswalks across East Babcock Street currently include stop or yield lines offset approximately four feet (4’) from the edge of the crosswalk and lack supplemental Yield Here to (Stop Here for) Pedestrians (R1-5 series) signs as required by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 11th Edition (MUTCD) published by the United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration (December 2023). It is also recommended that the stop or yield lines be located between 20 and 50 feet from the crosswalk on the uncontrolled multilane approaches to provide for improved visibility of pedestrians or bicyclists using the crosswalk such that they are not obscured by a stopped vehicle in an adjacent through lane. Mitigation at the intersection of East Babcock Street and South Rouse Avenue consisting of converting East Babcock Street to two-way traffic east of the intersection was noted in previous traffic impact studies for the Canopy Hotel and Block B Condominium project prepared by Sanderson Stewart. Unlike the existing one-way / two-way transitions for West Babcock Street at its intersection with South 8th Avenue plus East Mendenhall Street at its intersection with North Rouse Avenue, the proposed two-way conversion would present a head on vehicle conflict that could result in serious injuries in the event of a crash. While signalization may help direct and control traffic, other factors such as inclement weather, wet or icy road conditions, impaired drivers, and other traffic environment dynamics pose significant concerns to be evaluated in any potential roadway treatments. There may be additional considerations with autonomous vehicles navigating the intersection in the future as well. As provided in the originally submitted TIS, there are other options available to the City of Bozeman that may enhance the non-motorized user experience within the East Babcock Street corridor between South Rouse Avenue and South Wallace Avenue while also providing a means to lessen traffic control confusion at the East Babcock Street and South Wallace Avenue intersection. Ultimately, contemplation for any potential mitigation to existing identified concerns lies with the City of Bozeman. Revision – The Depot on Church TIS Update | City of Bozeman Engineering Comments Response January 15, 2026 25-0110_The-Depot-on-Church_CoB-Comments-Response_20260115 Page 3 of 3 4. DRAFT COMMENT – Traffic Impact Study: Trip Generation: BMC 38.220.080.A.2.i.(5) (site plan submittal requirements) & BMC 38.220.060.A.11.g (traffic impact study requirements) – The total trip generation numbers provided in the traffic impact study appear unusually low. City staff acknowledges that using the individual land use codes for each proposed use likely overestimates the total trips but city staff disagrees with the trip generation numbers presented. City staff feels that the city center assumption is inaccurate for a smaller town like Bozeman and feels that General Urban/Suburban is the appropriate setting/location. The report indicates a total of 68 weekday trips for the project. Trip generation based on each of the proposed uses yields far higher trips. For 15 units, Multifamily Housing Mid-rise (221) alone generates 67 weekday trips and 4000 sq ft of office generates 49 weekday trips. Prior to site plan adequacy, please compare the forecast trip generation numbers for this project with the ITE land use codes for each proposed use (residential, commercial, retail and office space). Estimated trip generation for the proposed development has been revised utilizing rates published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) in the Trip Generation Manual, 12th Edition published in August 2025. The rates used in the analyses were based on a combination of the following:  Multifamily Housing (Mid-Rise) | ITE Land Use Code 221 Utilized for the residential space with a general urban / suburban setting and the proposed number of dwelling units as the independent variable.  Mid-Rise Residential with Ground-Floor Commercial (GFA 1-25k) | ITE Land Use Code 231 Utilized for the commercial and retail spaces with a general urban / suburban setting and the proposed number of dwelling units (up to 15) as the independent variable. The estimated trip generation for the total proposed number of dwelling units was proportioned for the commercial and retail spaces based on their proposed gross floor area (GFA). The directional distribution of forecast vehicle trips was based on ITE Land Use Code 876: Apparel Store.  Small Office Building | ITE Land Use Code 712 Utilized for the office space with a general urban / suburban setting and the proposed 1,000 square feet (ft2) of gross floor area as the independent variable. The directional distribution of forecast vehicle trips was based on ITE Land Use Code 876: Apparel Store. The combination of the above rates may overestimate the trip generation for the proposed development, but this may be slightly tempered utilizing ITE Land Use Code 231 for the retail and commercial spaces. The ITE Trip Generation Manual, 12th Edition nor previous editions include land uses that correlate well to anticipated uses within those spaces. Other recent traffic impact studies in this area of Bozeman have utilized ITE Land Use Code 822: Strip Retail Plaza (<40k) for commercial space in mixed-use buildings; however, the average gross leasable area for studies that were included for determining trip generation rates in the ITE Trip Generation Manual, 12th Edition significantly differs from that proposed with The Depot on Church project. An updated version of the traffic impact study is attached to this letter. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Tom Eastwood, PE, PTOE Owner Encl.:  Traffic Impact Study Update: The Depot on Church dated January 2026.