HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-14-26 Public Comment - A. Boyle - Traffic Safety From: Alasdair Boyle
To: Bozeman Public Comment
Subject: [EXTERNAL]Traffic Safety
Date: Tuesday,April 14,2026 10:46:33 AM
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Bozeman is close to being a safe and welcoming city for bikes and pedestrians and there are
some promising projects in the works, however a few key issues with the current infrastructure
and laws still exist.
Being a year-round bike commuter and working as a ski instructor and bike mechanic in
Bozeman for the last decade, I am an expert on our infrastructure and those who use it. Each
year I hear more and more neighbors give up on biking and walking around town due to the
increasing risk of our infrastructure.
Currently, our city develops bike infrastructure that goes against city code and does not follow
the best practices outlined by the Bicycle Friendly Community program that we are silver
medalists in.
Adults are not allowed to bike on the sidewalk, but are guided to the sidewalk when nearing a
roundabout,when joining the gravel paths, and when visiting parks, businesses, and homes.
When the streets feel dangerous, our neighbors should have the right to ride where they feel
most comfortable. Cyclists are only riding on the sidewalk because they feel safe being
separated from traffic.
Additionally, forcing cyclists to be pedestrians is only safer on paper. When entering a
roundabout, the most dangerous approach is guiding cyclists to use crosswalks. The best
approach is guiding bikes into the same lane as cars. This keeps the flow of traffic and reduces
the chance of cars hitting a cyclist from the side. When engineers tell you it's safer to use
crosswalks, they assume cyclists are moving at a walking pace which is not what happens in
reality.
The city code also prohibits riding in the road or in a bike lane if a separate path exists. Why
does the city continue to paint bike lines where paths already exist? College Street and Oak
Street are two examples. There is no distinction between a sidewalk and a multi-use path; both
are made of the same materials and are the same width. This confuses users and leads them to
believe that some sidewalks are multi-use paths.
To address this,we must ask: Where do bikes go at stoplights? And how do they make left
turns from the bike lane? The best practice is to use green paint in front of existing pedestrian
crossings to guide cyclists in front of traffic where they are most visible. This allows them to
go any direction without being stuck on the far right side of the road, hoping cars looking left
and turning right don't run them over.
Furthermore, where do cars park? The best practice is to keep the bike lane on the far right
side of the street, and paint the parking lane to the left of the bike lane. This acts as a natural
barrier,prevents drivers from opening doors into cyclists (100% of cars open the driver's door,
only cars with more than one person open the other doors), and slows down traffic because
hitting a car is more damaging than hitting a bike.
The solutions: add to the city code such that pedestrians and cyclists are allowed to use the
infrastructure that they feel most safe using as long as they yield to the primary users. Use
signs and paint to distinguish and separate directional traffic on multi-use paths, and to create
stopping areas at every intersection near a bike route. Guide cyclists toward the route that
makes sense, not what makes them a pedestrian.
Bozeman resident,
Alasdair Boyle