HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-14-26 Public Comment - B. Ford - Bozeman safer streets commentsFrom:Ben Ford
To:Bozeman Public Comment
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Bozeman safer streets comments
Date:Tuesday, April 14, 2026 9:40:53 AM
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Hi - I'm a father of three in Bozeman (who rides bikes with kids to school when we can), and a
cyclist who rides a few thousand miles a year on our roads. I'm hoping my experiences onsome of our roads in some of these comments might be of help:
- The flashing pedestrian lights are such a wonderful addition where you've placed them. But I
think there are many intersections that could still use them, like Willson and Grant, Willsonand College, and Willson and Dickerson (for Longfellow kids), and S 3rd and Westridge.
- The Galligator is something that makes Bozeman so special, but the way it interfaces with
traffic could, in my opinion, be improved for safety, as it can be quite difficult for drivers tosee people on the trail at key intersections. For example, if you drive westbound on Garfield,
it's extremely difficult to see people moving southbound on the Galligator. Or, headingnorthbound on Chuch, it's also extremely difficult to spot people moving northbound on the
Galligator. Smart crosswalk lights (like those that turn on automatically via infrared) could beincredibly helpful at every intersection where the Galligator (and other trails) cross city
streets.
- The flashing crosswalk on the west side of Kagy and Tracy is one I utilize often while ridingbikes with kids. While it's made crossing Kagy so much safer (thanks so much), it has created
a new danger of head-on collisions because people now only cross Kagy on the west side ofthe intersection, where the flashing lights are. This causes people traveling northbound on
Springcreek/Tracy to float across Tracy, across the oncoming lane, to reach the lightedcrosswalk on the west side. The safety risk here (which I've nearly seen result in a few
collisions) is that eastbound vehicles on Kagy, turning right (southbound) onto Tracy, areblind to these people due to the landscaping on that corner. Adding a second set of flashing
crosswalk lights on the east side of the intersection, so northbound pedestrians/cycles don'tneed to cross Tracy, would likely eliminate this collision risk.
- I frequently cycle on South 3rd between Kagy and Graf, and it's been so great to see the
increased traffic enforcement on that road. That said, if I'm traveling northbound (downhill) onS 3rd on a bike, I can typically ride around 25mph, and I cannot tell you how many cars still
pass me at far higher speeds. It seems the messaging to go slower on that road still isn'tlanding with people. I've always wondered whether that road warrants additional traffic-
calming measures, such as landscaping, chicanes, raised crosswalks, etc.
Thanks for your time reading this long list of ideas - hopefully it can be of some help.
Ben Ford