HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-04-26 Public Comment - S. Bieluch - FORMAL INFRASTRUCTURE OBJECTION_ Traffic Study Falsification & Sub-Standard Alley Demands – Application No. 23245 (811 W. Mendenhall)From:Scott Bieluch
To:Planning Technician; Bozeman Public Comment
Cc:abently@bozemanmt.gov; gsullivan@bozemanmt.gov; Bozeman City Clerks Department;
engineering@bozemanmt.gov; streets@bozemanmt.gov; nross@bozemanmt.gov
Subject:[EXTERNAL]FORMAL INFRASTRUCTURE OBJECTION: Traffic Study Falsification & Sub-Standard Alley Demands –Application No. 23245 (811 W. Mendenhall)
Date:Friday, September 4, 2026 12:03:12 PM
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TO: planningtech@bozemanmt.gov, comments@bozemanmt.gov
CC: abentley@bozemanmt.gov, gsullivan@bozemanmt.gov,
bozemanclerksdepartment@bozemanmt.gov
SUBJECT: FORMAL INFRASTRUCTURE OBJECTION: Traffic Study Falsification & Sub-
Standard Alley Demands – Application No. 23245 (811 W. Mendenhall)
To the Bozeman Engineering Department, Director of Transportation, and StreetsDivision,
I am writing to register a formal technical objection regarding the inadequate traffic
planning and severe right-of-way deficiencies under Application No. 23245 (811 W.Mendenhall Mixed-Use Project). As a long-time resident of 805 W. Lamme Street, I
demand that the Engineering Department withhold infrastructure and site plan sign-
offs until a comprehensive, independent audit of the developer’s Traffic Impact Study
(TIS) trip distribution model and the adjacent unpaved alleyway is executed.
I. FRAUDULENT TRIP DISTRIBUTION MODELING & NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY RISKS
The developer’s TIS states that the 95-unit project will introduce an additional 435
daily vehicle visits to the immediate area. However, the study relies on a highlyunrealistic engineering assumption: claiming that ninety percent (90%) of all
departing vehicles will exit exclusively onto the one-way corridor of West Mendenhall
Street.
This assumption defies basic local driving behavior. In reality, a massive percentage
of the project's resident and delivery traffic will naturally exit north into the alleyway
directly connecting to West Lamme Street to head north or west out of Midtown. By
artificially shifting 90% of the traffic metrics onto Mendenhall, the developer hasintentionally hidden the severe logistical impacts this project will have on West
Lamme Street.
Dumping hundreds of daily vehicles directly onto a narrow, historic residential street
creates an unmitigated safety hazard for local families and neighborhood children,while severely disrupting the ability of existing property owners to safely exit their
own driveways.
II. EXPOSURE OF SUB-STANDARD ALLEY INFRASTRUCTURE (WEST OF N. 8TH AVE)The developer’s site plan relies heavily on the existing public alleyway west of North
8th Avenue for vehicle egress. This right-of-way is fundamentally sub-standard and
completely incapable of handling high-density commercial or multi-family residentialvolume in its current state:
1. Geometrical Constraints: Due to decades of unmitigated vegetation overgrowth
and structural neglect, the alleyway is currently narrowed down to a single-
vehicle width, completely preventing two vehicles from safely passing eachother.
2. Catastrophic Winter Maintenance Failures: The city’s Streets Division does not
regularly plow or maintain this unpaved alleyway during winter months. Vehicles
routinely become heavily high-centered and stuck in deep snowpack multipletimes every single winter.
Forcing an additional 435 daily vehicle trips onto an unpaved, single-lane, unplowed
dirt track will cause systemic gridlock, prevent emergency vehicle (Fire/EMS) access,
and force neighborhood residents to bear the logistical costs of a developer'snegligence.
III. MANDATORY ADMINISTRATIVE DEMANDS
Pursuant to Bozeman design standards and infrastructure regulations, I demand thatthe City of Bozeman execute the following actions prior to granting any approvals forApplication No. 23245:
1. Order a comprehensive, independent rewrite of the Traffic Impact Study’s trip
distribution model, factoring in a realistic 50/50 exit distribution split betweenWest Mendenhall and West Lamme Street.
2. Require the developer, as a mandatory condition of development, to fully fund
the physical widening, structural paving, and public utility integration of the
entire alleyway west of North 8th Avenue.
3. Require the city to formally re-classify this alleyway on the municipal wintermaintenance schedule to guarantee regular, heavy-duty snow plowing.
The City of Bozeman cannot legally allow a private developer to destroy
neighborhood safety and overload sub-standard public infrastructure to maximizeout-of-state corporate profits.
Respectfully submitted,
Scott Bieluch805 W. Lamme Street
Bozeman, MT 59715