HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-07-16 Public Comment - C. Poissant - Bicycle SafetyMayor and City Commission of the City of Bozeman
c/o City Clerk's Office
Suite 201, City Hall
P.O. Box 1230 121 North Rouse Avenue
Bozeman, Mt. 59771
RE: Air quality and bicycling safety with respect to the Transportation Plan Update
April 7, 2016
Dear Mayor and Commissioners,
I have been a “bicycle commuter” most of my adult life, in cities such as Denver, Reno, Salt
Lake City, Detroit, and Ann Arbor, generally cycling at least 10 miles per day. Air quality, even in Denver has never been an issue for me. It was not until moving to Bozeman that I have developed a chronic respiratory condition (basically asthma) due to the high levels of
particulates in the air, i.e., smoke, diesel exhaust, and dust.
In Denver, most of the major bike paths are off-street, even below the street, bike lanes are
usually on quiet boulevards or less-traveled collector streets, where traffic is minimal. This
makes for a safe, enjoyable, and relatively pollution-free ride into work.
If our goal here in Bozeman is to encourage bicycling as alternative transportation, traffic safety
and ground-level air quality are key factors that must be addressed. For example, see the
photos below, which I took on my way to work this morning:
Villard at 19th
Durston at 7th
The bus exhaust, gravel and gravel dust, and encroachment by vehicles into the bike lane make biking here unsafe and definitely not enjoyable.
I strongly urge you to make off-street multi-use ped/bike paths a high priority for
Bozeman, especially along major corridors. A five- or six-foot sidewalk along arterials and collectors should not be an option.
In this Minor Arterial cross section, there is plenty of room for a 10-foot wide paved path in the
boulevard.
It would be FAR preferable to have the off-street path instead of the bike lane on busy streets.
In this principal arterial cross-section, a 10-foot path should not be an option, it should be a
requirement. Otherwise, you are FORCING people to ride their bikes in the street since riding
on the sidewalk is currently (strangely enough) illegal for adults in Bozeman. I also strongly urge you to require 10-foot wide concrete bike/ped paths as a standard instead of asphalt, which
does not hold up and is highly susceptible to root heaving and rodent damage, or at least
require a 12” crushed, clean gravel 97% SPD compacted base with geotextile fabric overlay.
The following examples are totally doable with our right-of-way widths, and numerous other examples may be found via Google:
(https://www.google.com/search?site=&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1026&bih=901&q=bike+path&oq=bike+path&gs_l=img.3..0l10.2414.3296.0.3511.9.9.0.0.0.0.170.671.3j3.6.0....0...1ac.1.64.i
mg..3.6.670.3bxJSrDOsTE#imgrc=66ozGcy9HKYJqM%3A :
Needless to say, bike lanes next to parking are unacceptable unless a buffer zone is provided. My sister was seriously injured by a door being opened in front of her while on her bike, causing
her to do a head-first flip over the door and land flat on the pavement. Last year, a truck started
to turn right in front of me at 19th and Durston, so I slammed on my brakes, skidding on the gravel and landing on my side, breaking 3 ribs and requiring rotator cuff repair surgery with a 6-
month rehab. I had never sustained an injury in over 50 years of bicycling until this.
While visiting Bozeman last fall, Stephen Clark, Community Specialist with the League of American Cyclists indicated to me that we are at risk of losing our “Silver” status as Bozeman
grows if we do not do a better job of addressing safety and connectivity issues. In the results of the recent Citizen Survey, many, many people indicated “Air Quality” as a number on priority.
No sooner do we get through wildfire season, then fall comes and people start burning wood,
then in the spring “everything turns to dust.” No wonder I’ve developed asthma.
If we truly want Bozeman to be a world-class city and leader in sustainable lifestyles, we need to
provide both clean air and safe alternative modes of transportation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Poissant Property owner of:
430 Greenway Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59718 Phone: 970-309-0317
cc: Craig Woolard, Public Works Director John Vandelinder, Streets Supt.
Wendy Thomas, Community Development Director Mitch Overton, Parks & Recreation Director
Kelly Pohl, GVLT
Joe Gilpin, Alta Planning and Design Bill Cochran, Bicycle Advisory Board