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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-12-16, Stanley, Kagy ConstructionDear Bozeman City Commission- As a professor, research scientist, lover of cars, motorcycles, and bicycles, and Bozeman resident for over 15 years – I have spent the last 12 years of my career studying transportation safety issues. I am writing to state my opposition to the proposition for increasing the capacity and speeds on Kagy Blvd. What may seem to be an intuitive or common sense approach to what is being proposed to Kagy Blvd., the research lends itself to a much different viewpoint, one that must be included in the design process. In efforts to keep this brief, because we are all busy folks, I have included a short-list of the research studies that support my opposition to this proposition. In simple terms, research clearly demonstrates the common phenomena -- “build it, and they will come”. Build more roads and they will come, more lanes will mean more traffic. There are alternative designs that do not include those proposed here, if you would like additional information in that regard or if I can answer any questions please let me know. Look to California – Increased roadway capacity induces additional VMT in the short-run and even more VMT in the long-run and Capacity expansion leads to a net increase in VMT, not simply a shifting of VMT from one road to another. .- http://www.dot.ca.gov/research/researchreports/reports/2015/10-12-2015- NCST_Brief_InducedTravel_CS6_v3.pdf Further evidence showing that highway and road expansion increases traffic by increasing demand. -http://www.perc.org/articles/study-building-roads-cure-congestion-exercise- futility#sthash.IrQUSM20.dpuf We find that VMT increases proportionately to highways and identify three important sources for this extra VMT: an increase in driving by current residents; an increase in transportation intensive production activity; and an inflow of new residents. The provision of public transportation has no impact on VMT. We also estimate the aggregate city level demand for VMT and find it to be very elastic. We conclude that an increased provision of roads or public transit is unlikely to relieve congestion.-The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion: Evidence from US cities"- http://www.nber.org/papers/w15376 Street design affects how fast people drive. Wide, multi-lane streets lead to higher speeds. Narrower streets with fewer lanes and features like landscaping (trees), pedestrian crossings, curb bulb outs and roundabouts lead to slower speeds. http://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/street-design- elements/lane-width/ Sincerely, Dr. Laura M. Stanley Laura Stanley, PhD, CPE Associate Professor & Director, Human Factors Laboratory Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department 302 Roberts Hall, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT Ph: 406.994.1399 Academic Website Currently on leave at the National Science Foundation, lstanley@nsf.gov