Bozoulian | Column by Pete Talbot

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Bozeman and Missoula

By Pete Talbot, 3-11-06

Growth, traffic and infill are weighty matters that both Bozeman and Missoula are wrestling with. Each city has a sketchy track record – some success and numerous shortcomings – in dealing with these issues. Maybe we can learn a few things from each other. Here are some comparisons of the good, the bad and the ugly.

Downtown Bozeman and Downtown Missoula. Both cities have downtowns that make the other major cities in Montana jealous. Missoula’s downtown is bigger, stretching out on both sides of the Clark Fork River. From pawnshops to book stores to bike shops, diversity abounds in downtown Missoula. Missoula also has a big department store (Macy’s, formerly the Bon) that has anchored the downtown through thick and thin. On the other hand, Bozeman’s rules about having only retail shops, restaurants and bars on the street level of its core business district mean that cool shops, eateries and watering holes abound. (Note to Missoula: do brokerage houses really need a storefront in the main commercial district, taking up valuable retail/restaurant/bar space?) Anyway, both cities should congratulate themselves for having vibrant downtowns. Any town can have strip malls and box stores but a strong downtown defines a city.

Highway 191 and Highway 93. Highway 191 to Big Sky may soon eclipse Highway 93 up the Bitterroot Valley as the deadliest stretch of road in Montana. This is not something to be proud of. Highway 93 mitigated some of the problem by expanding the road to four lanes but as the saying goes, “if you build it, they will come.” Now, more traffic than ever zips up and down the Bitterroot Valley. Four-lane construction won’t work for Highway 191 either, unless there’s a plan to pave over the Gallatin River. What’s really needed is growth management in our outlying areas, and better forms of alternative transportation and mass transit. (When I suggested to some civic leaders in Missoula that tollbooths be placed on the Missoula-Ravalli County line, I was laughed out of the room. Imagine it, though – a sliding scale of cost to drivers, depending on the number of people in a vehicle – the more folks in a rig, the lower the cost. Proceeds would go toward paying for some sort of public transportation. How about a monorail going up to Hamilton? I can always dream, can’t I?) If we want to maintain our quality of life in these beautiful valleys, more blacktop isn’t the answer.

Nineteenth St. and Reserve St. Almost every city has one: the franchise restaurant, big box store, strip mall-laden road. Bozeman did a bit better job with setbacks, landscaping and access than Missoula, but they’re both a mess. I have no real solutions to offer in this column except don’t be afraid to dictate tough citing standards, design standards and access standards to businesses that want to locate in your town. (Some history here. In the early 90’s, a warehouse-like hardware store wanted to locate on Missoula’s Reserve St. Some tough parking, access and design standards were placed on the developer. He balked and didn’t build. Certain members of the business community claimed that this was the death knell for Missoula, that it would get a reputation for being anti-business and no commercial enterprise would ever move to town. Now Missoula has two giant hardware stores, a Lowes and a Home Depot, facing each other on Reserve St.)
In other words, visualize what you want your town to look like and don’t be bullied by the captains of industry. If there’s money to be made, businesses will still locate to your city.

I’ll compare other distinguishing Bozeman and Missoula features in the next column.

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