Making Bozeman More Bike-Friendly

By David Nolt, 5-11-07

Bozeman has no shortage of avid bikers, but safe, contiguous bike routes across the city are much more sparse. It is impossible to ignore the repercussions of our automobile-driven society; from safety and quality of life issues to air pollution and global warming, our beloved cars can give us as much grief as they give convenience. Either way, transportation and traffic are consistent issues in any city, especially one growing as fast as Bozeman is.

Longstanding transportation issues in Bozeman (think trying to cross Wilson at College or biking the harrowing North 7th Street), new development pressures (think everywhere in Bozeman) and relatively new community demands are begging for an adequate response to transportation issues. Logistically, aesthetically and environmentally, the issue is pressing for Bozemanites.

The 2007 Transportation Plan, which is in initial formation stages, is the first time since 1981 that the Bozeman public specifically asked project managers to include the input of biking and pedestrian experts. With the annual Bike to School and Work Week coming up, Bozeman bikers are gearing up for what they hope will be a more biker-friendly city.

Jon Henderson is very excited about the new plan. Henderson is the chair of the Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board (BABAB), formed in 1991, and he says more multi-modal transportation opportunities will lighten the pressures on the city and county as well as improve air quality and quality of life for people in the Gallatin Valley.

“It’s time we give it the attention it deserves,” Henderson says of the multi-modal component. “It’s not going to be a tiny chapter this time.”

Bike routes in Bozeman are as piecemeal as many of the arterial roads connecting new developments to existing city streets. Henderson and BABAB recently prepared a map of suggested routes for bikers to help them navigate the city. The map is available in all local bike shops.

The volunteer Bozeman Area Bicycle Advisory Board also reviews as many new subdivision applications as possible to help developers make areas more biker and pedestrian friendly.

Currently, all new arterial and connector roads and road improvements in Bozeman must include bike lanes. Durston Road will include bike lanes once construction is completed, which will provide a key connection between the west and east ends of the city.

Henderson cites a recent study of new bike lanes on West Babcock Street. The study found, “Adding sidewalks and bike lanes to West Babcock Street increased pedestrian and bicycle usage at the monitoring site [West Babcock and Main] from April 2005 to April 2006 by 256%.” Several other biking studies and resources are also available on the BABAB website.

Portland-based Alta Planning and Design is being contracted for the Transportation Plan to help address multi-modal concerns. Portland is one of the most bikeable larger cities in the country, and Mia Birk of Alta says quality multi-modal opportunities are a huge amenity to any community.

“It improves the livability of communities,” Birk says.

She says the development and growth boom in Bozeman presents challenges and opportunities, but she feels an active, “outdoorsy” community will help ensure multi-modal opportunities will be included in the plan.

Jon Henderson says one of the major challenges to the Transportation Plan is that Bozeman is “going through a transition of our lifestyles.” A larger public demand for integrated, walkable, bikeable communities will ask more out of the Transportation Plan this time around, Henderson says.

Henderson emphasizes the plan should be a reflection of the community, and he says citizens’ participation in the process is crucial. There will be several charettes, or public workshops throughout the planning process. Henderson says BABAB is contacting around 50 local organizations to encourage them to participate in the charettes.

“There is so much more to this than any of us envisioned,” Henderson admits. “If people only knew how important this was we would have much more public transportation.”

Henderson says the Transportation Plan will affect more than the logistics of navigating Bozeman. He says the 2001 Greater Bozeman Transportation Plan is used on a daily basis and is integrally related to growth and the Gallatin County Growth Policy. Both documents help steer growth and address quality of life, safety, and environmental concerns. Henderson cites global warming and a recent EPA warning that particulate matter due to air pollution in the Gallatin Valley is threatening to exceed legal limits as major issues to be addressed by the new plan. How large a role biking will have in easing traffic and pollution in Bozeman largely rests with the public’s involvement in the new planning process as well as Bozemanites’ dedication to riding their bikes.

For more information on the revamping of the Bozeman Transportation Plan, click here.