Comments for “2014 Billings Urban Area Long Range Transportation Plan”
-
Lockwood needs bike lanes along Hwy 87 at the very least. Ideally, Old Hardin Road would also have bike lanes.
-
Please create a soft trail (like Norm's) or paved bike path where Colton ends at Avalon to connect with the path that starts at 38th.
-
Thank you for continuing to work with the idiot owners at Yellowstone River RV Park & Campground. It's ridiculous that we don't have a river trail that connects from Riverfront to Mystic to Coulson but thank you for your continued efforts to make this work.
-
I agree with the suggestion to connect Rimtop Drive to Alkali creek as another key connection for the heights to downtown and the west end. Additionally, when we had bad flooding back in 2010, the heights were completely cut off from the rest of town. However, this could provide some relief from the Main/Bench bottleneck and additional access other than Alkali. It would also be more feasible to do this sooner than the Inner and Outer Belt Loop.
-
Alkalai Creek needs to be paved from the start of gravel at the east end just past the last residential development to Highway 3.
-
Please insert a HAWK becon signal at 27th and Minnesota. Increased development on all of Minnesota has increased foot traffic. But increased train traffic means that cars build up and traffic is awful in this area of 27th. Additionally, the lights at Montana and 1st are not synced so people often run into the middle of the street to wait, putting themselves in danger. It's inconvenient to walk down to 1st or Montana so people don't do it. However, the success of the HAWK on 4th suggests it could work here.
-
Share the Road signs on Blue Creek Road
-
To echo existing comments, I've noticed numerous pedestrians completely displaced. There needs to be improved pedestrian infrastructure allowing people to cross from residential areas south of Laurel Road to access the grocery store and CVS off Central Ave.
-
Connection from the Swords Rimrock Park Trail to Zimmerman for non motorized transport
-
we need to connect the Shiloh trail to trails at Riverfront Park for non motorized use (bikes, runners, walkers)
-
Please continue with bike and pedestrian connectivity. 6th Avenue North could use bike lane and street crossings. I have witnessed several near miss - vehicle ped and bike vehicle incidents. Cars usually speeding so infrastructural improvements/street design that reduce speeds would help. City/BPD need a better system to record and address ped/bike injuries and be able to document changes in incidents. Kudos to all for improvements, but room for more. Snow removal, ice and debris in bike lanes and on sidewalks continues to be a problem as does ADA- keep working at it. Thank you.
-
As a whole we would like to see side walks along Washington St.
-
Add a city bus route to go to Blue Creek to make accessible for people in this area.
-
The combination of "coved" and narrow streets make for big safety issues. The departments responsible for subdivision planning and approval shouldn't allow both on the same street.
-
General comment: I agree that the lack of sidewalks and bike lanes in the western part of the city undermines connectivity. Also, the existence of strung out businesses as is the case along Grand Ave. and Main St. encourages accidents between cars, but also between cars and pedestrians, bicyclists, etc. Can future zoning eliminate strip zoning and emphasize business pods? This is being much better handled along Shiloh. I think the amount of asphalt parking required per square foot of business needs to be rethought. There are acres of unused blacktop in the city that contributes to sprawl and excessive storm runoff (without recharging the water table). A number of our residential roads, especially in some older parts of the city like the Southside, are way too wide and are not good uses of space and funds. Although a zoning rather than a transportation issue, particularly egregious is the allowing of so much industrial and commercial crap along the Interstate. The refineries and large scale businesses are not the issue, but rather all the jumble of signs, weedy lots with junk, disconnected businesses--visual pollution. Fortunately, we are isolated enough that travelers stay here even if repelled by the junk--and they are surprised by how pleasant the city is the further you get away from the Interstate.
-
It would be nice if a bus would cover the stretch between King Ave. West and Shiloh to King and 48th St. West.
-
There is a great trail for biking and walking from Shiloh to 38th, and there are bike lanes on Poly after about 32nd, but the connection between the two to make a complete east-west bike route is missing. You get dumped onto bike lane and shoulderless Poly between 32nd and 38th. Needs to be addressed--especially because when Rimrock is under construction, there are no other complete east-west bike routes. Broadwater trail stops at Zimmerman too.
-
A bike path is needed from Riveroaks Dr along Rolling Hills Dr, down Pemberton to Main Street
-
Bothe sides of Rolling Hills Dr are in the city limits with the South side being a state park. This creates a lot of motorized traffic, walking, jogging, and bike riding. The North side should have sidewalks installed and the state should put in a sidewalk/bike path through its property but not necessarily adjacent to the roadway. It could run on the south side of the irrigation ditch which roughly parallels the road. what a beautiful improvement that would be. Without sidewalks, I firmly believe someone is going to get injured or killed on the roadway.
-
Protected left turns missing in some directions.
-
The traffic control system in Billings--specifically signals--whether they are "syncronized" or "timed" are an obsolete and wastefull means of getting vehicles around town. As Billings grows the traffic travel times increase exponetially because state and federal regulations to not adapt to growth. All signals are based on stopped traffic. In other words in order to trigger a signal a vehicle must be over a sensor or in view of the camera mounted opposite the intersection. The traffic system should be "active" and engaged in moving traffic. The latest and most efficient method of moving traffic is making appearances around the country. It is known as Adaptive Traffic Control. Current traffic sontrol systems can be upgraded to this system. I believe this to be the trend around the world and it is time the Billings Administration take a serious look at the benefits of Adaptive Traffic Control in order to save fuel, time, maintenance and accidents. We have been responding to the colors red, green and yellow for almost a hundred years and it has become an acceptable nusance---despite the fact that everything else around us has progressed to greater efficiency. Lots of information on the web for Adaptive Traffic Control. It's been around since 2008.
-
Rebuild the underpass at 20th Street North, making it deep enough to handle trucks and wide enough to handle wide loads. Then purchase the buildings due north and punch 20th thru to at least 1st Avenue North and possible 2nd Avenue North. This would give an alternate route to traffic during train traffic blocking 27th street. This will be cheaper than most other offered fixes, but still expensive, but something has to be done and planned for.
-
There are no sidewalks in the neighborhoods around Big Sky Elementary School. Children have to walk in the streets to get anywhere. This becomes even more dangerous in the winter because our city council refuses to clear the snow and ice from the streets.
-
Put lights with left turn arrows at this intersection where 15th Streets turns to Regal and intersects with Central Ave. The streets do not line up so the intersection is not square and it is very dangerous for cars turning left from 15th Street to go East on Central. Also, traffic backs up to the East and the West on Central when cars try to make a left turn.
-
Inner Belt Loop connecting Wick Lane to Zimmerman Trail.