Comments for “2023 Billings Urban Area Long Range Transportation Plan - Draft Projects”
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Reconstruct Grand Ave between 62nd and Shiloh Rd - 3 lane roadway with bike lanes and sidewalk.
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ReplyI agree this section of Grand needs pedestrian access! However, with the speed and amount of traffic, the bike lane needs to be separated or a a separate multi-use path (like on Shiloh) to keep pedestrians and riders safe from the cars
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I recently reviewed the proposed redesign of the existing routes provided by Billings Met Transit. I live on the West End (Shiloh/Monad) and use the Met every day to commute downtown for work. With all the development that is taking place on the West End (residential, commercial, Rocky Vista university, etc.) it astounds me that instead of expanding the existing transit system further westwards, the plan is to do away with anything going as far as Shiloh! What??!! Surely there is the potential to greatly increase ridership with so many people moving to/working in these newly developed subdivisions on the West End. Instead, it appears that Zimmerman Trail/24th St W (a horribly busy traffic corridor) will be the main transit artery serving the West End/downtown Billings route. How are people living west of Zimmerman expected to commute to downtown Billings? Even from Shiloh, it's a long walk to get to any pickup point on the proposed new route. This is a disappointing proposal from Billings Met Transit.
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Central Avenue/ 32nd Street
By having that useless Century Link building on the southeast corner of this intersection, expansion has been inhibited. Maybe Century Link will snap their finger and have their building disappear. And no, I have nothing personal against Century Link, it is the buildings location.
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Avenue E/ Zimmerman Trail Traffic Signal
A round-a-bout would be more appropriate to keep traffic flowing throughout this commercial corridor. A light would exacerbate the unnecessary chains of cars constantly backed up at Grand/Zimmerman. Moreover, an investment into a raised pedestrian crossing might be necessitated across Zimmerman from the result of a light - and who knows how many pedestrians will be crisscrossing Zimmerman once the mixed-use is settled?
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PARKHILL DR
This is not Parkhill Dr. It is Ave B and redundant with already established Ave D Bike path. Ave D is great, and I don't think this short section on Ave B adds much. The new bike trail ending at the bridge on 21st street, north side of Rose Park should be extended to 17 Street West on the north side of the BBWA ditch
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There is an automatic gate for school busses here. Busses stage to load school kids. A delineated bike lane should be provided on the south side of the lane to reduce interference between the school busses/children and bike traffic.
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ReplyGreat idea to increase pedestrian access here, especially for students. This small section of road closed to only bus traffic is a very popular walking/biking spot as well. Consider adding "interruptions" like to this traffic that keep traffic on the main streets, but allow easy pedestrian traffic in residential areas
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8th is wide, so people speed on it. If a bike lane is planned for this ROW, it needs to be protected/ buffered. I know this introduces complexities for snow removal/ maintenance, but we need full-width (not in the gutter pan) bike lanes that feel safe to bike in
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ReplyI've almost gotten hit on my bike along 8th. With the on street parking, I'd like to see the bike lane between the parking and the sidewalk as well. Agreed they do speed here.
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This intersection is very dangerous. People speed down parkhill from Virginia to 32nd. Traffic calming measures should be deployed along this section of street to reduce dangerous behaviors. Could curb extensions and street parking be re-instated along the north side of Pioneer Park? The roadway is very wide but no curb parking is allowed, which encourages speeding.
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I'd love to see a streetcar, light rail, or trolley system that follows major arterials along grand ave. This passes through schools, high density housing, low density industrial, low density housing, and right through the heart of high density office and industrial spaces downtown. Each day, I notice the same cars going to and from work, which could instead be serviced by a rail solution to take cars off the road. It would also have more visibility than bus lines, which are currently difficult to spot and don't have the same historical connection to our Magic City, which was founded on the railroads. It also would allow the city of Billings to scale well as major arterial transition from low density housing to high density, such as apartment buildings. I'd like to see rail lines running from Shiloh, down grand ave, hitting the core of downtown, and a line that terminated either in the industrial district or the hospitals. This would ease traffic, help cut down on accidents and road repairs, and provide scalable infrastructure that could link up the heights to downtown with a future rail expansion. I urge you to consider this before the city becomes more population dense, as it's extremely difficult to build out once many low density areas have converted to high density areas, and the roads are the only viable means of transportation.
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ReplyThough I'd like to see heritage rail infrastructure acknowledged and put to good use ( 5th Ave Corridor, State Ave) I think new rail is prohibitively expensive. Aside from rail nostalgia, what's the advantage of trolleys over the existing 5a/5b bus service?
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5th Avenue Corridor
A crucial improvement to downtowns infrastructure! Currently commuting downtown through non-motorized options is dangerous and unmanageable. A safe connecting could ensure safer transportation and traffic mitigation
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ReplyI'd much prefer physical separation of bike lanes than painted stripes on the road. Even the city police ignore the bike lanes and park in them when it's convenient. Nearly every day on Poly I see drivers passing turning vehicles on the right, in the bike lanes. The worst thing about bike lanes in Billings is that they stop at difficult intersections where they are needed the most. On the pedestrian side, we need raised sidewalks across busy streets like Montana Ave downtown that force cars to slow down. Speed limits and crosswalks are ignored. We need physical infrastructure to enforce safety.
Like Liked 5 timesIt seems like getthing the 5th Ave Corridor Project off the ground in this public (SD2 and City Library) area would be a great place to start -- even with a painted path and a few plant boxes next to info posters about the project. www.youtube.com/watch?v=w14KOZebDdM
Like Liked 3 timesSo sad to see that the 5th Ave Corridor wasn't included in the Rec Center Bond list of trails. This is the type of trail that would serve many households and generate wealth so that huge property tax hikes would be less necessary. https://americas.uli.org/active-transportation-real-estate-next-frontier/
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BBWA Canal Trail
Strong support for an expansion of the BBWA canal trail!
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ReplyThis makes so much sense! Diagonal right across town from the Mall to MSU-B— healthy commuting w no traffic lights! Start with 2 safe pedestrian/bike tunnel crossings — one under 24th and one under Grand beside the canal. Raise the bridges and connect the retirement homes and schools to a safe, continuous canal path.
Like Liked 6 timesYes! Carry this plan through to the Heights too by opening a safe, carfree BBWA greenway corridor from the Siphon through to Lake Elmo (where part of the trail already exists).
Like Liked 3 timesA perfect way to commemorate the 140th anniversary of the first time water rolled through the Ditch in 1883! https://sites.rootsweb.com/~mtyellow/pioneers/big_ditch.htm
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