A few years into the future, a beautiful, 800-acre park with fishing piers, a boardwalk, running and biking trails, a sledding hill, soccer fields and horseshoe pits will grace the hills above the Yellowstone River, and will be located approximately two miles northeast of Two Moon Park. Just five miles from the ever-growing Lockwood community, this park will attract residents from all over Billings and beyond, to enjoy running, biking, spending a day picnicking under cottonwood groves, and enjoying the surrounding beauty of the natural landscape.
A new byway is planned between Lockwood and the Heights, which, if built to specifications outlined in the US Department of Transportation’s Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations, will provide ideal access for mountain bikers, walkers and runners to get to and from the park, AND provide a vital connection between Lockwood and the Heights. This could open the door for people of all ages, especially kids and those who do not drive, to take a safer route to shopping, visiting friends, etc.
The road and bridge project currently calls for 4-lanes with an 8-foot shoulder runaway truck/emergency vehicle lane, to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. There will be no barriers between vulnerable road users and the designed speed of up to 55 mph traffic traveling to and from Lockwood to the Heights via the Billings Bypass. Many meetings over the past two weeks have gotten the attention of MDT to provide safer access for vulnerable road users along this byway.
Today, (Friday, March 13, 2015 ), representatives from community groups, including YRPA and Billings TrailNet, met with local MDT to discuss the options for ensuring safe accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists on the bridge.
After attending the meeting, it seems clear that MDT does understand that bicyclists and pedestrians are not safe traveling on an 8-foot shoulder of the Billings Bypass bridge. Their funding to build anything larger however, is severely limited. Several viable alternatives were proposed, and we feel fairly confident that MDT will provide a safer route on the bridge than what had originally been proposed.
Everyone who attended the meeting: County Commissioners, MDT, and the Transportation Commission, all agreed that safe pedestrian and bicycle facilities are not just an extra, they are a “must.”
In the words of Steve Arveschoug, Executive Director of Big Sky EDA, “in the past, trails, open space, and parks were a nice thing to have in your community. Now they are an imperative for a community that wants to grow and support business expansion, and a real must-have to retain and attract young talent. Professionals expect this from a community,” he said.
Shouldn’t we all?
We will keep you updated on the progress of this issue.