by Elyse Monat, Billings TrailNet’s Active Transportation Educator

Monday and Tuesday, March 2-3, 2015 I was able to attend the Bike Walk Montana Summit in Helena with advocates from around the state. Entitled Nuts and Bolts, Building Great Places One Step at a Time, the summit focused heavily on placemaking as a way to make cities and towns in Montana more livable, walkable, and bikeable.

The Summit started off on Monday with a full day bike facility design workshop led by Joe Gilpin of Alta Planning + Design. We learned about designs for many different types of bike lanes including buffered bike lanes, protected bike lanes, and two-way cycle tracks.

Tuesday began with a speech by the governor, and was followed by keynote speaker, Robert Ping, who spoke about trends in bicycling and ways in which temporary changes can bring about more lasting ones. One idea I found interesting was to turn an on-street parking spot into a miniature park (just for one day), in order to get people to think about creating community and meaningful places.

Later in the day, breakout sessions offered attendees a chance to learn about the variety of efforts different groups are pursuing to increase biking and walking around the state of Montana. I heard about a women’s bicycling group in Missoula, an effort to connect the Yellowstone Teton trail, and a temporary parklet, or mini-park, in Anaconda.

All in all, the Bike Walk Montana Summit was a huge success! Thanks so much to Melinda Barnes, Bike Walk Montana’s Executive Director, as well as the Bike Walk Montana board and the sponsors of the event!