MISSOULA — It's no secret that Reserve Street in Missoula has a mixed safety record for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.
But the Missoula Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the City of Missoula and the Montana Department of Transportation are looking to make some changes to help alleviate some of the safety issues.
“It's very congested and kind of the safety needs to be addressed for the bicyclists, the pedestrians, and also vehicles trying to get onto Reserve,” said one person who stopped to find out information about the Reserve Street Safety Action Plan.
Watch to learn more about the Reserve Street Safety Action Plan:
“It's definitely like terrible to turn left on. Crossing it is not super fun,” another person stated.
The plan is a collaborative effort between the three organizations, with the goal of reducing the number of crashes and pedestrians and bicyclists hit by vehicles on the busy road.
Missoula Metropolitan Planning Organization Senior Transportation Planner Charlie Menefee says that there are various actions they can take to help improve the safety in the short and long term.
“What we have done within the scope of the plan is prioritize five design packages. One of those is near-term low-cost design solutions, which involves speed management as well as improved pedestrian crossing and lighting enhancements,” said Menefee.
Almost all of the Reserve Street corridor could see some changes, ranging from more lights to more visible pedestrian crossings to protected left turns.
The MPO put a table outside of T.J. Maxx on Wednesday, speaking to members of the public as they passed by to help spread the word about the potential changes.
And for some, the changes would be happily welcomed.
“I like definitely the part about the pedestrian where they would have the blinking lights, so the motorists would be more aware of people wanting to cross,” said one person.
“Adding more stop signs or adding more stop lights and like traffic signals is not gonna hurt anyone. Adding more safety for pedestrians is good, so I think they're pretty great,” said another person.
The action plan is still being worked out in the planning phase, after which federal grants will need to be received in order to complete the work.
According to the MPO, if the grants are received, residents can expect the plan to be fully completed within five to ten years.
Public comment is currently being taken on the plan, and you can find out more information on where to comment on engagemissoula.com.
