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Jan 17,2010 Dear Mayor Engen, City Council, Doug Moeller, Steve King, and Brent Campbell Thanks to one of our members, the Board of Directors of Bike-Walk Alliance for Missoula (BWAM) has had an opportunity to study the proposed Mullan Road/Reserve Street intersection changes which include additional left-turn lanes and removal of the pedestrian safety islands. This intersection is already horrendous for bicyclists and pedestrians, and without the pedestrian island would be nearly impossible and life-threatening for many pedestrians to cross. Safe pedestrian crossings are absolutely needed in this area, particularly since no sane pedestrian would even attempt to cross Reserve Street except at a signalized crossing. Whether it is a shopper or diner who has parked on one side and would like to patronize a business on the other, a bus passenger who must cross either before or after taking the bus, or a resident of the area who may have no vehicle or may be making a valiant effort to walk to shop or dine, pedestrians do exist in the area and deserve a safe crossing. Residents at both the Pre-Release Center and Valor House on Mullan Road depend on biking, walking, or transit, and must somehow negotiate this intersection. The addition of left turn lanes, especially when it means reduction of bike lanes and pedestrian islands, makes this intersection, where one bicyclist lost his life in a left-turn lane, even more deadly than it already is We applaud the funding of construction of the separated bike-pedestrian trail on Mullan Road west of Reserve Street which resulted from Hellgate students calling attention to the need for a safe place for them to walk and bicycle to school and to visit friends. Many bicyclists both east and west of Reserve will welcome this new trail, and it will undoubtedly encourage bicycle commuting. A dangerous intersection will be a disconnect in the trail system. Reserve Street has become for many residents synonymous with nightmare traffic, whether we're motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, or transit users. In fact, transit service and usage is minimal, probably because passengers find it so difficult to cross the street that taking the bus just doesn't work. We wonder how the City could have approved the construction of Wal-Mart in that location without first ensuring they pay their fair share of re-designing the intersection. We hope that Reserve Street will inspire better decisions in the future. We strongly oppose the removal of the pedestrian islands and bike lanes. We ask that steps be taken as soon as possible to construct a protected bike-pedestrian crossing of Reserve and Mullan Road near this intersection. We ask for a study of a safe bike-pedestrian trail under the bridge as one possibility. Sincerely, Board of Directors, Bike-Walk Alliance for Missoula: Jim Sayer, Bob Wachtel, Ethel MacDonald, Marta Meengs, John Couch, Jean Belangie-Nye, Bob Reider, Ginny Sullivan