The city is wrapping up its North Great Falls Sub-Area Transportation Study and presented the findings to the City Commission during their April 19 work session.
The study is a transportation planning project intended to develop a long-term plan for safe and efficient, multi-modal transportation solutions in the growing region north of Smelter Avenue NE and west of U.S. Highway 87.
[READ: The draft study and other information on the study]
The transportation study has been planned since at least 2015 when the city was considering the annexation of the Thaniel Addition and a section of the West Ridge subdivision.
The study was funded with $82,700 by reimbursement from the Montana Department of Transportation with 86.5 percent coming from federal transportation planning funds with 13.4 percent from MDT; and $10,000 paid by funds already contributed by the developers of the West Ridge and Thaniel subdivisions.
North Great Falls transportation study underway
DJ Clark, the consultant with Sanderson Stewart, gave commissioners background and findings on the study.
He said that the study looked at the existing transportation network and possible improvements for anticipated growth in the area.
Clark said the area is commuter based with most people leaving in the morning and returning in the evening.
He said there is not a lot of traffic congestion or fatal crashed in the area, based on crash data from the Montana Department of Transportation and traffic county.
City considering traffic study on north side of Great Falls
The transportation network is efficient in that area based on congestion and crashes, but there are some safety concerns due to the terrain, such as sightline issues, particularly on Skyline Drive.
The visibility causes a higher number of crashes than what should be expected on those streets, Clark said.
Issues that were raised during the public comment and meeting process included a perception of congestion on 36th Avenue Northeast; desire for a new east-west route; and gaps in sidewalks.
Clark said they used current conditions as a baseline and using anticipated land development, projected future conditions for the area.
He said that the city is projecting just short of 900 houses, primarily single-family residential, in the area over the next 20 years.
Those projected homes would come with 10-45 percent growth in vehicle traffic, Clark said, but the study is multi-modal and looks at other methods of transportation, such as pedestrian and bicycle traffic.
Using those projections, the consultants made recommendations for improvements to the transportation network.
They looked at nine different street modification scenarios and tested them through the modeling process to see what would make a difference and from that created a package of recommended improvements, that taken individually, probably don’t work, Clark said.
One of those recommended projects is disconnecting Bootlegger Trail at U.S. Highway 87 if there was a connection across 43rd Street Northeast that could move traffic east-west.
Clark said a lot of people who lived on Bootlegger north of the intersection were “horrified” by that idea.
Other recommendations included traffic control measures at the intersections of Skyline, Division and 30th Avenue Northeast, and a potential roundabout at Skyline, 8th and 9th Streets Northeast and 32nd Avenue Northeast.
Andrew Finch, the city’s transportation planner, said that they’re talking to MDT about the intersection of Bootlegger and US87 and hope to do a study on that area to find solutions.
Finch told commissioners that there is a regional long range transportation plan that involves a planning process with the city, county and MDT.
Amendment to long range transportation plan on March 15 city agenda
Those plan updates are all presented to the commission. In March, commissioners approved an amendment to the current plan.
The north Great Falls transportation study also looks at potential funding sources for transportation improvements.
