Viewpoint: Protect drivers, cyclists with bike lanes downtown

Lindsay Nugent

As a resident of downtown Missoula, I’m looking forward to the city’s project for Higgins, Front and Main Streets: the Downtown Safety, Access and Mobility (SAM) project. It’s already been funded and is moving into the early design stages.

This project will create safer, more efficient streets for both pedestrians and drivers. It will improve access to local businesses and our riverside parks. And it will amount to a much needed modernization of the core business district streets, as envisioned back in our 2009 citizen, consultant and city created Downtown Master Plan.

But critically, it’s missing safer, modern bicycling facilities. Higgins’ bike lanes, although slated for extension of the protected bikeways like we have north of Broadway, won’t be elevated to sidewalk level. This creates dangerous visibility concerns for all cyclists and drivers.

Even more dangerous is the complete omission of protected bike lanes on Front and Main. Instead, the city plans to “protect” cyclists with mere paint on asphalt. This is beyond discouraging to people who would commute, take their kids to the library, or travel to businesses via bike if it was safer.

This great project will become truly excellent with bicycle facilities that are physically separated from moving cars. There are countless protected bike lane examples across our country that demonstrate positive results for everyone, including nearby businesses.

Missoula can do this. We can roll into the current century by encouraging, rather than discouraging, active forms of transportation.