community outreach – The Western Transportation Institute

IN THE NEWS: WTI Researcher Plans Traffic Calming Project in Big Sky, TPF-5 Sparking Public Interest

Posted on April 3rd, 2023

Matt Madsen Interviewed in Explore Big Sky

WTI Researcher Matt Madsen, along with the Big Sky Community Organization (BSCO), is spearheading a traffic calming project in the heart of Big Sky, Montana. Madsen describes the upcoming project in the Explore Big Sky article “Traffic calming project set for Ousel Falls Road,” as well as participation opportunities for interested community members. “Community engagement with these projects is very important, especially because traffic calming will be in high-traffic areas,” said Madsen. “We want people to be aware of what is going on, and the reasons behind it.”

Read the full Explore Big Sky article here.

Wildlife Connectivity and Animal-Vehicle Collision Reduction Project Sparking Public Interest

Online news organization Explore Big Sky highlighted WTI’s $1.2 million dollar wildlife connectivity and animal-vehicle collision mitigation project, TPF-5, in multiple March publications. The articles include comments from WTI Executive Director David Kack, Researcher Matthew Bell, and Road Ecology Program Manager Rob Ament on the scope and impact of the research and reports.

Read Wildlife crossings don’t have to be so pricy here.

Read Montana State University releases reports on wildlife crossing structures here.

Learn more about TPF-5 here.

PROJECT News: Scan of Communities with Fewer than 10,000 People finds Biking/Walking to be “Wheelie” Popular

Posted on October 31st, 2022

Walking and bicycling have become increasingly popular transportation modes as people consider the positive impacts of active living. While there are examples of large, urban areas driving the implementation of infrastructure to support these modes within their jurisdictions, communities with populations smaller than 10,000 people may have limited infrastructure and know-how. Since 84% of communities in the United States are home to 10,000 people or fewer, these geographically distributed communities can have big impacts on transportation trends.

To investigate multimodal transportation options in these small towns, WTI researchers Natalie Villwock-Witte and Karalyn Clouser conducted Case Studies of Communities of Less than 10,000 People with Bicycle & Pedestrian Infrastructure. Funded by five state departments of transportation and the Small Urban, Rural and Tribal Center on Mobility (SURTCOM), the project examined 15 communities across five states (Florida, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Vermont).

Researchers traveled to each community to conduct on-site research on existing infrastructure and interact with community members. They collected geo-located photographs and data on active transportation infrastructure and condensed this information into infrastructure maps, conducted interviews, and provided on-site survey distribution. “For rural areas, in-person contact is key,” noted Villwock-Witte. “Local buy-in had a dramatic impact on data collection.”

The resulting case studies for each community highlight examples of active transportation infrastructure and outline characteristics that lead to a successful bike/walk culture. Also, the final report synthesizing all the case studies can provide guidance for other small communities. “These case studies,” said Villwock-Witte, “show that [bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure] does exist and describe how small communities across the U.S. have put it in place. The selected case studies are not the exception to the rule.” As existing infrastructure, such as state highways through small towns, is reimagined, communities will look to their peers for inspiration noted Villwock-Witte. “I see lots of opportunities to build on this work in the near future and for many years to come.”

The case studies and final report are available on the project page of the WTI website

A Calming Presence – Street Art Aims to Slow Neighborhood Traffic

Posted on July 23rd, 2019

Two intersections in downtown Bozeman have unusual new inhabitants – brightly colored trout that swim and leap through a water mural painted right on the street.

Neighbors, volunteers, and educators helped create the installation, which is intended as a traffic calming measure to slow down cars traveling through this residential neighborhood. It is the most recent project in an ongoing collaboration by the City of Bozeman and WTI to test temporary, low cost strategies in areas where neighbors express concerns about speeding vehicles. In this case, the installations are located on South Church Street at the Olive Street and Bogert Place intersections, near popular pedestrian destinations including the library, Bogert Park, and Peets Hill. “This is an area that will benefit a lot from these little design features,” WTI project assistant Dani Hess said. “It creates a visual narrowing that makes it a little harder to just cruise through here.”

WTI and the City of Bozeman have implemented other types of temporary calming projects. Recently, they worked with the Lindley Park neighborhood group to install traffic circles on Cypress Street, which are intended to slow down vehicles driving by Lindley Park during events. Local businesses donated plants for both projects – Cashman’s, Vissers, Gallatin Valley Greenhouses at Bogert, and Greenspace Landscaping at Lindley.

Earlier in 2019, partners installed pop-up traffic circles near the Fairgrounds, and in the Cooper Park and Valley Unit neighborhoods. Last year, WTI also worked with the City of Helena on a similar project. These projects have recorded reductions in traffic speeds ranging from 2% to 14%.

The educators who joined in on the painting projects have been in Bozeman participating in the Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program. High school and community college STEM teachers spend six we

eks learning about transportation research and technology, and then translate it into curriculum to take back to their classrooms.

The fish mural project received great local media attention including an article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, and a feature story on NBC Montana News.

If you’ve seen the recent installations in person, organizers would love to hear your feedback! Take a few minutes to fill out the Bogert Park project survey and/or the Cypress/Lindley Park survey.