MISSOULA - People still have the opportunity to write letters in support of studying Reserve Street in Missoula.
A Safe Streets for All grant would fund a $400,000 safety study of Reserve Street, which is one of the busiest roads in Montana.
Numerous crashes happen on Reserve Street each year.
The severity of some of those crashes can be life-changing, as we shared with you Lori Messenger's story, who was paralyzed after getting hit by a car on Reserve.
The deadline for the letters of support has now been extended to July 6, 2023.
Letters of support should be emailed to Deborah Postma at postmad@ci.missoula.mt.us with a cc for Kevin Davis at kevin@bigskycommerce.com.
A template for the letter is seen below.
[Your header, optional; please return all letters to postmad@ci.missoula.mt.us. When returning the letter, please delete all the highlighted and bracketed parts.]
Pete Buttigieg
U.S. Secretary of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
Re: SS4A 2023 Reserve Street Safety Study
[Date]
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
I am writing [on behalf of _____; or explain who you are here] to support the SS4A 2023 Missoula’s Reserve Street Safety Study planning and demonstration grant application. This study will span the length of the corridor from Brooks Street/Hwy-93 to I-90.
Reserve Street has been a focus of public concern and a prior MPO-led engagement planning process. The corridor serves the dual purpose of operating as a regional highway to move traffic through the City as part of the federal highway system while also providing access to local businesses and neighborhoods. This, combined with infrastructure deficiencies, makes the corridor unsafe and challenging for nonmotorized users to cross and travel on the corridor. Reserve Street is a key connection for many focused areas of development as well as city, county and federal investments. [tell your story/concerns here, either by editing the paragraph or deleting and telling it your own way]
The project will build upon the Missoula Community Transportation Safety Plan and Missoula Connect 2050 Long-Range Transportation Plan by developing a corridor safety study that will enable MDT and the City of Missoula to evaluate and prioritize safety improvements on the heavily travelled, high crash concentration corridor.
This safety study will provide the backbone for safety and connectivity improvements that will: [Pick the bullets that resonate the most with you/your organization. If you choose, you could make this section a paragraph. Please add, expand on, or adapt as you see fit.]Sincerely,
- address infrastructure deficiencies, especially those affecting nonmotorized users.
- support the community’s concerns and engagement.
- address equity issues by providing safe connections to Missoula’s local amenities.
- support and increase safe access to Missoula’s local businesses.
- consider signal timing and performance measures to improve safety at intersections and support regional through-traffic.
- provide for Missoula’s major residential development hotspot.
[signature; please sign electronically or sign and scan.]
YOUR NAME
YOUR ORGANIZATION, if applicable
Data from the Missoula Police Department shows the most dangerous intersections along Reserve Street.
The location with the highest number of crashes for 2021 was South Third Street West with 32 accidents followed by the intersection with Mullan Road by the Super Walmart at 29. The third most high-risk intersection along Reserve in 2021 was at Brooks Street with a reported 26 crashes.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information about the number of accidents that occurred on Reserve Street in Missoula.
