Join the National Bike Challenge: May 1 thru August 31
This year, the League of American Bicyclists is sponsoring the National Bike Challenge! The Challenge is simple: sign up as an individual or as a team, log your miles, and encourage others to join you.
Riders will compete for prizes and awards on both the national and local level, including a grand prize trip through California Wine Travel by Trek Travel.
Riders log all commuter and recreational miles. Start logging warm-up miles today to see how it works! Every time you log in, you can see how many points you and other riders have, how many points your community has, and how many points Montana and all other states have!
Bike Walk Montana (our new upcoming statewide advocacy organization) has already registered Montana to participate.
Please help to spread the word. Let's see how many riders we can get to participate and how many miles Montana can log!! And we'd love to see some riders from your area sign up!
Register at nationalbikechallenge.org. Spread the word to all your friends and encourage them to sign up, too! The challenge is restricted to ages 18 and older.
Planning and design is underway for the trail connection along the north side of Broadwater from the at-grade crossing between Lillis & Descro Park to the trail along Zimmerman. This segment will complete one of the longest continuous trail corridors within our network. There will also be a trail link from Broadwater to Will James Middle School (see below).
The final design is being completed with approval from the downtown stakeholders for the 25th Street Bike/Pedestrian Bridge that will be placed over the railroad tracks in the old historic district of Billings by the Depot. The engineering plans will then need to be approved by Montana Rail Link and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Line as the underlying property owners before construction can begin. With the long approval process, the bridge probably will not be placed until 2013.
Approved Funding and Future Trail Connections:
As part of the Community Transportation Enhancement Program, Billings and Yellowstone County go through a rigorous public selection process each year for the CTEP funds allocated to our community. This process may be changing with the authorization of the next federal transportation bill, but was still in place for 2011, so several projects were selected for CTEP funding to expand and enhance our trail network and non-motorized transportation in the Billings community. The following projects were approved for funding locally and now go through Montana Department of Transportation for final approval.
Hillner Lane Sidewalk and Highway 87 Crossing
This project would construct a hard surface, ADA accessible concrete sidewalk approximately 5 feet wide and 1,900 linear feet long, in the existing right-of-way of the northern side of Hillner Lane, from Hemlock Drive to Piccolo Lane. ADA accessible ramps will be provided at each intersection and a marked pedestrian crossing on Old Highway 87. The Highway 87 crossing will include in-pavement lighting and a rapid flash beacon.
This project is sponsored by Riverstone Health on behalf of Healthy By Design to create a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian safety educational campaign using mass media. It will include education to bicyclist and pedestrians, as well as motor vehicle users, about right-of-way etiquette and how to safely navigate roadways and trails within the city limits of Billings.
This project would construct a hard surface, ADA accessible, 10-foot wide hard surfaced trail for bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The trail is approximately 1,500 linear feet in length. This connection will provide a trail link from the trail on the west side of Swords Park north to the sidewalk just east of Swords Lane on the north side of Airport Road.
CTEP Funds: $205,498 City of Billings/Local Match: $31,852 Project Cost: $237,350
Will JamesMiddle School Connection
This project will construct a hard surface, ADA accessible, 10-foot wide trail for bicycles and pedestrians. This connection is approximately ½ mile long. This connection will provide the link to Will James Middle School from the programmed CTEP trail project along the north side of Broadwater Avenue from Zimmerman Trail to Lillis Park.
CTEP Funds: $112,554 City of Billings/Local Match: $17,446 Project Cost: $130,000
Swords Park Trail Phase II Dedication
Despite the bitter cold temperatures and the snow, the Swords Park Trail, Phase II dedication was held on Tuesday, January 17th. Three people even bundled up to brave the cold and ride their bikes and it was quite exhilarating.
Together with the Chamber of Commerce and Parks, Recreation and Public Lands the new segment of trail was dedicated in style with about 35 people attending. What a spectacular section of trail that now connects the trail on the west end of Swords Park with the underpasses and trails that were built under Airport Road and Alkali Creek Road and now connect to the Alkali Creek Trail and the Aronson Rd. Trail Corridor. Interpretive signs and several benches were added to this project to enhance the trail users experience.
Dave Irions speaking for the Chamber of Commerce summed up the importance of trails regarding economic growth. "Standard assets are no longer acceptable to businesses looking to relocate. They want exceptional assets," he said "and trails are the most visible exceptional assets a city can have."
Bicycling and Walking in the U.S. 2012 Benchmarking Report - Jan 2012
The Alliance for Biking and Walking released their 2012 Benchmarking Report for bicycling and walking in the United States. Here's a sampling of interesting economic points made in the report:
Bicycling and walking projects create 11-14 jobs per $1 million spent, compared to just 7 jobs created per $1 million spent on highway projects.
Cost benefit analysis show that as much as $11.80 in benefits can be gained from every $1 invested in bicycling and walking.
Here's how Montana ranked compared to the rest of the states:
Montana is the 4th highest state in number of commuters who commute by bicycle or foot.
Montana is in the top 1/3 of states for commuters who bike/ped to work, safety, and funding; but is in the bottom 1/3 of states for advocacy capacity (number of advocacy organizations working on biking and walking issues).
Montana is ranked 2nd in cycling to work and 4th in walking to work.
Montana has the smallest gap among men and women bicyclists. In fact, Montana has the highest percentage of women bike commuters.
Montana is the 7th safest state to bike in.
Montana has some of the hardiest cyclists, since it also has some of the coldest temperatures.
Montana has had a 148% increase in people who bike to work from 1990-2009.
Who knew Montana was such a bicycle/pedestrian oriented state!
SUMMER OF 2011: AN EXCITING TIME FOR TRAILS AND BIKEWAYS
SWORDS PARK CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
Construction on the Swords Park Trail completion (east side of the park) is underway. The portion of the old Black Otter Trail road that will be used for the trail corridor has been torn up in preparation for the new trail. The old roadway has been removed to lay a new base with a new trail surface.
Knife River construction is currently working on the connection of the trail to the Airport Underpass. There is a substantial grade separation between where the trail will be placed along the ground and making the rise to where trail users can access the underpass. They are forming a culvert that will provide the connection and allow water to drain under the culvert and along the borrow ditch, but still provides a hard surface base to support the new trail surface.
Once Swords Park Trail, Phase 2 is completed, trail users can access the trail system on the west side of 27th Street and have continuous trail connection to Governors along Alkali Creek Road and to the trail along Aronson. By using the sidewalk along Airport Road, trail users can also access the Main Street underpass to the trail to Mary’s Street, and to the Yellowstone River and Mystic Park. What a connection this will make! Keep watching for the Swords Park trail dedication later this fall.
HEART & SOLE RUN
Monday, August 26th, BikeNet was presented with a $7,500 donation from the Heart & Sole Run. Race organizers held a press conference to announce final race numbers and their donation to BikeNet and the YMCA. The donation to BikeNet will be used for the Swords Park amenity development project, recently launched through the partnership of BikeNet and the Chamber of Commerce. What a great way to kick off the fundraising campaign! Here are more details as presented by the Gazette.
SWORDS PARK TRAIL PHASE II
Groundbreaking was Monday, August 8th. Participating in the ceremony were John Brewer, Chamber of Commerce CEO, Mike Whitaker, Billings Parks, Recreation and Public Lands; Nash Emrich, BikeNet President; Michael Sanderson, President of Sanderson Stewart (consulting firm for the trail project) and Billings Mayor Tom Hanel. Also represented at the event was the construction company, Knife River. After a few words from each, they took their shovels and threw a little dirt to get the Swords Park Trail Phase II underway. Many of the volunteer bike patrol were present to help direct the crowd and join in the celebration. Fundraising is underway to help add amenities to enhance trail user experience. Fall completion of this project is anticipated.
This project completes the final trail segment through the east side of Swords Park that will connect to the underpasses and trail segment by 6th Street bypass built previously as part of the Airport Road project. The trail connection on the north side of Airport Road through Swords Park north to connect with the Alkali Creek Trail and Aronson will also be completed. In other words, a continuous trail network from 27th Street out to Aronson and Alkali Creek! After tha, there's just one missing segment left to also link users to the Main Street Underpass and the trail corridor to Mary’s Street and down to the Yellowstone River Trail along Coulson Park. What a GREAT Link!
BILLINGS AREA BIKEWAY AND TRAIL MASTER PLAN (BABTMP)
The BABTMP was finally approved at the Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting on August 9th. It was a long process with some bumps along the way as the Yellowstone County Board requested removal of the chapter on Complete Streets. Fortunately, the rest of the document was approved. A special thanks to Joe Gilpin from Alta Planning who was the lead consultant for this project and to Scott Walker for his continuous efforts to route this document through the voting process.
COMPLETE STREETS RESOLUTION
RiverStone Health had conducted an extensive public information campaign throughout the spring and summer to highlight the safety and health conditions that Complete Streets provide. Many presentations and workshops were given to civic groups and elected officials with a goal of bringing a Complete Streets Resolution before the City Council for approval on August 22.
Delay in adoption of the Billings Area Bikeway and Trail Master Plan and removal of the Complete Streets chapter confused the issue and there was great concern that even though the City Council had originally express support of the Complete Streets Resolution that it might be tabled. RiverStone Health asked people to let their City Council members know their thoughts before the August 22nd Council meeting.
COMPLETE STREETS AWARENESS RIDE AND RALLY
Ron Tussing, the former Billings mayor decided to plan an awareness ride and rally to support the Complete Streets resolution and show that many people in the community were supportive of this effort.
With only a week to plan for the event, Merry Ann Peters and Darlene Tussing joined in to help Ron organize the rally and ride for Sunday, August 21st. Merry Ann created a poster spread around by e-mail and Ed Kemmick wrote a great article in the Gazette. MSU-B provided the venue at the Peaks to Plains Park.
About 100 people attended the rally and Nash Emrich led a 5-6 mile bike ride to view examples of the benefits that Complete Streets can provide and the dangers when they arenot considered. A small group of families with young children took a safe ride around campus to see some of the signage and accommodations for students walking or biking. All ended up back at the park for food and entertainment and a little rallying.
All three bike shops lent their support. The Spoke Shop (Dean Cromwell, owner) provided barbecue for a nominal fee and the Bike Shop (Dennis Stedman, owner) graciously provided ice cream. Katy Kemmick and her dad John provided musical entertainment. Ed wrote another great story covering the ride and rally as well as coverage on the City Council meeting.
COMPLETE STREETS VOTE
At the August 22 City Council meeting, fifteen people spoke in support of a Complete Streets Resolution from different perspectives. They included representatives from the two hospitals and the CEO of RiverStone Health. Two people spoke in opposition. Before the vote was cast, most of the Council voiced their support of Complete Streets and mentioned that they had received lots of input on this issue. The end result was a unanimous vote for the Complete Streets Resolution. Several Council members commented afterwards that they were impressed by the great effort and diverse group of people that had rallied to support the resolution. Thanks to everyone for your support!!!! We did it together.
25th STREET BIKE/PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE PROJECT
The 25th Street Bridge project is underway and the consulting firms of Morrison Maerle and High Plains Architects have been hired to do preliminary engineering and coordination with Montana Rail Link for placing the bridge with foundation and access structure over the railroad tracks in line with 25th Street. Plans are to construct and place the bridge next spring or summer. This will provide the beginning of access to the riverfront from the old historic district of Billings. Watch for a big celebration on the bridge next summer!
Swords Park Trail Phase II Dedication 
Dave Irions speaking for the Chamber of Commerce summed up the importance of trails regarding economic growth. "Standard assets are no longer acceptable to businesses looking to relocate. They want exceptional assets," he said "and trails are the most visible exceptional assets a city can have." 
SWORDS PARK CONSTRUCTION BEGINS
SWORDS PARK TRAIL PHASE II 
COMPLETE STREETS RESOLUTION
COMPLETE STREETS AWARENESS RIDE AND RALLY
About 100 people attended the rally and Nash Emrich led a 5-6 mile bike ride to view examples of the benefits that Complete Streets can provide and the dangers when they arenot considered. A small group of families with young children took a safe ride around campus to see some of the signage and accommodations for students walking or biking. All ended up back at the park for food and entertainment and a little rallying. 