Brooks St. from Mount to Higgins will be repaved in Summer of 2010.  Missoula Public Works has stated that bike lanes will be added to this section of street, in the heart of Missoula.  There is a very pleasant, green boulevard on both sides of the street.  MIST measured Brooks Street and found that it was 41' from curb to curb in several spots.  The road is currently (as of 11/09) striped as two 12'6" travel lanes with an 8' parking lane on each side.  Bicycling on this section is challenging, with several reported crashes over the last couple of years. 

Here are some repaving and restriping options:

Option 1: Two 11' driving lanes, two 6' bike lanes, two 7'6" parking lanes.  That totals 49'.  That means 4'  would need to be cut into the boulevard on each side.  Probably not a good option because of too much space taken from boulevards and cost to cut into the boulevards (there is a moderate slope).  *This option is moving forward from the City and will likely be built if citizens do not get involved*

Option 2: Twp 10' driving lanes, two 5' bike lane, two 7'6" parking lanes.  That totals 44'.  Probably not a good option because the bike lanes would be too close to parked cars and the risk of 'dooring' would be high.

Option 3: Remove parking. Not much parking takes place on this stretch of Brooks and alleys and side streets make for good alternatives. Without parking, we could have: 13'6"' driving lanes and 7'6" bike lanes. This is maybe an option, yet those widths would likely be overly wide lanes. The boulevards could _gain_ space in order to have widths more like 6' bike lanes and 11' driving lanes.  Removing parking on both sides may not be acceptable to the neighborhood.

Option 4: Parking on one side of the street, resulting in: 7.5' parking lane, 6.5' bike lane, 11' driving lane, 11' driving lane, 5' bike lane. That equals 41', meaning the curb line stays the same as today.  This would likely be a good option.     *MIST preliminary preferred option*   (We are very interested in engaging with the neighborhood on this option)

 April 2010 Update:

After a recent public meeting, the City has decided not to widen the street.  This change is being made in order to preserve the historic boulevard and the street trees.  The question of parking and/or bike lanes still remains.  MIST supports options 3 or 4 above.  We have since determined that removal of parking of both sides would be very feasible- it would be similar to Arthur Ave, which had parking removed 10 years ago to gain bike lanes, and is now one of the best biking streets in Missoula.

At the meeting, serveral people spoke in favor of parking and several spoke in favor of bike lanes.  The process will continue.

City Public Works Director Steve King wants to hear your thoughts: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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