Discovering Transit in Montana

Every Saturday in the summer, downtown Missoula becomes a pedestrian paradise. Traffic is slowed, streets are blocked, and the Saturday Markets come alive. Pedestrians, vendors, bicyclists, and street musicians take over a small portion of the downtown and the auto is displaced.

The same thing happens a half-dozen times a year when a parade occurs - everything slows down and the community gets together for an event that reclaims the public street. Bike races, festivals, marathons, and concerts all represent healthy but temporary uses of streets.

While a few snow flakes are flirting with the idea of falling tonight, it seems an odd time of year to muse about parades and summer markets, but I think that sustaining the energy of a farmers’ market can become a year-round idea. With the bickering about Hillview Way carrying on, why not open the street to children with sleds for a few hours after each new snow fall?

From a people-moving standpoint, streets can have temporal uses as well. Highway lanes can become bus and carpool lanes, or even reverse direction during the busiest times of day. Streets such as 5th and 6th Streets in Missoula could become one lane each with a giant cycling lane. During special events when the volume is needed, the configuration could revert to a two-lane setup, with cyclists sharing the right-hand lane.

The benefit of time-based street uses is that they can be implemented incrementally. If programs are successful, they can be expanded. For example, Missoula could move to a car-free downtown one morning a week. If people enjoyed biking and walking in the streets, and if businesses approved the change, it could be expanded to include two mornings a week!