The Inter‑Neighborhood Council of Bozeman on June 12 voted to recommend that the Bozeman City Commission adopt a resolution authorizing seasonal alternate‑side parking regulations for winter street maintenance and granting the transportation director authority to enact the rules.

The recommendation follows a city pilot and a work session in which staff described how parked vehicles impede graders' access to curbs, slow plowing production and can create narrow travel lanes that affect emergency response. “We are here to take the next step, hopefully, towards implementation of alternate side parking regulations for the purpose of winter maintenance,” said Nick Ross, the city’s director of transportation and engineering.

Under the proposal presented to the council, the program would be seasonal, enforced with new block‑end signs, and limited in year one to downtown neighborhoods on the city’s Tuesday local‑street schedule. On the first and third Tuesday of the month parking would be restricted on the side of the street with odd‑numbered homes; on the second and fourth Tuesday parking would be restricted on the even‑numbered side. Staff said the program is intended to leave at least 50% of on‑street capacity available at all times and one curb cleared so graders can push snow to the curb.

Ross said the pilot taught three lessons staff folded into the proposal: apply regulations only where on‑street parking utilization is high; use permanent signage rather than temporary hangers so visitors do not fill cleared spaces; and back regulations with enforcement. He told the council the enforcement fine under the proposal would be $50 per infraction and that initial enforcement in the pilot emphasized warnings as an educational step.

Ross also gave a near‑term rollout estimate: roughly 1,000 signs would be needed for the downtown neighborhoods, about 10% of which would require new sign assemblies; sign production and installation were estimated at several weeks and two two‑person crews working roughly eight weeks to install signs across the initial zone. Ross said improved GPS and routing systems for the fleet will also help operations and reduce duplicate coverage.

Council members and neighborhood representatives raised implementation questions during a lengthy discussion: whether the program could be combined with other maintenance notifications, how to address streets with consistently high utilization on both sides, staged enforcement (warnings before tickets), variability when Montana State University is in session, and whether fines should escalate for repeat offenders. Ross said staff expect enforcement to be front‑loaded and to decline as behavior normalizes on regulated blocks.

The council passed a motion recommending the City Commission adopt a resolution authorizing alternate‑side parking for the stated purpose and allowing the transportation director to implement it. Several neighborhood representatives announced abstentions at the INC vote, citing neighborhood bylaws or the need for a local neighborhood vote; others voted in favor. The INC recommendation now goes to the Bozeman City Commission for final action.

The city’s presentation cited the International Fire Code’s need for minimum travel widths as a reason to ensure clearer curb access. Ross said the seasonal enforcement period shown on the draft signs is Dec. 1 through March 31, with the expectation that typical plowing staffing and demand run from the week after Thanksgiving through roughly March.

Implementation steps identified in the meeting included targeted parking utilization assessments, public outreach (mailers and neighborhood volunteers to place temporary boulevard signs during specific maintenance events), production and installation of permanent signage, and staffing/enforcement plans tied to revenue from citations. Ross said the transportation division will return to the commission with operational details when the commission considers the resolution.