Bozeman leaders promise faster traffic safety work after two recent serious crashes

Deputy Mayor Fischer convened a packed Bozeman City Commission work session focused on traffic safety on April 14 after two recent severe crashes, including a child struck on Babcock Street.

Staff and police described a four-part "safe systems" approach — engineering changes, policy updates, targeted enforcement and public education — and highlighted recent steps and planned projects. Nick Ross, the city's transportation director, said the city has revised its Unified Development Code to lower level-of-service standards so streets can be designed for safety rather than vehicle throughput and has secured federal grants and other funds for multimodal improvements. "Even small changes in speed are very effective at reducing fatalities and severity," Ross said.

Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp described enforcement changes already under way: a reconstituted traffic unit, adjusted patrol shifts for targeted enforcement, school resource officers in marked cars and a grant application for an additional state-funded traffic/DUI officer. "The goal of traffic enforcement is simply to change people's driving behavior," he said.

Judge Carolina Tierney, who earlier in the evening had described rising court caseloads tied to increased traffic citations, told commissioners the court is seeing growing demand and urged budgeting for an additional clerk to process citations and cases.

Residents filled the commission chamber during public comment. Tessa Whitmer and other neighborhood speakers raised separate planning and short-term-rental concerns earlier in the meeting, but the traffic session brought families who said the community has waited too long for action. "We need safer streets and we want action now," Nikki Bailey told the commission. Multiple speakers identified intersections and crossings long noted in the city's 2017 transportation master plan and asked why they remained unfunded.

Commissioners pressed staff about funding tradeoffs and legal limits. Chief Veltkamp and the city attorney explained that state law sets most fines and caps on penalties and that the legislature has previously restricted some enforcement tools—most notably a statewide ban on automated red-light cameras. City Manager Winn and Ross stressed funding limits but said staff would return with options, including proposals to publish the bicycle/pedestrian gap analysis publicly, establish a near-miss reporting tool, and expedite priority crosswalk and intersection projects where feasible.

The commission asked staff to prepare a follow-up work session (including the mayor) focused on funding scenarios, a short list of near-term capital fixes and the mechanics of expanding the annual multimodal improvements fund. Commissioners said they will consider whether to increase the STR20 multimodal allocation as part of the upcoming budget process. The meeting closed with a unanimous decision to continue the conversation and for staff to bring specific proposals back to the commission for prioritization and potential fast-tracking.