BILLINGS — New traffic tools in downtown Billings were designed to improve safety and ease congestion.
But with fresh crosswalks and stop signs in place, new challenges are surfacing, including Q2 cameras catching dozens of drivers still rolling through them.
That’s the concern. Community leaders worry the effort to calm traffic and make streets more pedestrian-friendly may not work, unless drivers slow down and pay attention.
WATCH: As drivers fail to stop for a newly installed 4-way stop:
Kim Kaiser, CEO of the Billings YMCA, has a front-row seat to the changes.
Right outside her building at 402 N. 32nd St., a new mid-block crosswalk is drawing attention but also creating safety concerns.
“This is where my concern is,” she said. “I just keep telling people, don’t assume cars are stopping.”
The YMCA’s new mid-block crosswalk is meant to help people cross safely. But Kaiser worries that drivers aren’t treating it seriously enough.
“Anytime you add a mid-block crosswalk where you don’t have a hard stop at a light, it’s concerning,” she said. “Often times, cars choose not to see the flashing lights or don’t really care to stop.”
The crosswalk is part of a broader city project converting one-way streets back to two-way traffic.
The City of Billings is still undergoing this significant transformation with the ongoing Downtown Two-Way Restoration Project, aimed at converting several one-way streets back to two-way traffic.
This initiative, approved by the Billings City Council in May 2024 with a $6 million bid, is part of a broader effort to revitalize downtown and enhance safety and accessibility
The restoration project focuses on converting Second and Third Avenues North, along with several downtown cross streets, into two-way routes.
The project includes improvements to 18 existing traffic signals, installation of a new signal at Second Avenue North and Division Street, and the removal of two signals on North 32nd Street at Second and Third Avenues North.
That new flow has led to confusion for drivers.
In less than an hour, MTN News captured on video, 11 drivers running the stop sign at Third Avenue North and 32nd Street, which is the intersection in front of the KTVQ studio.
Another dozen rolled through within the next hour, after the city added flags on the new stop signs and a green crosswalk, nearly a week later.
City Engineer Mac Fogelsong stressed the project is not complete and asked for patience through the process.
“There’s still just a lot more to get striped,” he said.
Fogelsong explained that the city plans to add brighter striping and flags to stop signs to help catch drivers’ attention.
“There’s more to be done to those intersections that will make it feel closer-knit and make people aware,” he said.
Even with the updates, residents say close calls happen daily.
“Oh yeah, that’s every day. Sometimes we see multiple cars — I have seen and heard cars just screeching at this crosswalk,” one resident said.
Kaiser says pedestrians can’t rely on flashing lights alone.
“Watch out for vehicles as they are traveling down the street,” she said.
City officials note that stop signs were chosen instead of traffic lights because they statistically reduce crashes and help prevent backups.
MTN News checked with Billings police who say, since Aug. 1, officers responded to 14 crashes in the downtown area, though none at Third Avenue North and 32nd Street.
Most occurred at busier intersections, including Fourth Avenue North, Sixth Avenue North and North 27th Street.
