BILLINGS - Two projects would make for safer conditions for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The City of Billings Stagecoach Trail would run next to Zimmerman Trail and the state has the Highway 3 Billings Corridor Study.
“If you want to cross Highway 3 at the (Zimmerman Trail) roundabout, that can be a little sketchy just because you're doing it on the pavement,” said Sean Biggins, The Spoke Shop operations manager. “It is still a highway and we have to treat it as such.”
Biggins and The Spokeshop host bike rides when the weather is good, and sometimes the rides involve using the roundabout to get from the Skyline Trail to the Skyway Drive Trail to the Heights.
“There's a lot of safety in numbers, so we try to put a group of people together,” Biggins said.
A tunnel goes underneath Zimmerman Trail on the Skyline Trail toward Zimmerman Park.
There is a possible plan that involves building another tunnel underneath Highway 3 that would connect with the Skyway Drive trail.
“That would be incredible, and it would keep people safe,” Biggins said.
“If you want to take your life in your hands to cross through the roundabout, there's just so much traffic,” said Leslie Cooke, chair of the Rimrock Neighborhood Task Force. “It's kind of scary.”
The task force has been supportive of an underpass and other safety improvements on Highway 3.
For those living on the Rims, it can be treacherous crossing the Skyline Trail.
“As you're getting off the highway, you've got a semi coming 55 (mph) behind you,” said Kevin Moser, another task force member. “You kind of have to make a split decision if you're going to get rear-ended or swerve in front of a biker.”
The underpass is just one of the proposals from the Montana Department of Transportation study looking at Highway 3 from the airport roundabout to Indian Cliffs.
The possible improvements also involve a two-lane roundabout at Zimmerman Trail, more roundabouts, and widening parts of Highway 3.
Meanwhile, the city is looking at another safe connector, the Stagecoach Trail next to Zimmerman Trail.
“If you've ever tried to ride your bike or walk or run up Zimmerman Trail, it's very unsafe,” said Jim Nichols, a Billings TrailNet member and head of the Friends of the Stagecoach Trail.
Safety was first on Nichols’ list Tuesday night when he addressed the city council.
“I remember growing up and I was probably in my teenage years, and there was a lady that would jog up Zimmerman Trail,” said Councilman Denis Pitman. “And just scared the heck out of me every time I saw her.”
The Highway 3 project may not happen for another five years.
However, the Stagecoach Trail could start next year.
Both are aimed at adding connection and creating safety.
“What we are really looking at is advocating for the pedestrian and the bicyclists along Highway 3,” Cooke said.
