BOZEMAN — One Bozeman resident recently invited city leaders to the intersection of 15th Avenue and Oak Street to see first-hand how many people are running red lights.
“The reason we're here today is to observe people running red lights,” said Bozeman resident Glenn Monahan.
Monahan and two other Bozeman residents watched in awe as a bus ran through the intersection seconds after the light turned red.
“Did you watch that bus?!” shouted Monahan. “I knew that the situation was bad, or that the problem was bad, but I was really quite surprised when I did a physical count.”
At the same intersection where a Bozeman High School teacher was recently struck and killedwhile riding a bicycle, Monahan stood with pen in hand watching as driver after driver ran through red lights during the Thursday morning rush hour.
This is not the first time Monahan has been there. On Oct. 13 he says he counted 12 cars running red lights in 30 minutes during the morning rush and 22 cars during the evening rush hour.
According to Bozeman police, in 2021 officers cited 107 drivers for red-light violations.
As of Oct. 19, a total of 75 drivers have been cited in 2022.
“What we try to prevent are those serious or fatal crashes by reducing speed and conflicts at intersections,” said Bozeman Transportation and Engineering Director Nick Ross.
Ross said the city spends $50,000 on bike and pedestrian safety projects. Now they are looking to increase that amount.
“We proposed increasing that to $100,000 per year. That will allow us to do more work from a maintenance and expansion perspective,” said Ross.
Monahan says while long-term goals are good, he wants to see more enforcement right away.
“I think action needs to be taken immediately,” he said.
