OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Transportation Technical Advisory Committee Meeting - March 11, 2026

City Commission — Wednesday, March 11, 2026
BodyBozeman, Montana
SessionCity Commission
DateWednesday, March 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:53

Transcript — Verbatim
0:08

Sure, I'll get us going.

0:09

So thank you everybody for meeting us out here for the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee.

0:15

We were doing these in-person meetings approximately quarterly.

0:19

So appreciate folks driving in from where you're at.

0:22

And hopefully you get to enjoy the nice library.

0:31

So if you're interested.

0:33

We do have some new folks joining us, so maybe we can just go around and introduce ourselves.

0:37

This is a hybrid meeting, so there are also people online.

0:40

Let's start in person.

0:41

And then we will join.

0:43

We'll ask the people online to give theirs my after we go around here.

0:48

So I'll start with me and then we'll go to the left and then online.

0:51

I'm Jeff Butts.

0:52

I am the MPO manager and uh staffing this event.

0:57

Uh Sunshine Ross, I'm a streamline director.

1:00

Hi, everybody.

1:01

Nick Ross, Director of Transportation and Engineering for City Bozman.

1:05

Who are you in County Engineer?

1:07

Uh Seth Gardner, I'm the uh assistant DO of U for MDT.

1:12

Brandon Jones, the district project development.

1:15

Jeff Schreeder, statewide planning supervisor MDT.

1:19

Camera Yulia, Director of Public Works, City of Elgrade.

1:23

RC Eckle, Public Works Administrative Manager.

1:29

Maybe Chris.

1:32

Chris Saunders Community Development Bozeman.

1:37

John.

1:39

John Howe at Montana State University.

1:42

Okay.

1:44

And then John.

1:49

John O'Callahan, Chief Planning Officer for Gallatin County.

1:58

Okay, so okay, great.

2:01

So with that, let's get started on the meeting.

2:05

I will turn it over to our chair to start the meeting.

2:09

So Brighton's rising.

2:12

Thanks for that, Jeff.

2:13

I forgot I'm chair.

2:15

Marcy, better start uh by taking the role just to ensure we have our quorum.

2:22

Chris Saunders.

2:25

Here.

2:26

Nicholas Ross?

2:28

Here.

2:29

Katherine King, she is not here.

2:31

Camera Yulia, here.

2:33

Sean O'Callian.

2:35

Here.

2:38

Jeff Streeter.

2:39

Here.

2:40

Brandon Jones.

2:41

Here.

2:41

Sunshine Ross here.

2:43

And Todd Wilson is held today.

2:45

And John Howe.

2:47

Perfect.

2:48

We have nine out of 11.

2:49

Thank you, everybody.

2:50

We'll uh move on to approval of minutes.

2:55

These would be from February 11, 2026.

2:59

I will uh take a motion to approve.

3:05

Move to approve.

3:07

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety███████████████████████████████31%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████25%
Land Use Planning████████████12%
Procedural███████████11%
Public Engagement██████████10%
Parking███3%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Affordable Housing███3%
Active Transportation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) Meeting - March 11, 2026

The Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) of the Gallatin Valley MPO held its quarterly in-person meeting on March 11, 2026, at the Belgrade Library. The meeting was hybrid with participants online. Nine of 11 members were present, establishing a quorum. The primary business was the annual pre-construction season partner updates, where agencies shared planned projects for 2026 and beyond.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the February 11, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously. A motion was made by John Howe and seconded; all members present voted in favor.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Marilee Brown (Safer Bozeman): Noted that remote participants could not see faces or identify speakers, requesting that in-person speakers state their names. Also noted the agenda did not indicate an in-person meeting location.
  • Darren Brugman (Executive Director, Big Sky Transportation District / Skyline Transit): Requested formal membership (even non-voting) with the MPO/TTAC. He explained the district is considering expanding its scope from public transit to include roads and streets (US 191 and MT 64 corridors). The district board will discuss bylaw changes, district boundary, and funding (mill levy, federal assistance) next week. He sought MPO involvement in the process. Jeff Butts, MPO manager, committed to follow up after the meeting.

Discussion Items

  • Streamline Transit (Sunshine Ross): Celebrating 20 years in August 2026. Bozeman will host the Montana Legislative Transportation Interim Committee on May 11-12. The transit development plan is wrapping up, proposing future routes including an airport express, increased Belgrade-Bozeman frequency, microtransit zones in Belgrade, Four Corners, and South Bozeman, and new in-town routes. A new rider app is launched. Grants submitted for bus stop improvements (seats, solar lights).

  • City of Belgrade (Cameron Yule and Catherine King):

    • Cruiser intersection improvements (Dry Creek to Jackrabbit): Roundabout at Cruiser/Dry Creek, signalized intersection at Jackrabbit/Cruiser, widening. Likely phased: signalized intersection and corridor work in 2026, roundabout in 2027 due to right-of-way challenges. Funded by developer contributions and impact fees.
    • North Jackrabbit safety improvements: RRFRs at five school zone crossings, ADA upgrades (city funds).
    • East Madison Avenue water/sewer upgrades (TA grant and city funds), with roadway work targeted for late summer letting.
    • Old Belgrade Lounge demolition planned for 2026.
    • East side parking lot (along Main Street) in design.
    • Purchase of the old grain elevator ("Big Red") for potential future intersection improvements at Main/Oregon/Madison.
    • Working with HRDC to acquire portion of trailer park fronting Main Street for redevelopment.
    • City's new growth policy (Montana Land Use Planning Act) expected council adoption May 4, 2026.

  • City of Bozeman (Nicholas Ross – Engineering, Chris Saunders – Planning):

    • Planning: Transportation Master Plan update begins July 2026 (10-year update). Safe Streets for All action plan agreement finalized; RFP awards expected this week. Crash data platform and demonstration project (Curex Vision detection/collection) to improve safety analysis.
    • Construction 2026: North 27th Street connection (Baxter to Cattail) – bids $5.5 million, $2 million under estimate. Oak & Ferguson left-turn capacity and safety improvements (RRFRs). Macquahattan Road paving (gravel section, slope stability). College Street from 8th to 11th: mill/overlay, sidewalks, shared-use path, raised crosswalk (thanks to MSU easement).
    • Uncontrolled intersections project: adding stop control to ~300 local street intersections, starting with 50 per year in university neighborhood.
    • Stucky Road design (Fowler to South 19th) planned for FY27, funding via impact fees and arterial collector funds. Intersection of South 11th and Stucky improvements may be phased.
    • Fowler Avenue connection (northern half) final design pending right-of-way acquisition.

  • Gallatin County (Seth Gardner – County Engineer, Sean O'Callaghan – Planning):

    • County engineering: Baxter (Jackrabbit to Love) overlay, Cottonwood overlay, Harper Puckett, Nelson, Bullshit Trail outside urban boundary.
    • County planning: Dissolution of city-county planning board effective July 1, 2026 due to Belgrade's MLUPA compliance; county adjust growth policy for extraterritorial area. County commission prioritizing growth area zoning reform; project boundary includes several existing districts and unzoned valley areas. Information at envisiongallatin.com.

  • MDT (Brandon Jones, Jeff Streeter):

    • 2026 construction: Bear Canyon interchange (bridge repair, deck replacement, finishing early April). Belgrade to Bozeman chip seal with Class A repair on Valley Center structure. Loose ends from 2025 (North 7th signal, Jackrabbit/Amsterdam signal upgrades).
    • Future projects (open house April 22, 2026 at Belgrade Library): Belgrade intersection improvements (mini roundabout at Main/Broadway) and Amsterdam Road reconstruction in 2027. Belgrade Urban (Jackrabbit/Main Street grade change of ~25 feet) in 2028. Bridge replacement at LMC Supply Ditch (Four Corners) in 2027. Four Corners intersection minor rehabilitation in 2027. Katie Sourdough signal in 2027. Mill Street/191 signal with pedestrian improvements.
    • Bids trending lower than estimates for past 9 months.
    • MDT maintenance: overlay on Main Street from Kennedy to Signal (summer 2026).

  • City of Belgrade (Cameron Yule): Confirmed open house April 22, 3:30-7:30 pm at Belgrade Library for multiple projects.

  • MSU (John Howe): No major construction; College Street project will affect campus. Planning pedestrian improvements across 11th Street (raised crosswalks) for new buildings (Cheaver Hall, Plant Growth Center). Potential housing demolition on 15th/Lincoln late summer 2026.

  • MDT Planning (Jeff Streeter/Chris Saunders): Statewide functional classification review – first draft reviews expected fall 2026. MPO story map (website launch) being polished. I-90 corridor study (consultant RPA) with open houses in Belgrade, Bozeman, Three Forks.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: Unanimous approval of February 11, 2026 meeting minutes.
  • Next Steps for Big Sky Transit: Jeff Butts will follow up with Darren Brugman regarding formal membership and district expansion.
  • MPO Project Concepts Call: Public comment period open at gvmpo.org/ltp; online map for submitting ideas coming by March 16, 2026 afternoon.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for April 2026; no specific date announced.

Meeting Transcript

Sure, I'll get us going. So thank you everybody for meeting us out here for the Transportation Technical Advisory Committee. We were doing these in-person meetings approximately quarterly. So appreciate folks driving in from where you're at. And hopefully you get to enjoy the nice library. So if you're interested. We do have some new folks joining us, so maybe we can just go around and introduce ourselves. This is a hybrid meeting, so there are also people online. Let's start in person. And then we will join. We'll ask the people online to give theirs my after we go around here. So I'll start with me and then we'll go to the left and then online. I'm Jeff Butts. I am the MPO manager and uh staffing this event. Uh Sunshine Ross, I'm a streamline director. Hi, everybody. Nick Ross, Director of Transportation and Engineering for City Bozman. Who are you in County Engineer? Uh Seth Gardner, I'm the uh assistant DO of U for MDT. Brandon Jones, the district project development. Jeff Schreeder, statewide planning supervisor MDT. Camera Yulia, Director of Public Works, City of Elgrade. RC Eckle, Public Works Administrative Manager. Maybe Chris. Chris Saunders Community Development Bozeman. John. John Howe at Montana State University. Okay. And then John. John O'Callahan, Chief Planning Officer for Gallatin County. Okay, so okay, great. So with that, let's get started on the meeting. I will turn it over to our chair to start the meeting. So Brighton's rising. Thanks for that, Jeff. I forgot I'm chair. Marcy, better start uh by taking the role just to ensure we have our quorum. Chris Saunders. Here. Nicholas Ross? Here. Katherine King, she is not here. Camera Yulia, here. Sean O'Callian. Here. Jeff Streeter. Here. Brandon Jones. Here. Sunshine Ross here.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com