Bikes, Buses, and Pedestrians, Oh My! Sustainable Transportation in Missoula

Photo: City of Missoula

Did you know that the transportation sector is responsible for over 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States? And more than half of those emissions come from passenger vehicles! That’s the bad news. Building a climate smart community has to include sustainable transportation that is affordable and accessible to everyone.
The good news is that the wheels are turning here in Missoula and there is healthy movement happening – quite literally! At our July monthly meet-up last night at Imagine Nation Brewing Company, we were joined by advocates of sustainable transportation, including Jim Sayer, CEO of Adventure Cycling, Lisa Dworak with Missoula in Motion, and Caitlin and Julia, Missoula’s Bike Ambassadors, who shared their insights and ideas about how to keep momentum going. Here are just a few of our takeaways from the conversation. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Bicycle Boulevards and Barriers
Missoula has been praised for being a bike-friendly community; among other accolades, the Travel Channel recently ranked Missoula among the top ten cycling cities in the U.S.! But biking isn’t just a popular pastime - for many Missoulians, their bike is the primary way to get around town. According to one survey, about 6 percent of us are bike commuters, good enough to earn us a rank of 11 out of US cities over 65,000 people. And we’ve got great organizations like Freecycles, Women Bike Missoula and Bike Walk Alliance Missoula - BWAM getting more bikers out riding.

These are great accomplishments, but we can do even better! 70% of Missoulians still drive solo to work. Initiatives like Missoula In Motion’s Commuter Challenge prove it’s possible for more of us to bike, walk, bus, or carpool instead: during the most recent challenge, the number of people commuting by car every day dropped from 40% to 11%!

Bike Ambassadors Caitlin and Julia reminded us that perceptions about safety are often the biggest barriers preventing more people from hopping on a bike. Group rides like Bikeapalooza (Sunday July 17th – meet downtown at 12pm!) are a great way to build bikers’ confidence and learn more about city bike routes. And when people get on a bike, they are more likely to be a bike-aware driver when they get behind the wheel of their cars. You might say it’s a positive cycle of safety!

Transit: Smart Growth, Focus Inward
Biking is great, but it’s not for everyone. And in the middle of winter, even the most dedicated bikers (and walkers!) can be deterred by snow and slush. We’re thrilled that Mountain Line’s zero-fare bus service has been so popular, and the new 15-minute frequent service on lines 1 and 2 is super convenient. We’d love to see expanded hours and Sunday service – maybe someday! In the meantime, the Our Missoula Growth Plan’s focus inward is a great start to planning more centralized development and better integrating transit into our neighborhoods, which will help make sustainable transportation more accessible for everyone.   

Join us in Being a Sustainable Transportation Advocate!
Here at Climate Smart Missoula, we try to walk the walk. We’re proud to have won Missoula In Motion’s Transportation Best Practices Award for our commitment as an organization to sustainable transportation!
Do you bike, walk, or take the bus? Do you wish it was even easier to do all three? Your voice matters to our community, and there are lots of ways to get involved!

• Learn more and comment on Missoula’s 2016 Long Range Transportation Plan Update
• Join Bike Walk Alliance Missoula!
• Support Freecycles while checking out sweet backyard chicken coops for the Tour de Cluck – Sunday July 10th!
• Participate in the Montana Bicycle Celebration, July 15-17!
• Volunteer for Sunday Streets, or just come on down to Higgins on the 17th to enjoy fun activities and car-free streets! 

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