On Wednesday, February 21, the Missoula Metropolitan Planning Organization will gather with the public to discuss priorities for improving Missoula’s pedestrian network.

Transportation Planning Division Manager Jessica Morriss explained the process.

“We’re about midway through the process of creating a pedestrian facility master plan,” Morriss said. “We’re looking at our pedestrian facilities including sidewalks, street crossings, ADA facilities, we’re looking at where we have connectivity gaps or safety issues, and we are going to come up with a plan to improve those facilities and prioritize those facilities over the next few years.”

Morriss said the study is important due to the costs of new sidewalks, crosswalks and other pedestrian facilities.

“We’re just making sure that we’re focusing on the right priorities because these things cost a lot of money,” she said. “Sidewalks are pretty pricey pieces of infrastructure for being something so basic. It’s not inexpensive to put in sidewalks and crossings  and we want to make sure that the priority projects are being focused on first.”

A virtual interactive map of Missoula’s pedestrian network can be found here.

The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 21 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Missoula Food Bank at 1720 Wyoming.

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