The City of Billings is a dynamic, growing community with a metropolitan area that has grown to more than 125,000 residents and serves one of America's largest trade areas covering much of Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota. The City has a comprehensive transportation network with over 500 miles of City owned transportation surfaces including streets, alleys, sidewalks, and multi-use trails. This transportation network is currently categorized using a traditional function classification, including arterial, collector, and local roads. Functional classification is an important tool in identifying a road corridor's function within a larger network and has long been the framework for the transportation network within the City. There is a desire, however, to incorporate similar priority corridors and/or districts for other modes such as walking, biking, freight, transit, and emergency service routes while recognizing that not every street can or should prioritize every mode. The City of Billings is seeking to create a comprehensive Transportation Master Plan, a working plan that will identify community-guided priorities, long-term vision for the transportation network, and updated design guidance for new and existing road corridors. The Plan will consider the needs of various modes while also exploring the context of a roadway as it relates to neighborhood character and current and future land uses. The project does not seek to nullify existing plans and policies, such as Complete Streets and the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), but rather provides guidance with the goal of creating a safer and more strategic transportation network. The Plan will be reflective of the community's needs, meaning community involvement will be comprehensive and critical for the success of the Plan. Traffic theories will be thoughtfully applied throughout the process to ensure community goals align with those of the City.
