The Big Sky state is a big, empty land mass with its population concentrated in a few corners. In fact, two-thirds of Montanans live on less than 15 percent of the land, said Roger Millar, director of Missoula's Office of Planning and Grants.
So far, Montana has been good at moving people between those dense corners and through those empty spaces. But Millar said the strong transportation network across the big wide open isn't matched with robust transportation systems in urban areas, Montana's hubs.
So next year when Congress takes up the transportation reauthorization bill, it must fund a new and different kind of transportation program. That was the word Thursday to the Missoulian's editorial board from Millar and: Jim Sayer, executive director of Adventure Cycling and member of BWAM, Bike-Walk Alliance for Missoula; Jason Wiener, who represents Ward 1 on the Missoula City Council; Betsy Hands, executive director of homeWORD and a state representative; Geoff Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Smart Growth America and co-chair of Transportation for America Campaign; David Goldberg, communications director for Smart Growth America; and Ilana Preuss, director of campaign partnerships for Smart Growth America.
With a focus on quality of life, Smart Growth America is based in Washington, D.C., and describes itself as a coalition of national, state and local organizations working to improve the way communities develop. Members of the visiting group head to Helena for a Friday conference of the Montana Smart Growth Coalition.
On Thursday in Missoula, the group said the federal transportation program lost its way after completing its mission of building highways. So they want to help refocus the attention - and money - to building transportation for population centers, especially with cheap oil in short supply.
“We need an urban transportation system that makes sense,” Goldberg said.
That means sending more money to urban areas, such as Missoula. Over the next 28 years, the Missoula area is projected to get just 2.2 percent of the federal money coming into Montana, Millar said. But roughly 10 percent of the state's population lives here.
According to this group, transportation dollars should go toward fixing existing infrastructure. To rail. To biking and walking. And less money should be used to buy up land for new developments - sprawl - that cost families too much.
People spend 20 percent of their household income on transportation, Anderson said. Families at the lower end of the income scale spend as much as 50 percent on the same.
Those are challenges, but Montana also looks prepared to meet them. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., is writing the transportation bill, and Anderson said there's wide recognition that the current way of doing things won't work in the long run.
“I think there's a real opportunity for this time to be different,” Anderson said.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.
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