WE ASKED FOR YOUR HELP

Thank you! to everyone who contacted the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) about planned construction projects on the TransAmerica Trail and Northern Tier bicycle routes that include rumble strip installation on narrow shoulders.   

Poor rumble strip placement is dangerous for cyclists, forcing them to ride in the travel lane with high-speed traffic. Such is the case on a 20-mile section of the Northern Tier and another 7-mile section of the TransAmerica Trail in Montana.

UPDATE

MDT recently contacted us to let us know that “it is highly unlikely that either of these projects will see actual construction activity sooner than 2017” and we've been invited to meet with the engineering department and Bike Walk Montana to discuss these projects and how future decisions will be made. Read our update on MDT's response and where the projects currently stand. 

For more information on the issue:

• Read MDT's response from Director Tooley.
• Read Adventure Cycling Association's response from Executive Director Jim Sayer.
• Read MDT's roadway departure data and benefit/cost analysis for these projects.
• Learn more details about the rumble strip projects in our most recent GeoPoints blog posts: Better Rumble Strip Policy and Rumble Strip Update.
• Adventure Cycling's best practices on installing rumble strips as well as a list of rumble strip studies, reports, and policies can be found on our National Advocacy Projects page. 
• Read our blog post about Adventure Cycling's efforts to shape the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) rumble strip guidance.

How You Can Help

You can help us by standing ready to contact MDT in the future.  After we meet with MDT, Adventure Cycling hopes to have a resolution or at least a path forward that ensures cyclists are safely accommodated on Montana's roads. We support Vision Zero for ALL road users. 

We are asking MDT for the following:

1. Postpone rumble strip installation on these projects and any projects with less than four feet of shoulder space,
2. If MDT determines that the crash data justifies rumble strips, then widen the shoulders to the national standard to ensure everyone’s safety, and
3. Finalize the rumble strip guidance and make it public.

Spread the Word

Post on Facebook!

Here is a sample message you can post:

Adventure Cycling's Northern Tier and TransAmerica Trail routes face rumble strip installation on already narrow 1–2 foot shoulders in Montana. They are asking the Dept. of Transportation to ensure cyclists’ safety and meet Vision Zero objectives for ALL road users.  http://www.adventurecycling.org/actnow/

TWEET!

Here are a few sample messages you can tweet:

Rumble strips on narrow shoulders are bad for #bikes. Keep cyclists safe on #acaTransAm and #acaNoTier! http://www.adventurecycling.org/actnow/

Update on Rumble Strips on #acaTransAm & #acaNoTier in #Montana. Vision Zero for ALL road users. http://www.adventurecycling.org/actnow/