A task force involved with the US 212 Corridor Safety Action Plan will hold a Community Input Meeting in Broadus on Wednesday, February 21st at 5:15 pm at the Broadus VFW, with the public invited to attend.
The task force is composed of representatives from agencies and stake holders along the Highway 212 corridor in Southeastern Montana, with a proposed goal of examining safety issues along the corridor, and identifying solutions to the ongoing safety issues along the route.
The meeting in Broadus is one of several being held in the area to garner public comment, available through the group’s website: bit.ly/SafeUS212 . The site offers a map where community members may pinpoint problem areas along the route (for instance, the narrow strip of 212 west of Boyes has comments, where the guardrails seem to be a magnet for truck wrecks). Site users may also leave comments about specific safety concerns, and take a survey about their experiences on Hwy 212.
A second meeting is planned in Lame Deer, and meetings may take place in Ashland and Alzada.
The Broadus meeting will contain a slide show from KLJ Engineering, the company tasked with facilitating the project. The slide show employs a number of charts containing crash data and speed analysis of drivers, garnered through cell phone data, as well as the goals and plans of the Safety Action Plan.
Julie Emmons-Stoddard, a member of the task force, told us that the meeting will provide an avenue for locals to voice their comments, as well as providing those with limited internet access a way to comment on the project. Paper comments will be accepted at the meeting, as one example.
The multi-phase plan could eventually lead to changes along the route. What those changes may look like is still very much in the planning phase – perhaps increased law enforcement presence or widening of lanes, all of which cost a great deal of money. Other options include increased signage, such as the electronic speed signs at both ends of Broadus, or potentially working with technology companies to ensure speed limits on GPS devices coincide with the posted speed limits.
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