Staff recommends approval of the letter to the Montana Department of Transportation MDT (attached to this memo) asking for review and consideration of a request to initiate a system change on Grand Avenue and 62nd Street West in Billings, MT. The change would bring a portion of Grand Avenue and 62nd Street West onto the Urban Highway System per MDT requirements and to make Federal funds available for improvements.

At the request of the Billings Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), the Billings Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) would like to request to MDT a System Modification on Grand Avenue from 41st Street West to 62nd Street West and a modification on 62nd Street West, from Grand Avenue north to Rimrock Road in Billings. This request would be to add a portion of Grand Avenue and 62nd Street West to the Urban System and complete system connectivity to Rimrock Road.

The reasons for this request for modification include:

• The City of Billings is and has experienced an overall growth rate of 1.2% a year.
• Much of the anticipated residential and commercial growth is occurring in the west end of Billings.
• Current data shows 24 Commercial and 519 Residential Permits have been issued along Grand Avenue in the last 10 years. This data accounts for development approximately ½ mile on either side of the corridor. This information as well as anticipated additional residential and employment development preliminarily identified in the update process for the 2023 Long Range Transportation Plan indicates growth from 10,700 ADT to 17,000 by 2040 on this portion of Grand Avenue.
• There are three schools along the Grand Avenue Corridor - Billings Christian, Grace Montessori and Ben Steele Middle School with a combined student population of approximately 1,300. This equates to a trip generation of 3,900 trips per day. In conversations with these schools, both Billings Christian and Grace Montessori expect additional enrollment in the upcoming years.
• There are no curb, gutter or sidewalks throughout this portion of the corridor, aside from some improvements around Ben Steele.
• Currently, this section of Grand Avenue is classified as a Principal Arterial street under the City's Functional Classification Map. However, currently this county roadway is not serving this area of high growth of both residential and commercial development, and rapidly changing land use. Due to extraordinary urban and county growth along this corridor, the Billings Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is requesting that this section be added to the MDT Urban System and remain classified as an arterial.

The City Council may approve or disapprove of the request for this system modification. There is no downside to making this request as this is the first step in a multi-step process with MDT and the MT Transportation Commission for this request to be considered and acted upon. If the system modification were made, it opens up this section of Grand Avenue and 62nd Street West to Federal funding through MDT for improvements.

There are no fiscal effects from making this request for a system change. If the change were to be ultimately approved, it could make Federal funds available for improvements to this corridor.