1999 Grant Recipient Information
Montana

Transportation and Community Sustainability Plan
City of Laurel, Montana

Abstract

The Setting:

Laurel is an incorporated community of approximately 7,000 people. It is bisected by State Highway 10 west to east which is also the frontage road to Interstate Highway 90. North and south the community is divided by State Highways 2121532. Between Highway 10 and the Interstate east and west is the southern main line of the Montana Rail Link Railroad. In addition, a new interstate interchange for the largest community in Montana, Billings, is under construction seven miles to the east.

Project Overview:

The project will address the impacts of the above-described transportation system elements on the short- and long- term sustainability of the commercial and residential fabric of Laurel and the viability of the community to survive the continuing influence of the in-place transportation system.

The primary product of this project will be a 'Transportation and Community Sustainability Plan' for the City of Laurel. This plan will consist of seven primary elements: (1) an analysis of the traffic and community impacts of the major transportation features; (2) an analysis of Lurel's overall transportation system (current and planned) and its implications for sustainability; (3) an analysis of Laurel's land use patterns and their contributions to the traffic situation; (4) an analysis of the sustainability of the community's commercial core in the face of transportation-related threats; (5) an analysis of non-motorized travel in Laurel; (6) an analysis of how different assumptions in transportation and land use can lead to more sustainable scenarios for Laurel's future; and (7) an action plan for creating a more sustainable Laurel. The evaluation process will be described in the separate Project Evaluation Plan.

Several of the processes this project will set in motion will have long-term ramifications outside the confines of the project itself. For example, work with Walkable Communities and the Local Government Commission will help Laurel citizens build their own vision of the community's future and may spawn new organizations and new projects. Work with the National Main Street Center in assessing the downtown's sustainability win help train local business leaders to build a strong commercial center. These leaders will broaden their task by perhaps working on a downtown events calendar. Work with the National Center for Appropriate Technology and the LGC will help local planners and developers incorporate sustainability into their planning and building processes. Developers who participate may well produce examples that other communities will want to learn about and emulate.

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