Our Missoula

The river trails with their mostly natural surroundings are really amazing when you think about it. I ride them coming and going to work. With that in mind I would like to see another easily accessible river crossing similar to the Madison Street crossing at the other end of town or at least make the access to the automobile crossings more accessible to trail users.

1. So many of the streets that lead to the wonderful trails are pot-holed, cracked,and/or have rutted or bumpy transitions from street to trail. I ride California Street every day from the pedestrian bridge to the Milwaukee Road trail and it is awful. I have to keep my eyes on the road surface so much that I sometimes miss traffic coming out of driveways, cross streets or coming at me. Scary! 2. A continuation of the trail, downriver from Caras Park all the way to the California Street bridge would be so wonderful! Riding the streets is OK, and Missoula drivers are 99% awesome regarding bikes and pedestrians, but there's nothing like a separated bike path for safety, especially for riding with kids. 3. As far as walking goes, I have no complaints on my winter walking route from the Russell Street bridge up Broadway to downtown. However, I have seen motorized wheelchairs having to use the bike lane, going against traffic, in order to negotiate the route from Safeway to Solstice/Equinox apartments. There is no wheelchair ramp on a couple of the street crossings on the sidewalk on the river side of Broadway, and the southeast corner of Broadway at Russell is too narrow and too uneven for a wheelchair of any kind. Additionally, there is an abrupt end to the sidewalk, and no smooth transition to the street, at the end of the Cooper Street cul-de-sac, just past McDonald's. Annoying when walking, impossible if in a wheelchair.