Fowler Avenue Connection

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An aerial image of a roundabout under construction

The Fowler Avenue Connection Project will connect Fowler Avenue from Oak Street to Huffine Lane. The pre-design phase began in January 2021 and focused on understanding existing conditions along the corridor, including environmental and traffic analysis, gathering input from the community on design elements, and estimating potential costs.

By August of 2022, the project team provided a final Pre-Design Report and conducted a work session on the next steps for the project with the Transportation Advisory Board and the City Commission. After hearing a summary of community input, traffic and environmental analyses, City Commission directed staff to move into the design phase of the project with the following conditions:

  • One travel lane in each direction
  • Left turn lanes as needed
  • Traffic signal intersection control at Babcock
  • Roundabout intersection control at Durston
  • Wide shared-use path on at least one side
  • Utilization of flexible design criteria to preserve existing tree canopy

All of the input from focus groups, walk audits, open houses and the maps, stories, and survey tools on this page have been included in the pre-design report or the engagement summaries found in the documents section on the right side of this page.

As the project moves into the design phase, the project team will continue to keep you informed throughout this next phase and let you know about upcoming opportunities to provide your input.

Register to provide your input and email updates from the team. Thank you for your interest in this project. We're glad you're here!


Existing Conditions in the Fowler Connection Area. This image is an aerial view of the Fowler Avenue Corridor and shows which gaps will be completed during this project. Some future sections will require new intersections with local streets and paths.



The Fowler Avenue Connection Project will connect Fowler Avenue from Oak Street to Huffine Lane. The pre-design phase began in January 2021 and focused on understanding existing conditions along the corridor, including environmental and traffic analysis, gathering input from the community on design elements, and estimating potential costs.

By August of 2022, the project team provided a final Pre-Design Report and conducted a work session on the next steps for the project with the Transportation Advisory Board and the City Commission. After hearing a summary of community input, traffic and environmental analyses, City Commission directed staff to move into the design phase of the project with the following conditions:

  • One travel lane in each direction
  • Left turn lanes as needed
  • Traffic signal intersection control at Babcock
  • Roundabout intersection control at Durston
  • Wide shared-use path on at least one side
  • Utilization of flexible design criteria to preserve existing tree canopy

All of the input from focus groups, walk audits, open houses and the maps, stories, and survey tools on this page have been included in the pre-design report or the engagement summaries found in the documents section on the right side of this page.

As the project moves into the design phase, the project team will continue to keep you informed throughout this next phase and let you know about upcoming opportunities to provide your input.

Register to provide your input and email updates from the team. Thank you for your interest in this project. We're glad you're here!


Existing Conditions in the Fowler Connection Area. This image is an aerial view of the Fowler Avenue Corridor and shows which gaps will be completed during this project. Some future sections will require new intersections with local streets and paths.



What matters most for the future Fowler Ave?

What are the most important considerations for you as we design the Fowler Avenue Connection?

Whether you’re a neighbor, a Gallatin High student, or a commuter by bike, bus, foot, or car, we want to hear about your values, hopes, and concerns for this new transportation corridor. 

Your responses here will be visible to other site visitors and help the project team prepare for further conversation with neighbors, commuters, and other community groups during the engagement process.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!

CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.
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    Is This Project Really Needed Right Now?

    by JackKost, almost 2 years ago

    My name is Jack and I own a home on Sweetgrass Ave, the Fowler trail and open space is literally out my back gate.

    In the Dec 12, 2021 Chronicle story: Lonsdale (city transportation engr.) said "he doesn’t know why the road wasn’t connected earlier but that it has been identified in transportation master plans over the years.”

    Questionable statement – The current, 2017 Bozeman Transportation Master Plan doesn’t identify this segment of Fowler for any work, extensions, etc. It does identify some intersection improvements at Babcock St. and Durston Rd (pg. 82) as well as extending Fowler between Garfield... Continue reading

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    A much-needed project, planned for more than a decade

    by shawnr, almost 2 years ago
    This is a much-needed project, one that has been in the works for more than a decade. It will take pressure off so many residential streets in the area, such as Meagher Avenue, Hunters Way, etc. These residential streets are currently receiving an enormous amount of north-south thru-traffic, often at high speeds that are dangerous to kids and residents on these narrow residential streets. This project has been planned and known about for years. Excited to see it come to together!
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    Concerned long time resident

    by Elsberry, almost 2 years ago

    I grew up in the this home and have lived here since 1993. My backyard faces this new street and while I understand the growth of Bozeman and the purpose of this new through street, I am deeply saddened to see this purposed as anything that will disrupt the current path and trees/eco system that is intact. Please, I ask you to consider- if this was your home that you were raised in, and if you shared in the joy that these trees bring to me and my family personality but also this community -would you see this project through... Continue reading

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    insufficient information to make informed choices

    by Darcie Warden, almost 2 years ago
    My name is Darcie. I live on Fowler Ave. Thank you for the opportunity to provide public input for this project. I think it's important for the people who are directly impacted by this project to have a voice in how it takes shape.


    I have gone on the website to look at all the options you have given us to vote on. After a thorough review, I have several areas of concern that I would like the decision-makers to consider before I vote.

    Depiction of the neighborhood

    The mock-up of the medium, street, walking path, and bike path don't... Continue reading

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    Evidence does not support Fowler expansion

    by bornandraised, almost 2 years ago


    The arguments for embarking on the “Fowler Connection” presented on February 15, 2022 to the City Commission are (1) that it has, in some capacity, been in the city’s transportation plans since at least 1990, (2) that Fowler is halfway between the principal arterials Cottonwood Rd. and North 19th Ave, (3) that traffic is diverted to other streets, and that (4) emergency response times for Fire Station 3 would be improved. These arguments are not convincing that the need for a minor arterial roadway exists.


    1. A plan from or before 1990 is not necessarily relevant to Bozeman today. It’s... Continue reading

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    Keep Bozeman Wild

    by KeepBozemanWild, almost 2 years ago

    Why do people move to Bozeman? Those of us that live here know why. They come here because it’s clean, it’s beautiful, there’s wildlife everywhere and the wild is only minutes away. Scenic mountain views, clean air, nice people, clean rivers, great weather even in the winter. It’s just beautiful!! But as Bozeman continues to expand it’s becoming just another big city with all the big city problems (air pollution, river pollution, noise pollution, much reduced wildlife, etc.) that everyone moving here is trying to escape.

    We’re already seeing some of this and it’s becoming distressing for those of us... Continue reading

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    Paradise Lost

    by Bozemanite, almost 2 years ago

    Have you heard this song?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOfkFp0VUN0

    It was written by local artists about our town. It makes me cry, and this project brings it to my mind. Of course, this isn't the only expansion project in Bozeman - there are just so many, but this one affects my family personally so I'll take the opportunity to state my opinion.

    I have lived within blocks of Fowler for over 15 years. I've managed to be able to navigate the neighborhood just fine without the proposed thoroughfare, as have many others. Ferguson and Cottonwood both provide fairly direct routes around the area... Continue reading

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    High Traffic Streets and Safe Backyards Don't Mix

    by JessicaO, almost 2 years ago

    As a Bozeman resident impacted by the upcoming Fowler Avenue Connection Project, I am grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts regarding the project’s potential impacts. I hope that the city and design team at Sanderson Stewart will use the perspectives of the neighborhoods surrounding the project to balance the needs of a growing community with the safety and security of local residents.

    My family and I moved to the Bozeman area from eastern Montana in 1990, and of course the Bozeman of today would have been unrecognizable to us then. We purchased a home in Bozeman in 2014

    ... Continue reading
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    Please don’t connect Cascade to Fowler

    by Concerned, about 2 years ago
    Please consider not connecting Cascade St to Fowler. Cascade St is a small neighborhood street. It’s not designed to be a feeder to a major cross town thoroughfare. The amount of traffic flowing on Fowler can access the neighborhoods through the other main streets. Cascade is too small of a street and there is no need for direct neighborhood access from a major street like Fowler.

    Thank you for your time.

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    Buses and Shared Use Paths Move More People

    by Mark Egge, about 2 years ago

    Given the mechanics of how travel demand models (TDM) work it seems inevitable that three car lanes will not provide sufficient capacity to avoid future congestion. Paradoxically, this means we should have fewer lanes for cars.

    According to Streetmix, for a same 80' right of way, a section with 13' shared use paths and two bus rapid transit lanes provides capacity for 83,500 people per hour, compared to the capacity of a road like North 19th Ave with five car lanes (and weird, intermittent shared use paths) that only provide capacity for 36,000 people per hour.


    If the TDM... Continue reading

Page last updated: 17 Apr 2024, 04:03 PM