Preliminary drawing of proposed improvements. Click HERE for proposed road alignment.
The Hellgate School District is undertaking a Facility Enhancement Plan that seeks to improve safety for students on campus by alleviating traffic congestion internal to the campus and creating a road around the south portion of campus. In addition, to facilitate projected growth in the west Missoula Valley, expansion of each of the campus buildings is planned to improve the current scholastic environment as well as accommodate new classroom space.
The design team included WGM Group and Building Solutions. Together with input from key stakeholder groups, such as teachers, neighbors and Hellgate Transportation Company, the team engaged in an intensive design process that ultimately landed on a Preferred Alternative that meets most of the goals and objectives identified by the team and the Board of Trustees and Superintendent.
The school district will conduct a bond campaign during the summer of 2007 to generate support for the plan and get district residents out to vote for it in a bond election slated to be held in September 2007. Stay tuned for updates.
Design Criteria - Goals and Objectives
- Reduce pedestrian-vehicle conflict
- Separate buses and cars and bus drop-off areas from parent drop-off areas
- Preserve play areas associated with individual buildings
- Preserve open fields
- Close off internal driving and parking
- Facilitate large delivery vehicles
- Provide space for new campus buildings
- Increase or maintain parking spaces for each building
- Provide for bus queuing on campus of 7-8 buses as well as curbside parking and bus pick-up at each building
- Provide access to the maintenance building
- Facilitate proximate parent drop-off for each building
- Limit entrances onto Flynn Lane
- Reuse some existing infrastructure
- Avoid u-turns on Flynn Lane
- Provide for emergency vehicle access
- Provide vehicular access to the new building without interrupting pedestrian crossings
- Avoid impacts to the neighboring property
- Provide pedestrian connection between buildings 1 and 2
Design Process Round 3 – The Preferred Alternative
The image at the left represents the Preferred Alternative. Building Solutions, LLC and WGM Group, Inc. identified the following advantages:
- Uses existing infrastructure
- Separate parent drop off areas from buses
- Limited vehicle activity in the campus core during school hours
- On-site bus queuing facilitated in same manner as it is currently
- Additional parking spaces at Building 1
- Formalized/safer parent drop off area at Building 1
- No children crossing in front of buses
- Reduces frequency of Flynn Lane U-Turns
- Minimizes proposed number of Flynn Lane access points
- Preserves ball fields north of access road
- Preserves most play areas
- Strong pedestrian connection between Buildings 1 & 2
- Increased visibility and security for Building 3 parking area
- Increased special event parking south of Building 3
- Facilitates future ring road and preserves options for connections to City/County road plan.
- Reduced cost – Approximate cost for road construction and parking lots $1.2 million ($3.0 million less than previous options)
The disadvantages in choosing this plan are:
- Fewer parking spaces east of Building 2
- Driving distance for Building 3 parent drop-off increased over existing condition
- Proximity of proposed southern access road to Building 1
To review the original powerpoint presentation, click here.
Note: this slide presentation contains some large images, and may take longer to load as you view it.
To review a larger version of the Hellgate School District Preferred Alternative, click here.
Note: the larger version of the plan is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat software to view the image. Click the link below to download the software if needed.
