BILLINGS — The city of Billings has announced a five-year infrastructure project plan aimed at improving and expanding sidewalks across town to improve accessibility.
Watch the full video below:
The plan will bring outdated or missing pathways into compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For residents such as Skyla DeLapp, who lives with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, these improvements are long overdue.
“You kind of have to pick apart where you want to go in accordance to what's accessible and what's not," said DeLapp.
Many sidewalks across Billings are cracked, uneven, without curb ramps, or abruptly end, leaving those who rely on mobility aids with little choice but to travel in the streets. For DeLapp, even something as routine as walking to the bus stop or with her 8-year-old son to school can become a dangerous challenge.
“When I don't have access, I get frustrated because I'm somebody that likes to be independent, and I want other people to be as independent as they can as well," said DeLapp.
The issue is more than inconvenient. It's potentially life-threatening, especially if a mobility device were to flip over on uneven ground. DeLapp said that people have even called the police out of concern when they see her navigating the roadways, but often there is no other way to get around.
"If there's not access to a curb cut, I have to say close to the sidewalk, but I do have to go out into the street, which in turn leads to people getting concerns and leading up to other issues because people are concerned for my safety and my child's safety," said DeLapp. "When it's a recurring thing, you do tend to get very frustrated.”
Billings City Engineer Mac Fogelsong says the city is aware of these concerns and has been taking action.
“If you go around the city, there's segments of missing sidewalk fairly frequently. As the city grows, there's areas that maybe get brought in, in the county, that didn't have sidewalk," said Fogelsong. "The reason for the five-year plan (is) we try to prioritize those."
The city’s five-year plan addresses both missing sidewalks and ADA improvements, with a focus on aligning with Billings Safe Routes to School plans.
“The real benefits from this focused five-year plan is for the school kids. They have a route that's not in the street to walk and bike to school. That's the number one benefit with this five-year plan," said Fogelsong.
Each year, roughly $500,000 is allocated to sidewalk installation and another $250,000 is dedicated to ADA upgrades. This year’s focus will include adding missing sidewalks from Broadwater Avenue to Central Avenue, 24th Street West to 28th Street West, Rex Lane in the Heights, and Wyoming Avenue from 24th Street West to 25th Street West. Construction is anticipated to begin in summer or early fall. Property owners may see assessments for a portion of the sidewalk costs, especially those with corner lots—though these can be spread over a 12 to 15-year period.
“It's been going on for 20 years. It's probably another 10 to 15 years, as well," said Fogelsong. “We have programs that really are out for helping the folks with either disabilities or helping the children get to school safely. Those are the big benefits for walking and biking and mobility.”
Organizations such as LIFTT (Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow) are also advocating for accessible infrastructure. Public relations and government affairs specialist Jed Barton emphasized that the benefits go far beyond the disability community.
"It's not just the disability community who benefits from these changes to the sidewalks. It's everybody," said Barton. "By having sidewalks that are navigable, as navigable as possible for the most people possible, we are empowering the independence of people with disabilities to engage in the community."
Barton also recognized that the project does cost taxpayer dollars, but he knows the cost will be well worth it for the community he serves.
“If somebody who lives in your neighborhood can't be part of your neighborhood because they can't get around, that should, in a sense, be bigger than some of the bureaucratic issues,” said Barton.
For DeLapp, the improvements cannot come soon enough and are a positive step in the right direction.
“I don't think it's completely ignored. I just think that we could do better at noticing, you know, what changes need to be made," said DeLapp. "(I want to) make people more aware that we do need accessibility in order to live our lives as normal as we can.”
Here is the full missing sidewalk and ADA ramp plan from the City of Billings:
2025
- Missing Sidewalk Broadwater Avenue to Central Avenue
- 24th Street West to 28th Street West
- Rex Lane (near Bench Elementary)
- Wyoming (24th to 25th)
- ADA ramps on 29th Street West to 30th Street West north of Central Avenue
- ADA ramps on Broadwater Avenue (24th Street West to Parkview)
2026
- Almadin Lane, Glenhaven Drive, Tam O’Shanter Road
- South Side Grandview Drive (Spruce Street to Virginia Lane)
- Heritage Trail connection at Ahoy/Naples
- EBURD Area ADA ramps (North 22nd to North 13th, 1st Avenue North to 6th Avenue North)
2027
- Kyhl Lane in front of Bitterroot School
- North side of Colton Boulevard (Sunnyview to 21st Street West)
- 17th Street West (Grand to Poly) (add 5’ to the sidewalk on one side if feasible)
- North Side Orrel Drive (Jackson to Jefferson)
- ADA ramps on Broadwater Avenue (12th Street West to 16th Street West)
- ADA ramps on Poly Drive (27th Street North to Virginia Lane)
2028
- 12th Street West (Yellowstone to Lewis Avenue)
- 9th Street West (Wyoming to Lewis Avenue)
- Yellowstone Avenue (12th Street West to 15th Street West)
- Clark Avenue (8th to 9th)
- ADA ramps on Wicks Lane (Bench Boulevard to Lake Elmo)
2029
- 38th Street West (Colton to Arrowhead School) (add 5’ to the sidewalk)
- Neighborhoods southeast Babcock Boulevard
- ADA ramps on 8th Street West (Broadwater Avenue to Grand Avenue)
- ADA ramps on Gabel Road (South 32nd Street West to South 24th Street West)
