Last month, we shared some memories from the friends and family of Kelly Fulton.

Kelly, a Billings native, was a high school math teacher at Bozeman High in Bozeman, MT, where he lived with his wife and two children.

He was an avid cyclist, a runner, and the founder of Run Turkey Run.

He completed many long hikes and bike rides, including the PCT, STP, RAGBRAI, and a coast to coast bikepacking trip.

Kelly was killed in early October 2022 after he was struck by the driver of a truck that ran a red light while he was bike commuting to school.

Kelly was active with then BikeNet, during the time he lived in Billings in 2010-2012.

In this second newsletter installment, we continue to pay tribute to him by sharing some initial efforts underway by Kelly’s friends, family and others to help make our communities safer through advocacy for red light laws. 

Following Kelly’s death, in the midst of their grief, his family and friends started to brainstorm about what could be done.

Kelly’s uncle wrote a letter to representative Stafman, advocating for reinstating red light laws because the state of Montana made red light cameras illegal in 2009.

Ed Gulick, Billings City Councilman, conferred with his fellow councilmembers, the mayor, and state representative Mike Yakawich, about red light laws.

The group has hosted informal meetings with community members to discuss viable avenues to enact lasting change.

They are hopeful that other Montana legislators will agree to revisit this issue, because installing red light cameras at intersections could have a positive effect on intersection safety.

They ask that if you feel strongly about this to reach out to your local and state representatives.

Kelly’s friends stress that we all need to take a vested interest in helping to make our community safe. That starts with taking personal responsibility to abide by laws, both on our bikes and in our cars. And it continues with grassroots efforts to advocate for change.

“This issue affects everyone, particularly the most vulnerable among us, from children to the elderly, from walkers to cyclists,” they say.

“We are forever grateful to Kelly for the profound impact he made on our trails community and the Billings and Bozeman communities at large. And we want to continue his legacy by advocating for healthier and safer communities.”