City will unveil draft transportation plan

Population growth could make city's congested streets even worse

By RICHARD HANNERS - Whitefish Pilot

A second railroad overpass, new roads crossing rural open spaces and simply optimizing traffic signals — these are some of the proposals studied in Whitefish's first citywide transportation plan.

Whitefish is experiencing "growth and identity issues that are increasingly common in our rural Western communities," the draft plan states. "Whitefish is an example of a community that prides itself on livability, character, sensitivity to the environment and creating a sense of place for its citizens and visitors."

The public will get a first look at the draft transportation plan on Jan. 10 at the O'Shaughnessy Center beginning at 7 p.m.

Jeff Key, of Robert Peccia and Associates, is drafting the plan under a consultant contract with the city and the Montana Department of Transportation.

The oversight committee includes John Wilson, Karin Hilding and Bob Horne, representing Whitefish, and Sheila Ludlow and Shane Stack, from MDT.

Members of the citizens advisory committee include Sabine Brigette, Don Spivey, Mary Jo Look, George Gard-ner, Mary Person, Monte Gilman, Gary Stephens, Brid-ger Kelch, Shirley Jacobson, Nick Polumbus, Jerry House and Dale Duff.

The group held two formal public meetings where they discussed how to plan for growth, relieve traffic congestion, improve traffic safety and provide alternatives to motor vehicles.

This is the first citywide transportation plan for Whitefish. Traffic data was collected and put on a computer model where different alternatives were tested. Increases in traffic volume were interpolated based on population and economic forecasts and planning directions coming from the city's new growth policy.

The city's new Downtown Master Plan was also a catalyst for the transportation plan. The downtown plan was created in part as a reaction to MDT's plans to rebuild U.S. 93 through downtown Whitefish. The city and downtown merchants want to ensure that U.S. 93 improvements enhance and support downtown business.

The draft transportation plan notes that two places currently exist where traffic volumes exceed "what would normally be expected from a capacity standpoint" given the road design — the tree-lined Spokane Avenue boulevard from Second Street to 13th Street and Baker Avenue between Second and 13th streets.

Robert Peccia and Associates conducted a level-of-service analysis for 25 intersections during the spring and summer and incorporated similar studies of 10 other intersections. The intersections were rated A to F, where F means an average wait of more than 80 seconds per vehicle.

For the 7-9 a.m. traffic peak, the U.S. 93-Highway 40 junction received an F for westbound traffic. For the 4-6 p.m. traffic peak, an F rating was given for eastbound traffic at Baker and Second, northbound traffic at Spokane and Second and westbound traffic at the U.S. 93-Highway 40 junction.

Among the recommendations included in the administrative draft:

? MDT and the city should create an access-control plan for the U.S. Highway 93 strip.

? Extend 13th Street east over the Whitefish River to Voerman Road.

? Reconstruct Karrow Avenue.

? Extend Baker Avenue south to the intersection of U.S. 93 and JP Road.

? Build the Seventh Street Bridge, connecting Karrow Avenue with the school area of town, and extend Seventh Street east and south to Voerman Road.

? Extend Kallner Lane, connecting Highway 40 to Armory Road.

? Connect Denver and Texas avenues.

? Connect Texas and Wisconsin avenues north of Denver Avenue.

? Reconstruct Wisconsin Avenue with a middle turn-lane.

? Extend Columbia Avenue south through the former North Valley Hospital site.

? Rebuild and pave Monegan, Voerman and JP roads.

Key told the Pilot that he's received numerous comments from both the city and MDT since the draft was completed in November, so some of these recommendations could change.

The city, for example, wants more emphasis on the schools and its tourist economy. It also wants some incremental changes to improve traffic safety and flow on Wisconsin Avenue before a major reconstruction project takes place. Left-turn lanes would be one idea.

While some proposed projects are very expensive — new railroad overpasses or new roads crossing miles of countryside — others are simpler while having a significant impact. The city's seven signal lights, for example, are timed but could be optimized to react to changing traffic volume.

Installing left-turn signals at the Baker Avenue-Second Street intersection is one example, but Key notes there could be some trade-offs — some nearby parking spaces could be eliminated. In any event, that would be an interim solution until the major U.S. 93 reconstruction takes place.

Key said he will not recommend a big bypass project.

"If it won't solve traffic problems, it won't get funded," he said.

Consultants looked at bypasses and new viaducts

The draft Whitefish Transportation Plan 2007 tested 17 alternatives by modeling. They included:

? U.S. Highway 93 bypass starting 1.7 miles south of the Highway 40 junction and running northwest to meet U.S. 93 by Skyles Lake.

? A second bypass starting at Highway 40 and continuing northwest with a bridge over the middle of Blanchard Lake.

? A third bypass starting at Highway 40 but continuing northwest between Blanchard and Lost Coon lakes.

? A fourth bypass starting at Highway 40 but running north on Karrow Avenue.

? Construct a new railroad overpass from Texas to Columbia avenues.

? Construct a new railroad overpass by Cow Creek.

? Connect Seventh Street West with a Seventh Street East using a bridge over the Whitefish River.

? Add a middle turn-lane to Wisconsin Avenue.

? Extend Baker Avenue south to the intersection of JP Road and U.S. 93.

? Run 13th Street across the Whitefish River to Voerman Road.

? Continue 13th Street east and then south to Voerman Road.

? Extend Kallner Lane north to Armory Road, connecting that area to Highway 40.

? Extend Texas Avenue north to Reservoir Road and widen that road to Wisconsin Avenue.

? Extend Denver Avenue east and then south to Edgewood Drive.

Traffic on some city roads could more than quadruple

Some important Whitefish roads and forecasted traffic volumes taken from the draft Whitefish Transportation Plan 2007:

? JP Road from U.S. Highway 93 to Monegan Road could increase 570 percent from 1,574 vehicles a day in 2003 to 10,557 in 2030.

? Colorado Avenue from Denver Avenue to Crestwood Court, 448 percent from 1,934 to 10,615.

? Columbia Avenue between 10th and Seventh streets, 379 percent from 2,173 to 10,424.

? Karrow Avenue between Fourth and Third streets, 342 percent from 2,333 to 10,334.

? Voerman Road from Park Avenue to Rivertail Court, 323 percent from 1,169 to 4,947.

? East Edgewood Drive from Texas Avenue to Haskill Basin Road, 252 percent from 3,966 to 13,975.

? East Lakeshore Drive from Barkeley Avenue to Houston Drive, 93 percent from 10,145 to 19,587.

? Central Avenue downtown between First and Fifth streets, 89 percent from 2,598 to 4,912.

? Reservoir Road from East Lakeshore Drive to North Valley Drive, 85 percent from 3,676 to 6,829.

? Second Street between Good and Lupfer avenues, 63 percent from 10,375 to 16,927.

? Second Street downtown between Baker and Spokane avenues, 54 percent from 7,908 to 12,191.

? Baker Avenue downtown between Second and Railway streets, 34 percent from 14,714 to 19,827.

? Baker Avenue south of the river between Sixth and 18th streets, 51 percent from 10,429 to 15,816.

? Spokane Avenue just north of the river from Riverside Avenue to Ninth Street, 30 percent from 11,247 to 14,729.

? Wisconsin Avenue just north of the viaduct from Woodland Place to Woodside Lane, 28 percent from 9,475 to 12,195.