Central Ave. project needs second look

I

 have seen the future of Whitefish and it looks like New Jersey. On a recent trip to the Garden State, I noticed they had put in raised pedestrian crossings at the shopping mall, and it reminded me of the proposal for the same in downtown Whitefish.

This may be a wonderful thing at the shopping mall, but it will not be an improvement to Central Avenue and our historic downtown look. This will homogenize and Disney-fy a unique, classic Western town atmosphere other towns attempt to emulate.

The impending infrastructure “improvement” plans for downtown Whitefish should be re-evaluated and changed. Central Avenue does not need raised pedestrian crossings, “bulb outs” at the corners, and especially not sidewalks 18 inches wider.

That part of the plan is ludicrous. The street is narrow as it is, and reducing the width by 36 inches will make it close to impossible to navigate in summer, without considering the occasional snow berm down the center in wintertime.

The evaluation of width necessary for the two lanes did not take into consideration that many of the vehicles parked along this street are trucks longer than the SUV they used as a benchmark. I don’t see how a fire truck and another vehicle could pass each other on Central Avenue between pickups parked legally along the street.

The initial motivation for these “improvements” was to repair the infrastructure of the underlying sewer and aging pipes beneath the sidewalks. If the pipes and subsystems need replacing, then so be it, tear up the sidewalks and replace them and restore the sidewalks as they are.

A nice improvement would be relaying the concrete for the sidewalk, texture and color it with a wood grain and board look to simulate a Western boardwalk, as it probably once was.

The additional costs are unjustified in the current economic situation of the nation. How can one validate this “beautification” while the city can’t seem to afford a much needed parking structure downtown?

I would like to see a reconsideration of these extras and a strip-down of this project to the basic necessities and avoid the expense of improving a downtown that is already a classic. If you and other citizens agree, voice an opinion and write to the Whitefish City Council.

Toby Scott is a resident of Whitefish.