Heart of Whitefish answers critics
After eight years of planning, 11th-hour opposition to the Downtown Infrastructure Improvement Plan has surfaced. A petition is circulating downtown, intending to stop the pedestrian enhancement portions of the project.
We wish to address several misleading statements: The raised crosswalks are not “glorified speedbumps,” the entire intersection rises gradually to the sidewalk level, creating a safe pedestrian crossing. Curb extensions will not “impede the plowing of snow.” Existing curb extensions in downtown have not created plowing problems in past winters.
Central Avenue will be pickup-friendly. Street width and parking spaces are designed for a Ford Expedition, a car at least as large as a crew-cab pickup. No parking spaces will be lost due to the enhancements. Spaces lost are due to handicap requirements and mandatory “clear vision triangles.”
The character of downtown exists in its historic buildings, mountain backdrop, mix of businesses and especially the store and business owners. Renovations will not change that character. Wider sidewalks will enhance shopping.
In a letter to the city from the consultants: ”We urge the city to approve design proposals that include the widest sidewalks possible, midblock pedestrian crossings and curb extensions. It is in the city’s economic interest to build a pedestrian-friendly retail shopping environment that will enhance existing retail and help expand downtown’s retail offering. If downtown shopping is to stay competitive with outlying retail areas in the coming years, the plan’s proposed actions must be followed.”
Inaccuracies presented by Toby Scott need to be corrected: The Heart of Whitefish does not consist of just 11 individuals, is not a special interest group, has 46 dues-paying members, and is responsible for many projects which clearly benefit Whitefish.
HOW sponsors the enormously successful Downtown Farmer’s Market. HOW funds and maintains the flower and evergreen barrels. HOW was a funding partner with the city in the Downtown Master Plan, adopted by city council in 2006, which received support from a majority of community members who attended multiple public meetings.
HOW is committed to protecting and enhancing the economic vitality of downtown — not destroying it. Members are volunteers and include families who’ve had businesses in Whitefish for generations, rather than years.
The Wave, library, O’Shaugh nessy, Ice Den, Middle School auditorium — every project survived objections from people who believed they were not doable, affordable or a benefit to our community. The downtown project is no different.
The project is ready to go — hundreds of thousands of dollars have already been spent, compromises have been made. The streets are going to be torn up, with or without the improvements. We must invest for the future so Whitefish doesn’t become another dead, boarded-up downtown.
Trek and Gary Stephens, Rick and Marilyn Nelson, Ian Collins, John Kramer, Pat and Missy Carloss, Rhonda Fitzgerald, Chris Schustrom, Cris Coughlin and Nancy Svennungsen.