Sidewalks will go wider

After many years of public process, conflicting petitions and a contentious council election filled with campaign promises, the downtown streetscaping project will continue with wider sidewalks.

The three new members of the Whitefish City Council had said they wanted to take the matter up again soon after taking their seats on the council, but one of them says new information changed his mind on whether to keep sidewalks on Central Avenue at their current width.

Thirty people addressed the council on the issue Tuesday night. With several other hot topics on the agenda — especially the renewal of the Second Street Pizza mobile vending permit — the public comment period ran to nearly two hours, and the council had to vote twice to extend its meeting past 11 p.m.

Twenty-three people spoke in favor of moving forward with the Downtown Master Plan as written — among them a strong showing from the Heart of Whitefish downtown merchant group that helped pay for the consultants that created the plan.

Supporters reminded councilors of the long, drawn-out public process and the plan's goal of improving economic vitality to save downtown from competition by shopping malls and "lifestyle centers' in Kalispell. They also cited numerous petitions that demonstrated support by downtown businesses for the plan.

Opponents cited their own petitions, including a citywide petition with more than 600 signatures. They also warned about traffic hazards if Central Avenue was narrowed, increased cost of snow removal and impacts to the historic character of Whitefish's "funky" downtown.

The council vote came late in the night. Saying he'd like to own the horse "that refuses to be flogged to death," councilor Ryan Friel, motioned right away to leave the streetscaping design alone. Councilor John Muhlfeld seconded the motion.

Friel ticked off a number of reasons to support widening the downtown sidewalks — honoring the public process behind the plan, no evidence of traffic accidents during two mock-ups, praise for the completed Third Street project, and numerous compromises that had already been made to the downtown plan. Anymore compromises will harm the plan, he said.

He also noted that the three new councilors had promised during their campaigns to 'revisit" the matter. Now that they have, he said, they should leave the streetscaping plan alone.

Councilor Phil Mitchell, however, who had made the sidewalk issue the No. 1 plank in his campaign platform, said his promise was not to 'revisit" the issue but to keep the sidewalk width as it is.

Mitchelll said he learned during visits to Sand Point, Idaho, and Canmore, B.C., that streetscaping there caused a loss of business. Noting the merchandise already displayed on the sidewalks, and that several supporters had just told the council they planned to put up sidewalk cafes, Mitchell said these business owners should get "bigger stores."

Mitchell pointed out that when he went door-to-door during his campaign, residents told him sidewalks were their No. 1 issue.

"The people of Whitefish don't want this," he said.

He also said he personally experienced a traffic problem during the mock-up.

"We're telling people with a truck not to shop here," he said.

Councilor Turner Askew said he didn't want to "argue petitions," but he was concerned that he'd seen experts on shopping malls make wrong decisions despite their promises.

"A narrower, less-friendly street will drive people to the strip," he said.

Councilor Bill Kahle conceded that he had opposed widening the sidewalks during his campaign and that he "didn't like the Third Street design at first," but after talking to downtown business owners and the engineers, he'd learned new information that changed his view.

Kahle said his focus was not the wider sidewalks themselves but the "functionality" of the overall design.

Ryan Mitchell, the engineer from Robert Peccia and Associates, which did the streetscaping and infrastructure improvement design work, told the council his company would not advocate an unsafe design. If a "design vehicle," a Ford Expedition, is parked on the street, he said, the drive lane will be 11.1 feet wide and 10 feet is the minimum urban standard.

"If a VW Bug is parked there, there will be a 14-foot drive lane," he said.

The vote on Friel's motion was 3-3, with Friel, Muhlfeld and Kahle, in support and Askew, Mitchell and Hyatt (on speakerphone) in opposition. Saying he had to "vote with his conscience," mayor Mike Jenson then broke the tie vote in favor of leaving the streetscaping design alone.

Work on the 200 Block of Central Avenue, from Second Street to the recently completed Third Street, is slated to begin during the spring shoulder season.