Curb safety sparks debate
It seems that nothing riles debate in
Whitefish more than sidewalks and curbs. Last week’s Whitefish City
Council meeting followed suit.
Going against firm federal
recommendations, street-level crosswalk ramps will be installed
when the busy Baker Avenue and U.S. 93. intersection is
reconstructed this fall. The depressed ramps will be similar to
those currently at the Central Avenue and Third Street
intersection.
The decision to opt for the lower ramps
proved difficult for the council to finalize at the April 18
meeting because of possible safety issues with the design.
The Federal Highway Administration
(FHA) recommends traditional perpendicular curbs that it maintains
are better designed to keep trucks from clipping corners and
running over sidewalks.
The Heart of Whitefish downtown group
pushed for the street-level, or depressed curbs to provide
continuity with other intersections being rebuilt downtown.
Whitefish is using a $3.5 million TIGER grant to pay for the
highway rebuild that is expected to begin in mid-September.
Project engineer Jeremy Keene noted one
safety concern is that depressed corners don’t provide physical
separation between the street and sidewalk.
“It doesn’t give a real solid visual
cue you are leaving the sidewalk,” Keene told the councilors,
although he later said he was in favor of the street-level ramps.
“This is an area where you want to give the pedestrian the
priority. I wouldn’t have a problem going forward with lay-down
curbs. It’s appropriate for where we are working.”
The design implements mitigation
tactics such as detectable warning plates, and contrasting colors
in the crosswalks, Keene said. He suggested the council consider
bollards as a deterrent, which councilors Turner Askew and Phil
Mitchell, and Mayor Mike Jenson were against.
“A bollard is just a target,” Askew
said.
Councilor Chris Hyatt noted that his
3-1/2 year old child stepped into the street at the new
street-level intersection at Central Avenue and Third Street, not
recognizing where the sidewalk ended and the street began.
“In my opinion, there is a safety
issue,” Hyatt said.
Askew agreed, saying “It’s preposterous
to think trucks aren’t going to be up on that sloped ramp. I don’t
want my granddaughter standing there.”
Askew was also in favor of traditional
ramps because they are the preferred choice of the Americans with
Disability Act. He said a wheelchair might start leaning if it
isn’t guided directly down the street-level ramp.
Councilor John Muhlfeld acknowledged
the safety concerns but said he was OK with the street-level ramps
as long as the project engineer was OK with them.
Muhlfeld said it was important to
remember the Downtown Master Plan’s strategy for expanding retail
when deciding on the ramps. He was in favor of keeping the
intersections consistent throughout downtown to encourage people to
continue shopping, especially in the Railway District.
“Having continuity between the
intersections provides that economic benefit,” Muhlfeld said.
“Previous blocks that were rather uninviting to pedestrians have
now turned into attractants or magnets for people to turn that
corner and continue walking.”
Hyatt and Jenson said they were in
favor of continuity.
“The consistency is something I think
is pretty important for most users,” Jenson said.
The vote favoring the street-level
ramps passed 3-1, with Askew in opposition. Council members Ryan
Friel and Bill Kahle were absent.