Council to move ahead with plan for downtown

Kalispell City Council appears ready to put its support behind plans to convert Main Street from four lanes to three lanes as part of the city’s vision for future growth in the downtown area.

Council will consider a resolution of intent to adopt, amend or reject the proposed downtown plan at its Oct. 16 meeting. If the resolution is approved, a public hearing on the plan will be held Nov. 6.

In presenting the process of developing an update to the plan during a work session Oct. 9, senior planner Jarod Nygren addressed the need to preserve the plan’s intended purpose of serving the downtown area.

“The vision for downtown Kalispell ... would be to be a vibrant place to live, work, shop, dine and visit amongst beautiful historic buildings and landscaped streets,” Nygren said at the meeting.

As part of the proposed downtown plan, Nygren stressed the need to keep the current two-lane status of the U.S. 93 courthouse couplet, while converting Main Street to three lanes.

The draft plan shows Main Street with one traffic lane in each direction and a center lane for turning. Left turns would be allowed at all intersections. The plan also suggests widening sidewalks by 6 feet.

The city and Flathead County differ over the reconfiguration of the highway when it is rebuilt. While Kalispell prefers a two-lane option, the county is sticking with the state’s preferred alternative of a four-lane road through the city’s heart.

Mayor Mark Johnson, on behalf of the council, has drafted a letter to the county commissioners in response to a letter the commissioners sent the city, stressing the county’s desire for a four-lane road around the courthouse couplet.

Johnson’s letter, to be approved by the council on Monday, asks the county to come to the table in finding the best solution for U.S. 93 through downtown Kalispell and points out the state wants to set up a steering committee for determining a traffic solution for Main Street.

“Your letter requests the city of Kalispell abandon our plans and essentially defer to the Montana Department of Transportation,” Johnson wrote. “Our request is that you join us at the table as part of this steering committee, offering input and perspective in a collaborative manner to best accomplish mutual goals.”

According to Nygren, turning the courthouse couplet into a four-lane road would nearly double the amount of daily traffic that travels through downtown over the next 20 years. A four-lane couplet would essentially transform the street into a highway, he said.

Converting Main Street to three lanes, Nygren added, would promote tourism and business downtown by making it more pedestrian-friendly and accessible to drivers looking to stop in town.

According to Planning and Building Director Tom Jentz, the proposed plan for Main Street is critical to preserving the integrity of downtown. He echoed Nygren in stressing the importance of maintaining the couplet around the courthouse that serves as a gateway to the community.

Should that couplet be converted to four lanes, “life as we know it on Main Street would cease to exist,” Jentz said.

For those convinced that three lanes would not be able to accommodate the amount of traffic that flows through downtown every day without excessive delays, Jentz exemplified the four-block corridor from south of the courthouse to 13th Street East. The three-lane stretch of road currently moves 19,000 cars in and out of the downtown area a day, 3,000 more than Main Street, without any delay or complaint from drivers, he said.

Other suggestions in the downtown plan include developing a performing arts center, as well as building a parking structure. The plan also suggests that the city should look for ways to “foster an entertainment culture” downtown.

Nygren said evaluations of the area have estimated the value of property downtown at approximately $3.3 million per acre, around double the value of property on the north side of town. The value of downtown property taxes, he said, makes it critical to fully utilize the space and make it accessible to tourists, residents and business owners.

The city planning department, according to Nygren, has spent months surveying key stakeholders in the downtown area in an effort to collect suggestions for the proposed plan.

As the council finalizes the plan, they will also have to address additional areas of needed improvement downtown, including infrastructure like utilities, sewer and water lines and street lights.

Jentz suggested implementing a tax-increment fund to finance some of these infrastructure projects and recommended getting the tax in place as soon as possible to start accumulating funds for the massive redevelopment. A tax-increment finance district is a re-development tool that allows municipalities to “capture” increased tax value.

Improvements to Main Street could be funded through state and federal transportation money, the plan states.

To listen to recorded audio of city council meetings, visit http://www.kalispell.com/.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.