MDT and alpine coaster developers seek traffic mitigation options for approach permit

Amid strident opposition from nearby residents, the Montana Department of Transportation is working with developers of an alpine coaster in the Lakeside area to find traffic mitigation solutions in anticipation of constructing the project on a busy U.S. 93.

Already a priority in the Lakeside area, traffic safety has emerged as one of the major concerns shared by residents opposed to the alpine coaster. The Upper West Shore Alliance has advocated for increased highway safety and its members have previously spoken out against the project. Executive Director Janie Lewer said the group has fielded complaints and concerns about the coaster project and how it might affect traffic on U.S. 93 as well as access to homes.

“Safety is the UWSA’s No. 1 priority,” Lewer said. “ When a final approach [to the development] is decided upon and has MDT approval, the UWSA may have our own traffic engineer review it to ensure the safety of the surrounding residential approaches and that traffic flow will not be compromised.”

The couple behind the project, Jessica and Torsten Wedel, previously attempted to erect an alpine coaster in Lake County in 2021. That project failed to secure a needed zoning change and the pair turned to a section of land just north of Lakeside in Flathead County earlier this year. Neighbors, many citing traffic safety, have agitated against the alpine coaster since word of the project got out.

It’s a worry the developers say they take seriously. Jessica Wedel said they are working with MDT to make the approach and highway safe for all users, adding “safety is our top priority.”

The Wedels conducted a Traffic Impact Study this summer, which is a requisite for their highway approach permit.

The study, conducted by Abelin Traffic Services, suggests a left turn lane based on the projected use and traffic volumes anticipated. It said the operational characteristics of the planned approach location “will be similar to those at many of the other existing public road approaches along this section of U.S. 93.”

The Wedels currently have a temporary approach permit, but a plan to mitigate traffic must be solidified before they get their official highway approach permit from MDT.

Department spokesperson Megan Redmond said MDT is examining design alternatives submitted by the developers. They are currently being evaluated, meaning the agency is looking at safety impacts and potential conflict points to ensure existing concerns and issues that relate to the ingress and egress are being addressed.

Among the submitted plans is a proposal for a shared use approach with a neighboring property, a proposal for an easement with a parcel of land owned by MDT, which sits north of the coaster lot, and a proposal for a left turn lane, Redmond said. Nothing has been finalized at this time.

The potential use of MDT land has angered some neighbors. As it is not an MDT project, she said, it does not require the same kind of public involvement process used to reconstruct a highway, as an example. Redmond said that if this is the most plausible option, they will go through the legal process of a public auction.

“It's not an insider deal. There are not people who are going to be able to buy that land privately and no one else [will] know about it,” Redmond said. “It’s all a public auction process,”

She said there’s a difference between a shared use approach and an easement. A shared use agreement would run along the property line and be used for both parcels, meaning the developers could avoid purchasing the lot. It would only be necessary for them to buy the land if they went with the easement option.

“We're just looking at all of the different alternatives right now to figure out what the best safety options are for that corridor,” Redmond said.

Asked if MDT sees the coaster as potentially causing unsafe conditions on U.S. 93, she said the agency does its best to assess data on the corridor, the traffic study conducted for developers and other components to determine the safest option.

“It could open with great crowds and have tons of people or it could open with nobody there, and it could be a very slow process. I mean, you just never know what that's going to look like,” Redmond said. “So for us, we’re trying to plan for as many scenarios as we can and we do have the responsibility legally to provide reasonable access for all landowners,”

She said they appreciate the perspective they get from community members, but they have to focus “on the best solutions for everybody.” Even though there is no official public process involved with the project, Redmond said she will continue to pass along concerns to members of their crew.

In September, Flathead County Commissioners requested that the MDT conduct a speed study of the U.S. 93 corridor, from the intersection of Montana 82 and U.S. 93 to the Flathead County line. In their letter to the MDT, they said they received citizen inquiries on the high speeds and concerns with pedestrian crossing in the community of Lakeside.

They requested that data collection for the study occur during the summer of 2023, and that context sensitivity be given to downtown Lakeside.

Bigfork Eagle Editor Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4433 or by emailing tinman@dailyinterlake.com