Downtown revamp OK'd for Whitefish

Northwest Montana News Network

After listening to nearly two hours of public comment Monday, the Whitefish City Council approved downtown streetscaping plans without any additional changes.

The vote was 4-1, with council member Turner Askew opposed and council member Ryan Friel absent.

An amendment proposed by council member Nick Palmer to increase the width of driving lanes on First and Third streets by six inches by narrowing the sidewalks was defeated 3-2.

Council members Frank Sweeney, Nancy Woodruff and John Muhlfeld opposed the amendment.

Askew's motion to keep Central Avenue sidewalks at their current 10-foot width died for lack of a second.

Thirty people addressed the issues of wider sidewalks and intersections with bulbouts and raised pedestrian crossings. Many were concerned about snow removal, litter and landscape maintenance.

City Manager Chuck Stearns cautioned the council about having the city take responsibility for maintenance of the new bulbouts.

Public Works Director John Wilson said he wants to encourage downtown merchants to shovel snow onto the street.

As for the bulbouts, he said he would talk to his plow crews to get some ideas on how to remove snow there.

The first element of the downtown master plan is now under way - construction of a surface parking lot at the corner of Second Street and Spokane Avenue. The three-story parking structure called for in the original master plan was turned down last year for mostly economic reasons, although there was much opposition for aesthetic reasons.

The council accepted the low bid by Schellinger Construction, $428,267, for the surface parking lot and half a block of First Street.

That was about 13 percent below the engineer's estimate, Wilson said. Another $31,000 will pay for burying utilities along First Street.

Tax-increment financing money will pay for the parking lot and resort tax money will pay for the street reconstruction. Streetlights will be provided separately by the city.

The next big phase will be reconstruction of Third Street from Spokane to Baker starting this fall, followed by Central Avenue from Second to Third in spring 2010.

This could mean businesses at the corner of Third and Central will see heavy construction for two subsequent shoulder seasons.

Wilson said it's desirable to start construction phases at the south end of downtown because of stormwater drainage pipes clogged with decades of mud.