No easy fix in sight for Kalispell's sidewalks

A comprehensive review of Kalispell’s growth policy is inventorying parts of the city that have no sidewalks and other parts where sidewalks are spotty at best.

But widespread shortcomings in the city’s sidewalk system aren’t likely to be fixed anytime soon.

Sixth Street West resident Jim Cossitt took his own sidewalk complaints to the Kalispell City Council last Monday.

“We walk a lot in the neighborhood. There are no sidewalks over there. It’s risky business with speeders and people blasting up and down the road,” he said.

Cossitt said the same concern holds true when he walks to work.

He told the council that Kalispell’s public infrastructure is not keeping up with growth or user pressures, and that a lack of willingness or resources to improve it is slowly degrading quality of life.

“If communities care about themselves they take care of themselves, and actions speak louder than words,” Cossitt said. “This community by its actions is saying we don’t care.”

Some council members chimed in with their own sidewalk complaints. Randy Kenyon said the sidewalk ends in the front yard of his 102-year-old house on Seventh Avenue West.

It starts back up farther down the street — a common sight in many parts of Kalispell.

“You’re on the sidewalk, then you’re back out on the street. It’s ridiculous. And that’s the heart of the west side,” Kenyon said.

As part of Kalispell’s ongoing growth policy review, officials are doing a citywide inventory of sidewalks and bike and pedestrian paths, Planning Director Tom Jentz said.

“We’re working with the public works department and parks department to identify high-traffic areas where safety could be a prime issue,” Jentz said.

He pointed to the new bike and pedestrian trail set to be designed and built over the next year along U.S. 93 from East Wyoming Street to Flathead Valley Community College as a project that highlights the city’s efforts to improve pedestrian access and safety.

That paved trail will replace well-worn paths in the grass along the side of the road. But pedestrian access and safety remains a top concern as the growth policy update takes shape.

“There was a period of time where the city did not implement any kind of a sidewalk policy, so we’ve got significant areas of the community that just aren’t connected to sidewalks,” Jentz said. “We’re paying the price for that now.”

At Monday’s meeting, council members encouraged city officials to seek out grant funds to improve Kalispell’s sidewalk system.

They referred back to a project that installed a significant amount of new sidewalks in the west-north neighborhood years ago using grant funds from Montana Department of Transportation.

“To the extent that we can apply for funding or somehow look for funding for the sidewalks on the west side, that would be really nice,” Mayor Tammi Fisher said.

Jentz said the sidewalk inventory being put together should help position Kalispell to act if or when more grant funds become available.

“There’s a plan taking shape,” Jentz said. “Our goal is to affect some change. We don’t have all the answers right now, but we’ve definitely found some problems.”

Meanwhile, Kalispell continues to offer its 50-50 cost share program for people who want to replace severely cracked or heaved sidewalks.

Officials requested $25,000 for the program for the 2012-13 fiscal year.

Keith Haskins, a project manager in the public works department, said he’s reviewing the resolution that authorized the cost share program back in August 2002 to see if it can be expanded to include construction of new sidewalks.

“The way that resolution reads, it’s only for replacement of existing sidewalks,” Haskins said.

“Some people want to try to use the 50-50 program for sidewalk infill and I’m just trying to make sure I have all my i’s dotted and t’s crossed before we move ahead with that,” he said. “Right now, the research shows that’s not a permissible use.”