Whitefish tackles downtown parking woes

Parking issues will dominate a Whitefish City Council work session at 5 p.m. today.

A lack of downtown parking, particularly on the north end of Central Avenue near the O’Shaughnessy Cultural Arts Center, is a mounting problem for the city.

Last fall BNSF Railway Co., which has been hiring more workers, reclaimed a parking area on railroad property near the arts center that previously had been used by the public. And the parking lot west of the depot was changed to a 30-minute drop-off for Amtrak customers and for BNSF overflow parking.

The council will discuss City Manager Chuck Stearns’ idea of a parking deck over the railroad parking lot north of the O’Shaughnessy Center. At the Feb. 6 council meeting Stearns said BNSF was “conceptually OK” with the idea of the city leasing the air space above the railroad’s lot.

The deck possibly could be reached from Baker Avenue in the viaduct area and may not require expensive ramps, Stearns said. No cost estimate has been determined yet for such a deck.

Also on the table is a prior proposal for a parking structure at the city parking lot on the northwest corner of Spokane Avenue and Second Street. The city had contemplated a three-story parking garage for that corner a few years ago but opted for a surface lot to save money.

The proposed parking structure, estimated at $5.2 million in 2008, would have had retail space on the ground floor and was a recommendation of Whitefish’s downtown master plan.

The council will review parking recommendations in documents such as the downtown master plan and a 2008 study done by Colorado-based Walker Parking Consultants on parking demand and an accompanying financial analysis.

Financing options for expanded parking will be discussed. Among the possibilities are tax increment financing, special improvement districts, public-private partnerships and a general obligation bond.

A FAIRLY LIGHT agenda awaits the council at its regular meeting that begins at 7:10 p.m.

Two public hearings are planned, including a resolution clarifying the street name for several properties as South Karrow Estates Road, and a review of engineering recommendations for water system booster stations, including the Suncrest booster pump.

Both the work session and council meeting are at Whitefish City Hall.