Join a walking tour of downtown Kalispell

With a four-lane highway for Main Street, heavy traffic volumes and only a couple of dedicated bike lanes used mostly by drivers as turn lanes, is downtown Kalispell a friendly place for travelers on foot or bike?

People interested in making downtown friendlier for pedestrians and bicyclists are invited to go on a “walking audit” on Wednesday.

“There are a lot of positive things going for the downtown, but some things we need to really examine and look at,” said Jennifer Young, recreation superintendent for Kalispell Parks and Recreation.

Participants meet at Depot Park at 4 p.m. and should bring a pencil and paper to write down their observations and ideas.

They will try to walk over to Kalispell Center Mall, head south on First Avenue West to Wheaton’s Cycle and the post office and then back over to Main Street and the soon-to-open Kalispell Brewing Co.

A meeting and social at the Flathead Beacon offices on Main Street follows the walking audit for people to discuss their ideas.

Organized by Kalispell Parks and Recreation, the Kalispell Downtown Association and the Kalispell Business Improvement District, the walk is part of a conceptual plan that outlines ways to improve pedestrian friendliness downtown and better link the area to neighborhoods, parks, schools and other parts of the city. 

The walking audit is just one way to get that ball rolling and get public input for an initiative that ultimately ties in with several other efforts to improve pedestrian access in Kalispell, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Baker said.

Those efforts include two new bike paths in the works. 

One would run along U.S. 93 from Wyoming Street to Flathead Valley Community College. The other would run from Meridian Road to Kalispell Middle School and neighborhoods along Three Mile Drive.

Those efforts also include completing the U.S. 93 Alternate Route as a way for truck traffic to go around downtown instead of through it and accomplishing various redevelopment goals spelled out in the Kalispell Core Area Revitalization Plan.

The revitalization plan’s biggest goal is to remove the railroad tracks that run through Kalispell north of downtown and build a linear park and bike path in  place of the tracks. 

Another goal is to improve the spotty and poorly connected network of streets and sidewalks in the rest of the rail corridor, an area that is bordered by Washington Street to the north, Center Street to the south and the city limits to the east and west.

Some ideas to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly include bike lanes on First Avenues East and West and other periphery streets, better striping and signs for bike lanes so drivers are aware they need to share the road, redesigned streets and sidewalks, use of alleys as pedestrian corridors and even something as simple as installing more bike racks.

People are asked to come on the tour and share their ideas and views about what would work. 

“The more the merrier. Especially people interested in a bicycle-friendly and pedestrian-friendly community,” Young said. 

The goal is to brainstorm and lay out a path forward.

“We’re not talking about everything happening today,” Young said. “We’re looking at 10, 15, 20, 30 years down the road. Because if we don’t think about it now, nothing will ever happen.” 

Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.