Railroad plan could be major crossroad
Dreams of a revived Kalispell core area can be real, and making them real should be an utmost priority for city leaders.
Better yet, making use of the mostly idle railroad corridor is a goal that is within financial reach, mostly by tapping into existing tax increment finance funds, with plenty left over for other projects. That’s according to a consultant who is urging city leaders to pursue a plan that would pave the way to a revitalized railroad corridor over the next decade.
The problem is plain to see currently.
The once-busy railroad spur that cuts east-west through town is now only used by two businesses. The crossings and the tracks have become a barrier to travel in the city, and an impediment to investment and commerce. It’s almost as if the railroad spur has become a big prosperity-blocking wall right through the middle of town.
The vision is to pull out the spur, relocate the railroad-reliant businesses to a industrial park on the eastern edge of the city, and make improvements that would encourage investment in residential and commercial development. The linear area would have room for more parking and sidewalks. Some see removal of the tracks as a way for Kalispell Center Mall to be expanded or complemented in the area north of the tracks.
It’s a no-brainer, particularly when tax-increment money and other funding sources are plentiful.
“This project does not eliminate your ability or flexibility to continue additional projects ... This is not your one project you can do with your TIF funds,” the consultant told City Council members last week.
Our only frustration is that the planning and implementation of the project could take 10 to 12 years. True, the project is certain to involve details and complications that city leaders are wise to methodically address. But we still ask, why not sooner?
Let’s get on with a project that has great promise to breath new life into Kalispell, full steam ahead!
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.