Council decides road barrier must come down

The Kalispell City Council decided Monday to remove a barrier at the west end of Summit Ridge Drive, providing connectivity to an adjacent neighborhood that was granted final plat approval.

The barrier originally was intended to involve a plastic chain that could easily be taken down by emergency responders. But city officials learned about six months ago that the barrier had been reinforced with heavy-gauge wire, nylon rope and barriers.

Mayor Mark Johnson said he was “alarmed” that someone would do such a thing, with the effect of possibly impeding responders.

The city’s fire chief, police chief and public works and planning directors recommended that the barrier be taken down entirely, connecting Summit Ridge Drive to the newly constructed Northland Drive that runs north, connecting to Four Mile Drive.

Planning Director Tom Jentz provided some background about development in the area and the barrier.

In 1999, the area to the west was platted for a 296-residence project called the Waterford Development. Summit Ridge Drive residents adamantly opposed having their street provide access to the development; the council concurred.

Jentz noted that the nature of the area has changed significantly since then. In 2007, the council decided to allow the removable barrier since development was occurring to the west of Summit Ridge Drive. By that time, plans for Waterford had expired but the four-phase Northland development was underway.

Northridge Drive is now used as a main access for the Northland development from U.S. 93, and two Northridge Drive residents told the council they support opening the Summit Ridge Drive barrier to provide an alternative access.

Jentz said doing so probably will result in some additional traffic on Summit Ridge Drive, but he expects residents on that street and the entire neighborhood will benefit, because they will no longer have to make a left-hand turn onto U.S. 93 to travel north — a turn that can be nearly impossible because of traffic.

Instead, northbound travelers can use the newly accessible Northland Drive to reach Four Mile Drive, and within the next couple years, the U.S. 93 bypass.

Jentz said the planning rationale is to “provide as many options as possible and traffic will disperse.”

The council agreed, voting unanimously to remove the barrier, a change that Jentz said is expected to occur immediately.

The council subsequently gave final plat approval for the fourth and final phase of the Northland Subdivision, a 19-lot residential development that will be built along Northland Avenue.

Also at the meeting, the council voted unanimously to authorize a delegation of city staff and council members to travel to Washington, D.C., in April to lobby for a federal  grant that would be used for the city’s Core Area development project. The trip would cost about $2,000 each for two city staffers and up to six council members.

City Manager Doug Russell said the group would meet with Montana’s congressional delegation and make personal appeals to agency officials.

Council member Phil Guiffrida said he has heard from constituents concerned about out-of-control federal spending, but he believes the effort to make a personal appeal for the funding is worthwhile. He said the funding is already appropriated, and he considers it a responsibility to try to bring taxpayer dollars back to Kalispell.

“This would really give us a shot in the arm to make [Core Area redevelopment] a reality,” Guiffrida said.

Council member Chad Graham said he recently learned that last year’s unsuccessful grant application was a complicated documented that was sent to Washington in an e-mail document.

“It just seemed to me how impersonal that was, without applying a face to the project,” he said.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.