County, city clash over downtown street plan

The Flathead County commissioners are at odds with another of the county’s incorporated cities, this time with Kalispell’s proposal to downsize U.S. 93 to two lanes when it’s rebuilt through the downtown corridor.

The commissioners last month sent a letter to the Kalispell City Council, going on the record in opposition of the two-lane proposal the city sees as a benefit in creating a more pedestrian-friendly downtown.

“We encourage Kalispell officials to abandon any plans that have the potential to degrade the connectivity, efficiency and safety of highways, streets and roads within Flathead County,” the commissioners wrote to the city. “We will continue to urge MDOT (Montana Department of Transportation) to stay the course for Highway 93 through the Kalispell area and concur with the traffic statistics that MDOT has provided.”

The commissioners in the past have gone on record in support of a four-lane U.S. 93 through Kalispell.

Some Kalispell City Council members took issue with the county’s letter at the end of Tuesday’s council meeting.

Council member Rod Kuntz objected to the comissioners’ stand, saying he doesn’t believe they understand the mission and objectives the city has for the future of its downtown corridor.

“I’m going to use a metaphor that at least a third of the commission will probably understand,” Kuntz said. A four-lane highway “would be like girdling the city of Kalispell.”

Kuntz was referring to Commissioner Phil Mitchell, who is accused of girdling and killing a half-dozen cottonwood trees in a county park near his home.

Girdling is a procedure in which a thick ring of bark is removed from a tree, causing it to wither and die. Mitchell first admitted to killing the trees, but later pleaded not guilty to felony criminal mischief.

Kalispell Mayor Mark Johnson said he, too, is disappointed the commissioners aren’t on board with Kalispell’s vision for the U.S. 93 rebuild. Johnson made reference to a recent conversation with U.S. Sen. Jon Tester during which the long-running friction between the county and city of Whitefish was discussed.

The county and Whitefish battled for years over jurisdiction of the two-mile ring of land — the “doughnut” — until the state Supreme Court ceded control to the county in 2014. Even so, the two government entities are still at odds over a corridor plan that sets the stage for much more commercial development of the U.S. 93 strip south of Whitefish.

It remains to be seen how the U.S. 93 rebuild through Kalispell will play out — and when it will happen.

During a meeting with engineers earlier this year, the commissioners learned that creating an eastside bypass on Willow Glen Road and turning Kalispell’s First Avenues east and west into one-way streets are among the alternatives traffic engineers have identified for rebuilding U.S. 93 around the Flathead County Courthouse.

Even though the U.S. 93 Somers to Whitefish West project has been underway for well over two decades — the environmental impact study was completed in 1994 — the rebuild of the federal highway from Seventh to 13th Street in Kalispell is still years away. That’s the only section of the highway left to rebuild in that project.

In 1994 the preferred alternative was a four-lane design through downtown Kalispell, but much as changed since then, namely the completion of the U.S. 93 bypass.

A detailed traffic analysis, the impact of the bypass and projected traffic growth through 2040 were factors considered as Peccia and Associates developed eight alternatives for the courthouse couplet rebuild.

Roughly 18,000 vehicles travel around the courthouse each day, the study found. If the four-lane alternative were chosen, the traffic count would increase substantially, to about 31,000 vehicles per day.

The volume of traffic that would be funneled down Main Street is a big concern to Kalispell city officials who want to protect the retail integrity of the downtown corridor.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.