Garage design wrong

There is a slight omission with regard to public comments on the conceptual design of the proposed downtown parking garage as reported in the Feb. 7 Whitefish Pilot.

In the article about the design plans and the city council's action tabling approval of the plan, city engineer John Wilson was reported to have said, "Overall response at the recent public meetings was favorable for the parking garage."

While it may be true that overall response has been favorable for this garage, Wilson's statement fails to acknowledge public input that has certainly not been favorable for the downtown parking garage.

Two local architects have expressed at least some reservations about either the design or the location of the garage. And at the public hearing of Feb. 4, my comments were, I thought, emphatically in opposition to the downtown parking garage.

If I may not have expressed myself clearly enough to be well understood at the public meeting, I would like to summarize my thoughts very briefly now.

We can probably all agree that more parking downtown is needed and would be beneficial to the community. Where that agreement begins to diverge is whether or not a three-story, one-block-long, half-a-block-wide garage looming at the very entrance to our beautiful downtown is actually beneficial, or even the best use of this city property. I don't think so.

Although the consultants contracted by the city of Whitefish have admirably attempted to design a giant parking garage that doesn't look like a giant parking garage, there is simply no way of camouflaging a concrete bunker of this magnitude.

Regardless of how many false fronts and architectural finery you plaster on to this thing, the downtown parking garage fails in several respects — it will overwhelm the site, it will inaccurately express the values of our community, and it certainly will not beckon tourists or citizens to linger and enjoy our quaint downtown.

How much more attractive could we build this important corner and city entrance? Of course, parking must be a priority, and this site, oriented conveniently between the new Whitefish Middle School auditorium and downtown, is the ideal location.

Fully one half of the property, the north half, could be dedicated to parking — a ground-level, aesthetically-landscaped parking lot, not a garage.

Elements of the thoughtfully designed downtown streetscaping plan, such as decorative lighting, raised walkways, sheltering trees and wooden benches, if incorporated into the parking area, would have a great effect in beautifying the space, perhaps even offering the impression more of a parking lot.

The southern half of the property, along Second Street, is a golden opportunity. This is where we should focus our attention in creating a pleasing, almost irresistible entrance to downtown with genuine and functional architecture that speaks of our unique community.

An interesting collection of shops and bistros centered around, say, a public square containing our Stumptown Historical Museum, the Chamber of Commerce and community meeting rooms, would likely be the first stop for many tourists and a frequent destination for those of us fortunate to live here — just like our downtown is now.

There may be another place for a parking garage, someday. For the time being, I prefer that we maintain our unique town-atmosphere with street-side parking, supplemented with an array of conveniently located smaller parking lots, much as they currently exist. To build this behemoth downtown parking garage would be, I believe, a waste of a prize location and an unfortunate mistake.

Leo Keane is a resident of Whitefish.