City to repeat Central Ave. experiment

The city hopes to begin reconstruction of Third Street from Spokane to Baker this fall, followed by Central Avenue from Second to Third in the spring, and the city must advertise for bids soon.

But opposition to streetscaping elements of the project won't go away, despite years of public input and outside consulting.

Fifteen people addressed the Whitefish City Council on July 20 about the upcoming project, including several longtime supporters, and a poll was presented by opponents who claim a large majority of businesses and residents opposes the wider sidewalks, bulbouts and raised pedestrian-crossings proposed in the plan.

In an attempt to settle potential traffic issues, a clearly frustrated council voted 3-2 to simulate the wider sidewalks in an experiment similar to the one the city performed last year. But instead of wood timbers, the city will use asphalt curbing.

The experiment will last six weeks and run on both sides of Central Avenue from Railway to Third. Councilors John Muhlfeld and Ryan Friel opposed the idea.

Much of the opposition to streetscaping has followed the same vein — it will change the character of Central Avenue, make parking difficult for large pickups, increase construction costs when the city is facing a tight budget, make snow removal more difficult, and close streets when downtown merchants are already in a severe recession — particularly during the critical fall Christmas-shopping season.

Supporters continue to point to the need to support downtown core businesses before they're lost to out-of-town shopping malls and category-killing big-box stores, and to the expert advice they got from Portland, Ore.-based Crandall and Arambula.

In fact, Rhonda Fitzgerald said, the main point of the street project was to improve the retail shopping environment, not to fix underground infrastructure. She and others urged the council to not be swayed by 11th-hour opposition and stick to the original plan.

Opposition to the plan, however, is significant, despite Crandall and Arambula's public process. After speaking to councilor Nick Palmer about earlier surveys on the issue, Montana Territory store owner Roberta Speer opted to conduct another poll of downtown businesses.

Including one late arrival, nine people supported the streetscaping plan, 77 were opposed, seven marked "no opinion," and three fell into the "other" category.

While Craig Drynan, of Crystal Winters, said it's "critical this project is completed as quickly as possible," some opponents expressed concerns about the timing.

"At a minimum, delay whatever work," said Stew Adams, of Bear Mountain Mercantile, citing the "bad economy, airport closure, etc."

Many opponents said Central Avenue was already too narrow, and some noted that out-of-town customers like Whitefish the way it is — even if it's "funky."

"I think it will take away from what tourists like about our town," said Sue Haugen, of Whitefish Gift & Gear.

Other opponents called the plan "ridiculous' or "mind-boggling," and some wanted the council to change its position or put the issue on the fall ballot.

"If this is resort tax dollars, we want to vote," said Judy Scallen, of Mrs. Spoonovers. "You are not representing me."

Mayor Mike Jenson asked Ryan Mitchell, of Robert Peccia and Associates, about ways the Third Street project could be speeded up to save the fall shopping season — including working 24/7.

Mitchell said paving could be done as late as November, but "it's not ideal." The city in the past has also been concerned about the quality of work in cold weather.

Councilor Turner Askew, who was criticized by streetscaping supporters for tape-measuring parking spaces on Central Avenue, proposed simulating wider sidewalks and bulbouts to test whether they would increase traffic hazards.

"If we make a mistake with this, it will be too late to fix," he said, saying he wanted the test to last three months.

The last time the city experimented with a mock streetscape on Central Avenue was in February 2008. City crews used 4-by-6 timbers to simulate a wider sidewalk and traffic cones to simulate a snow berm on one block, from Railroad to First.

As approved, the new experiment is much grander in scale, covering both sides of Central Avenue for three blocks and lasting for six weeks — and it won't come cheap.

The city has about 1,368 feet of timbers left over from last year's experiment. A preliminary estimate by the public works department included $6,509 for additional 4-by-6 timbers or $14,025 for 5,100 feet of 6-by-6 timbers (curbs are actually six inches high).

In addition, three city workers would need to switch from their normal day shift to night time for three eight-hour shifts to set the timbers in place. Total labor cost would be $1,737.

Instead, the city turned to asphalt curbing that can be easily removed after the experiment ends. Total cost was estimated at $5,000 — not including the yellow paint needed for safety purposes and the cost of removal by city crews.

How the results of the experiment will be evaluated — and by whom — has not been openly discussed, but the city is seeking input from the public about how streetscaping might affect parking and traffic on Central Avenue.

Comments may be sent to publicworks@cityofwhitefish.org, mailed to City of Whitefish, Public Works Department, P.O. Box 158, Whitefish MT 59937 or by calling 863-2460.

A public meeting on the downtown plan is slated for Aug. 18 in the city council chambers. It was originally intended to help downtown businesses cope with construction, but it may become a forum on the project itself.