Major change to traffic flow proposed in master plan

A major change to how traffic moves through Whitefish is suggested in a proposed update to the Whitefish downtown master plan.

Planning consultant Don Arambula of Crandall Arambula presented refinements to the updated document at a public meeting March 12 at the O’Shaughnessy Center. Whitefish City Council requested in November that the Portland-based firm do additional work to change and complete the update. Council will consider adopting the updated plan later this year.

A significant element of the refined update suggests redesigning Baker Avenue to be a major arterial with three lanes of traffic — one northbound and two southbound — while Spokane Avenue would remain two lanes. A roundabout at 13th Street is suggested to divert traffic to Baker Avenue from U.S. 93 South.

The proposal for Spokane includes on-street parking, a protected bikeway and sidewalks.

As a main arterial, traffic signals on Baker would be added at the intersections with Third Street and First Street, while another signal is proposed for the intersection of Second Street and Lupfer Avenue.

A 2010 urban corridor study suggests reconstructing both Spokane and Baker avenues into three-lane streets.

Arambula said keeping Spokane as two lanes will help retain the area’s historical character and mature trees while still providing adequate traffic capacity.

“It becomes more of a calming street,” he said.

The improvements to Baker and Spokane are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 on the updated plan’s priority list, behind only construction of a new City Hall with parking garage.

The proposal for Baker as a main arterial garnered mixed feedback from the audience.

City engineer Karin Hilding noted the plan is very different from what the 2010 urban corridor study suggests. She said there might be some timing issues since the Montana Department of Transportation is in the process of initiating design work on Spokane Avenue as three lanes.

City Manager Chuck Stearns said MDT is currently looking at repaving Spokane from 13th to Second Street.

“Whether they’ll add another lane is still to be determined,” he said.

Whitefish resident Rebecca Norton questioned making Baker Avenue a main arterial with Riverside Park and the Kiddie Park nearby.

Resident Joan Vetter Eherenberg said a roundabout at 13th Street should be further studied.

“No trucks use the Kalispell bypass because of the roundabouts,” she said. “I question the feasibility.”

She said there might be a lot of hurdles to overcome with the new traffic plan.

Public Works director John Wilson said the plan seems to brush off the long-term proposal to build a bridge over the Whitefish River at Seventh Street.

“It would be unfortunate to push the bridge further aside,” Wilson said. “That would be an important cross-town street.”

Another proposed refinement includes making the downtown plan align with the Depot Park master plan approved in 2012. The update now recognizes Depot Park as a green space, as opposed to an event area with a paved plaza.

A 20,000 square foot paved surface had been suggested in the original updated plan. Despite removing the plaza from the update, Arambula said most cities have a paved multi-purpose area.

“You need an area you can drive a truck on with electrical,” he said. “Now, you have a park, but no plaza. That’s significant.”

The Depot Park plan says the bulk of the park should remain an open, flexible lawn area with updated turf reinforcement. The streets surrounding the park are to be enhanced to help with event staging.

Former Whitefish Convention and Visitor Bureau director Jan Metzmaker noted that it’s always difficult to grow grass in the park with the heavy usage. She said the farmers market was cited by the health department last year because wind was blowing dust on some of the vendor’s food.

The updated plan also recommends a mixed-use lodging complex featuring a hotel and retail development at site north of First Street where Markus Foods and other businesses currently are located. It was suggested a full-service grocery store could be a retail anchor of the intersection.

Markus Foods owner Duane Reisch took issue with that recommendation. He said his business employs 25 workers and serves up to 1,400 customers a day.

“We have a grocery store and we have a good one,” he said. “Now you’re proposing to get rid of Markus and put in a hotel. You’re not going to move Markus.”

Arambula said the plan simply designates the possibility of a hotel at the site.

“The idea is to open up options and not preclude anything,” he said. “We realize [Markus] is a valuable option.”

Another critique of the refined plan was the lack of detail included.

“Many things conceptually sound great, but with no detail are just plain scary,” Rhonda Fitzgerald said.

Stearns noted that the document is intended to be conceptual in nature and that details can follow.

“It’s hard to get those details until you’re ready to do those projects,” he said.

The plan — originally adopted in 2006 — lays out a path for future development areas around the downtown core.

There is no firm timeline on when council will vote on approval of the updated plan.

“Once Crandall Arambula have finished the revisions, we will schedule it for a public hearing,” Stearns said.