Business owners worry about safety at SNOW bus stops

Safe access for SNOW Bus users and a need for more affordable housing for the workforce dominated the Wisconsin Avenue corridor neighborhood business meeting Oct. 26.

The round-table discussion between members of the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce and local business owners was held at Montana Tap House. This is the third year the Chamber has held the meetings, which are intended to take the pulse of local businesses and discuss any concerns or challenges businesses face.

Dan Graves, CEO of Whitefish Mountain Resort, said his main concern regarding the SNOW bus is for the safe pickup and dropoff points on Wisconsin Avenue.

“As the Wisconsin corridor continues to become more popular with businesses and users, I think we should consider planning for better designated pull-outs for the SNOW bus route, Graves said. “This would benefit the passengers as well as traffic flow. It’d be nice for people to start thinking about that as we plan for the future.”

The free shuttle takes riders from downtown to Whitefish Mountain Resort. Currently the bus stops along Wisconsin Avenue are at Good Mountain Lodge, Stumptown Ice Den and the Lodge at Whitefish Lake.

A lack of parking for SNOW bus users is also an issue.

Ed Doctor, manager of Montana Tap House, said his business’ lot, used by riders in the past, can’t afford to give up open spots anymore. Instead, he’s looking into leasing space across Wisconsin Avenue to create parking for bus rides. Until more parking is added, however, it will continue to be a main problem in the corridor, he said.

“I think the biggest issue really is dealing with the SNOW bus and the cars,” Doctor said. “I see it being messy this winter, and everybody in the world expects to park here for the SNOW bus. We want to be able to, but we can’t say no to money,” Doctor said.

Pedestrian safety for folks crossing the increasingly busy Wisconsin Avenue was also a concern for business owners.

Keela Smith of Bonsai Brewing Project said more crosswalks would be a big boost to corridor businesses.

“More crosswalks would be huge, I don’t know what that takes to do, but just getting people safely to and from everywhere is kind of the big thing on this side of town,” she said.

However, city planning director Dave Taylor said the process for getting crosswalks approved on a state road like Wisconsin Avenue is tedious, and it’s rare to see crosswalks approved in sections of the street lacking an intersection. Concern still remains for making existing crosswalks safer.

“Safety on those crosswalks obviously is a huge challenge, especially at this time of the year when it’s dark and you can’t see people when they’re walking across in the rain,” Taylor said.

Shortages in workforce housing was also a concern for business owners who struggled to help new employees find places to live.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kevin Gartland noted that a study of the city’s workforce housing need is in the draft phase.

Gartland said the reported is expected to be released in December, but so far the report looks like it will call for an increase in affordable housing options in Whitefish.

“We’re about 600 units behind, from what our study has told us right now,” Gartland said.

Betsy Cox, who owns Good Medicine Lodge, said while her business tries to help find their workers places to live, it hasn’t been easy.

“We’ve been successful up to this point with a lot of effort on our part in finding places [for workers to stay]. It’s harder and harder to do,” Cox said. “It never was on our job description to find housing for people.”

Chris Hyatt, with the chamber, added that while there’s been a slight increase in housing options, those units are still going very quick in a high demand market.

“It’s still a very, very hot market,” he said.

Residents also worried about how the Wisconsin Avenue corridor will be able to handle Whitefish’s continued growth, but agreed that more focus on the area will be beneficial for everyone.

Doctor said he sees the success of Wisconsin Avenue businesses as a direct consequence of how busy the downtown has become. He said roughly 80 percent of his summer customers were locals who prefer less crowds.

“Most of the people came in here and they were sick of downtown, they don’t want to try to park downtown or spend their money downtown, because they just don’t feel it’s there for them at all,” he said. “I think you’ll see this keep developing. I don’t think you’ll see a stop to the growth on Wisconsin Avenue. It’s a good and a bad thing.”

The next neighborhood business meeting is Thursday, Nov. 3 at the Firebrand Hotel at 8 a.m. For more information contact the Chamber at 862-3501.