Owner speaks against reconfiguration of Central Ave.

Charlie Abell doesn’t want to see the southern portion of Central Avenue change.

He says the reconstruction of the northern part of Central Avenue with its streetscaping design wasn’t the best idea, so that shouldn’t be applied to other sections of the street.

“It’s filling somebody’s fantasy about what Whitefish should be,” he told City Council June 19.

Abell said the design makes it cumbersome to drive down the street because of the narrow driving lanes created by angled parking and pedestrian bulbouts.

“I would ask the city not to extend that same philosophy down to that end of Central,” he said.

The Abell family owns the property at 343 Central Avenue, which houses The Bungalow flower shop.

Whitefish City Council approved the project, which involves work from Third to Sixth streets. Prior to approval, Council did ask several questions about the project.

Public Works Director Craig Workman said the design is not convenient for vehicular traffic and is designed to slow down vehicle traffic.

“That’s the intent of these designs,” Workman said. “What we’re trying to do is improve pedestrian travel. The bulbouts are designed to shorten the time pedestrians have to cross the road.”

During public comment, Koel Abell echoed his father’s statements about the changes to that section of Central, but also told Council that angled parking makes it too narrow for two pickup trucks to pass each other on the street.

Replying to a question from Council on the matter, Workman said there is adequate space for the driveway of the street.

“That allows for vehicles to pass assuming the vehicles parked [have done so] appropriately,” he said. “Vehicles in Montana often tend to be a little bit bigger, but to get sidewalks and angled parking it does create a narrow driveway.”

Councilor Frank Sweeney said he drives a large truck and he has never had an issue driving or parking on Central Avenue.

The reconstruction of the block from Third to Fourth streets is set as a priority of the 2015 downtown master plan. This segment of the project involves a new roadway, curbside parking, sidewalk, and crosswalk enhancements including pedestrian bulbouts on the north side of Fourth Street. A stop sign will be added at Fourth Street.

“This is a continuation of the downtown shopping loop,” Workman said.

From Fourth to Fifth streets the project involves replacement of the cast iron watermain along with roadway resurfacing. The median will remain, but the ends of the median will be extended to provide pedestrian crossing improvements and sections of sidewalk will be replaced.

“We heard from residents that it was important to keep the median,” Workman said.

From Fifth to Sixth streets, the segment of the project involves the replacement of the cast iron watermain.

The entire budget for the project is $1.1 million for engineering and construction.

The first phase will involve the segment from Fourth to Sixth streets and is expected to begin in late August. Work between Third and Fourth will begin in September.

Expected completion is November.