Safe streets for all taking action with events next week

There will be two opportunities to engage with the city of Whitefish’s Safe Streets for All Action Plan next week: Walk n’ Roll on Tuesday, June 4, and a city open house on Wednesday, June 5.  

The Safe Streets Plan focuses on improving transportation safety for all roadway users in the Whitefish community, but especially for walking, biking and rolling and is funded by a $160,000 federal grant.

 “Community input is very important to help us do that,” said Whitefish Engineering and Sustainability Project Manager Karin Hilding.

The public is encouraged to participate and share concerns, thoughts and ideas to help guide development of the plan for the next four months. 

 “The action plan will be a collaborative effort among Whitefish community leaders, stakeholders, and the public.” Hilding said. 

The plan is funded a $160,000 federal grant and the city has hired consultants RPA (Robert Peccia and Associates) to do the plan.

The action plan aims to address connectivity, user-specific safety needs, transit access, traffic calming, accessibility and visibility improvements in high-volume areas.

 Particular attention will also be given to addressing transportation safety concerns in school zones, including potential identification of designated school routes prioritizing biking and walking. 

Once the action plan is developed, the city of Whitefish can apply for implementation grants, which are granted by the Federal Highway Administration.

“Then with those grants, we can make actual infrastructure improvements.” Hilding said.

 “Until then, education and caution can help make our streets safer, especially in high traffic areas like by Muldown Elementary and downtown in the summer.” 

Walk n’ Roll Tuesday, Safe Streets for All open house Wednesday

On Wednesday, June 5 there will be an open house from 4 - 7 p.m. at Whitefish City Hall in the City Council chambers conference room.

The open house will provide information about the planning process, share initial findings on data already collected, and gather formal public feedback on community transportation safety goals and priorities. 

The public is encouraged to drop by to view exhibits and share feedback with the planning team.

Both consultants and city staff will be available at the open house on Wednesday.

The police department and school district will also be key stakeholders in developing the action plan. 

According to project manager Sarah Nicolai, of Robert Peccia and Associates (RPA), public input will be gathered over the next 4 months, but will continue to be accepted until the draft plan is completed towards the end of the year.

“We’ll also be forming a taskforce of stakeholders in the next four months to help push us to finish an action plan around December of this year,” Hilding said. 

There will also be a more informal opportunity to discuss and learn about the action plan at “Walk n’ Roll” on Tuesday, June 4. 

Walk n’ Roll is a family block party to kick off a summer long campaign to walk, bike or roll to downtown Whitefish. The event is on Central Avenue from 5-7:30 p.m. The block from 1st to Railway will be closed to vehicles during this time.

There will be booths and demos offering fun ways to learn about bike safety, adaptive recreation, health benefits of human powered transportation, local trails and bike commuting. There will be discounts on food and drink as well.

Walk n’ Roll is coordinated by Connect Whitefish, a community group that advocates for biking and walking in Whitefish. 

For all questions on walking n’ rolling safely, people can chat with folks from Connect Whitefish at the event.

Members from Whitefish’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee will also be available to discuss the Action Plan. 

After the open house and walk n’ roll events this week, there will still be opportunities to engage in the Action Plan online at any time at rpa-hln.com/whitefishss4a/. 

The website has a map where users can plot a location for safety concerns and ideas. 

Both the map, and by submitting comments to Hilding and Nicolai, will be key opportunities to continue to gather feedback for the next four months. 

It’s also important to submit comments for what Hilding calls “near misses” – problem areas and incidents that don’t always result in accidents. Connect Whitefish The city’s consultants, RPA, have currently gathered a lot of data on reported accidents and issues, but without community input, it will be hard to account for “near misses” in the action plan. 

Comments can be submitted at any time to Sarah Nicolai, via email at snicolai@rpa-hln.com, by phone at 406-447-5038, or to Karin Hilding, via email at khilding@cityofwhitefish.org, by phone at 406-863-2450.