Downtown design plans tabled by council

Time needed to digest public comments and meet with all members present

By RICHARD HANNERS / Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish City Council held off approving conceptual designs for a new downtown parking garage and streetscaping Central Avenue at their Monday meeting.

Councilors Nick Palmer, Nancy Woodruff and Martin McGrew voted to table the vote until they could digest comments from the public hearing. Shirley Jacobson and Ryan Friel voted against the motion. Councilor John Muhlfeld was absent.

Both downtown projects have draw considerable attention lately as the project moves closer to the final design stage. But supporters note that the plans have been in the works for a very long time.

According to city engineer John Wilson, efforts to encourage public involvement included seven meetings with a citizens advisory committee, three public meetings and three newsletters mailed to all addresses in the Whitefish zip code area.

While the overall response at the recent public meetings was favorable for the parking garage, "the street reconstruction project was clearly the main point of interest for most of the participants" at the third meeting, Wilson said.

"We were encouraged not to attend the recent Heart of Whitefish meeting and were not privy to the dozens of individual conversations that occurred over the past few weeks," Wilson said, "but we understand some of the business owners and citizens who expressed strong concerns about the loss of on-street parking, wide sidewalks and/or landscaping continue to oppose these concepts."

The conceptual design calls for bulb-outs at intersections and mid-block with raised pedestrian crossings to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly. But the design would eliminate 21 parking spaces on three blocks of Central Avenue and 16 spaces on four blocks of First and Third streets.

To find out how the streetscaping's narrower driving lanes will function, the city will place timbers along the curb line in places to simulate an 18-inch wider sidewalk.

"Our goal is to stage this 'mock-up' before winter's end and evaluate the drivability and function of the narrower street with a snow berm in place along the centerline of Central Avenue," Wilson said.

Wilson said the project schedule calls for opening construction bids for the parking garage and one block of street reconstruction in November. Construction on the garage would run from early spring through the fall of 2009. Street work would take place one block at a time over seven consecutive shoulder seasons, from spring 2009 through spring 2012.

The Heart of Whitefish board responded to critics of the conceptual design in an op-ed piece and collected signatures from 36 downtown business or property owners in support of moving the Central Avenue project forward.

The city received at least 22 comments in the form of letters, e-mails or phone calls, including an e-mail from Rick Nelson, president of Nelson Hardware Inc., who asked to remove his earlier comments opposed to the mid-block pedestrian crossings. He was concerned, however, about the timing of the street work.

"It is critical to adhere to construction deadlines so that businesses can plan adequately for the disruption," he said, pointing out that his store holds lawn-and-garden sales in the spring and early summer.

Of 22 comments received by the city, 15 opposed loss of on-street parking spaces, 12 opposed wider sidewalks, eight opposed the mid-block crossings, eight believed the bulb-outs at intersections were too large and four opposed trees and other landscaping.

The idea of a parking garage was generally accepted, with concerns about aesthetics, particularly on the alley side. Peter Edland asked about public art on Central Avenue, and Robert Chambers suggested connecting the parking structure and the Whitefish Middle School auditorium with a skywalk.

"The bridge would be a real celebration of Whitefish's history, using logs, timbers, railway rails and other materials," he wrote.

Some opponents to the conceptual design for Central Avenue says the Heart of Whitefish doesn't truly represent downtown merchants. Denise Magstadt, a co-owner of Imagination Station, expressed that concern after contacting business and property owners after a public meeting in January.

"Many people stated that they felt they were being told exactly what was going to happen with no show of hands as to who agreed or disagreed with the stated proposal," she said.

Laura Strong said she was concerned about loss of parking spaces and wasting tax dollars on raised pedestrian crossings.

"Whitefish is a unique little gem of a town — let's try to keep our uniqueness intact," she said. "Part of that is the quaint, funky, Western small-town atmosphere. Please don't turn us into Anytown U.S.A."

Penny Porterfield, who works in an office in the historic railway district, expressed concerns about bulb-outs, which she said made First Street a one-way street, made snow removal difficult and posed traffic hazards for turning vehicles.

Rita Rayhill, a co-owner at Sappari, said the city "cannot afford to lose anymore parking spots."

"I want pedestrian-friendly, but it's Montana, it's cold, and I don't want to walk too far for parking," she said. "Locals park in front of where they want to shop, go in and get what they want and leave. Done. I don't want to lose that."