Booming business brings parking issues
<p>The city of Columbia Falls erected temporary barricades to stop Montana Coffee Traders customers from parking vehicles on the Xanterra Parks & Recreation parking lot.</p>
Parking issues on First Avenue West were on the agenda for the Columbia Falls City Council’s July 7 meeting.
City manager Susan Nicosia said Xanterra Parks & Recreation was concerned about Montana Coffee Traders customers continuing to park in the former Pamida store lot even after Xanterra’s laundry and warehouse went into operation and construction work began at the new office building.
Nicosia turned down Xanterra’s request to use jersey barriers to block off the parking area, which would have cost the city $5,000, and instead had wooden barriers put up.
She also asked the council to consider a proposal to spend up to $21,000 for a curb and sidewalk along First Avenue West and using city workers to repair the street’s asphalt paving. Camas Creek Contracting, of Columbia Falls, made a bid estimate of $20,580 for the work.
When studying the project, however, public works director Grady Jenkins noted that a five-foot wide sidewalk would make the street too narrow for angle or head-in parking. He recommended setting it up for 10 parallel parking spots, reducing the number of spaces by at least half.
Xanterra will landscape its side of the finished barrier, and Montana Coffee Traders volunteered to contribute to costs if head-in parking is maintained.
“Why do we need a sidewalk?” mayor Don Barnhart asked, adding that a new sidewalk wouldn’t go anywhere.
Councilor Doug Karper agreed, noting that people who park there generally walk across the street to the restaurant.
Nicosia said curbing alone could cost about $5,000, but she warned the council about following city street standards, adding that the city might be stuck with whatever they do.
Councilor Dave Petersen suggested making First Avenue West a one-way street heading south to the T-intersection at 11th Street. This would not only facilitate a narrower street but address traffic hazards on U.S. 2.
Barnhart said he liked the one-way street idea, and Nicosia said signs could be installed telling drivers how to get back to U.S. 2. Karper, however, warned about the impacts of directing additional traffic into a residential neighborhood.
Coincidentally, the council addressed traffic concerns on 11th Street just last month, directing police chief Dave Perry to put the city radar trailer there to slow down drivers. A new 25 mph sign was installed on the hill just east of the T-intersection with First Avenue West.
Nicosia said she wanted to do something sooner than later about the parking problem and will look into the costs of curbing alone, signage and issues related to the one-way street proposal.