City moving forward with bike path
The city will look to build a bike path on the south end of the old Glacier Gateway School to serve the new Glacier Gateway School when it's completed.
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
If Columbia Falls upgrades its city streets in the downtown area with sidewalks, curbs and gutters, it would cost about $300,000, a preliminary analysis has found.
City manager Susan Nicosia told the council last week that staff and engineers looked at streets that were only in the urban renewal district to start, as Tax Increment Finance funds could potentially be used to make the upgrades.
The city council has made it a priority to upgrade downtown streets with curbs, gutters and sidewalks to both make it easier for pedestrians to get around and to improve parking.
Depending on what street a person is on, the city’s sidewalks run from excellent to awful to somewhere in between. Some streets the sidewalks have literally crumbled into paths.
In separate, but other bike path and sidewalk news, the council OK’d a $39,000 contract with Robert Peccia and Associates for engineering for a new bike path and sidewalk that will serve students at the new Glacier Gateway School.
The bike path will require an easement from developer Mick Ruis and School District 6, as it will run from Fourth Avenue West and tie into 6th Avenue West.
The city wants to have a bike path so kids can safely get across town without having to ride in the street.
The project also includes a sidewalk that will run down 6th Avenue West to the new school and tie into existing sidewalk on 7th Street West.
Ruis, who was at the meeting, quipped he would be more than willing to give the easement, if city documents would spell his name right. A map of the bike path listed him as “Ruiz” on it.
Ruis has plans to remodel the old school to the north into senior and teaching housing once students are out of it.