The Mayor and City Council got what they wished for…lots of public comment on their plans to redesign Main Street. At Monday night’s meeting, they received over 2 hours of comments…some in favor, some not so.
The biggest concerns came from downtown businesses, who fear their businesses will suffer during the construction period…and, that construction will be major — wider sidewalks, narrower Main Street boulevards, and a center left-turn lane.
Appearing on the KGEZ Good Morning Show, Kalispell City Manager Doug Russell tells us the plan is to make Downtown Kalispell more of a traditional “social” place. To review our entire conversation with Doug Russell, go to the Glacier Banks Community Conversations box in the upper right corner of your screen.
A social place is something many are hoping for. One local resident called our current downtown “…this immense stretch of pavement, fast moving, large trucks going right through the middle of downtown.” He says, “People just don’t feel comfortable going down there.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Mayor Mark Johnson thanked everyone, telling them, “Trust me, there is a lot of thinking going on up here.”
The application for the Federal Grant to pay for all this is due by June 26th.
