At Monday night’s Kalispell City Council work session, Council Members and City Staff discussed–what has become a “Shortcut”, East Oregon Street, is now an East-West Thoroughfare.
Motorists have discovered East Oregon Street as an alternative to using West Reserve to get from Hwy 93 to Whitefish Stage during the extreme construction. Trouble is, East Oregon Street traverses a residential area and that additional traffic has become a safety factor. It’s hoped that, when Reserve turns into a 5-lane connector between Hwy 93 and Whitefish Stage, the traffic on East Oregon Street will be diminished.
The City had a possible “fix” with the Safe Streets and Roads grant, but, according to Interim City Manager Jerod Nygren, the Trump Administration has changed the way the money can be used. He says the money must be for only temporary, removable installations. That’s not the intent of the project on East Oregon Street.
The grant would require a $600,000 match from the city. Problem is, according to Public Works Dir. Susie Turner, the temporary fix would likely be destroyed by snowplows this winter. And so, the prevailing thought is that the $600,000 would be a waste of money.
