At Monday night’s Kalispell City Council Work Session, Staff presented a revised Main Street Safety Action Plan. The last time around, the Council voted 5-4 not to apply for the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant. This time, Council Members see a bit more willing to try again.
The biggest obstacle was “road diet”, which would have reduced Main Street to 2-lanes with a center left-turn lane. It was felt that, without the completion of the Hwy 93 Bypass, the lane reductions would create congestion in the downtown.
Rather than the lane reductions, the plan includes 2-round-abouts–one at Main & 11th Streets–near the South Campus Building and another at South Main & 13th Streets…at that 3-way intersection with Airport Road.
As for the Bypass, the City is hoping the grant they applied for last year through the Montana Department of Transportation will be approved soon.
We’re told the U-S Department of Transportation plans to award upwards of 70-cities up to $25-million each. City Staff has prepared an application for $25-millions, requiring a 20% match, for the Main Street Safety Action Plan. That 20% match would come from Tax Increment Financing, or TIF Funds.
Friday morning at 7:20, we’ll discuss all this with Mayor Ryan Hunter.
