Kalispell City Council members must decide whether to move forward with a grant agreement that would pay to install safety features on a downtown street, part of the Main Street Safety Action Plan. Except this time, the decision does not pertain to Main Street, but to East Oregon Street.
The city’s plan established several priority locations within the city for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program. The federal program includes three grants that local governments can apply for – a planning grant, demonstration grant, and an implementation grant – to be used to increase safety on American roads. After receiving a planning grant and adopting a plan in 2024, city staff applied for a demonstration grant to install such improvements on priority locations at East Oregon Street and Fifth Avenue West. The city was awarded the East Oregon Street portion of the application in November.
(Plans to redesign Main Street, First Avenue East, and First Avenue West – three of the other priority locations – stalled earlier this year when councilors voted against applying for the implementation grant that would have funded that project.)
The eight proposed safety features for East Oregon Street include the following:
The grant agreement was put on hold during the presidential administration change earlier this year. When officials from the Federal Highway Administration revisited the grant, they added a new parameter. Any safety treatments on East Oregon Street would need to be temporary in order to accept the funds, based on the idea that the grant is supposed to be demonstrative in nature, city staff said.
At Monday’s work session, councilors discussed potential issues, including wasted city resources and that plastic or rubber installments may not last long in the face of unforgiving Western Montana winters.
“I don’t think it’s the best way to spend money, especially with where we live, and that it’s temporary,” Councilor Chad Graham said.
If the city were to agree to the new parameters, the city would need to match 20% of the $3 million grant with either city reserves or contingency, as East Oregon Street does not fall in one of the city’s Tax Increment Financing (TIFs) districts. The project would likely decrease in overall cost with the move to temporary features.
A handful of community members who live on or near the street spoke out against the proposed safety measures during the work session’s public comment period.
“Who among you wants to live next to a carousel of rotating cars?” Gail Thomas, a resident who lives at the corner of an intersection of a proposed temporary roundabout. “I am very opposed to a roundabout at any intersection on Oregon.”
Zoë Buhrmaster here. Let’s drive on into the rest of the Daily Roundup.
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