Kalispell reviews Main Street safety concept design; staff to consider SS4A implementation grant

City of Kalispell staff and consultants presented concept designs for the Main Street Safety Action Plan and outlined next steps for a potential implementation grant under the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program during the April 28, 2025 work session.

Development Director Jared Nygren and consultant Rachel Grosso (Kittleson) described a two‑phase effort that began with a downtown safety action plan adopted by council in 2024 and continued into a phase‑2 concept design focusing on the downtown core (Main Street, First Avenue East/West). The consultants said the concept balances vehicle lane widths, on‑street parking, access to properties, winter maintenance and pedestrian amenities. Proposed treatments include a three‑lane road diet (one travel lane each direction with a center left‑turn lane), widened sidewalks and boulevards, curb extensions (bulb-outs), rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) at several unsignalized crossings, leading pedestrian intervals at signals, high‑visibility crosswalks, a hardened median near the courthouse couplet and two roundabouts at the southern end of the project extents.

Rachel Grosso said technical analysis of 2018–2022 crash data found 258 crashes on Main Street in the analysis period, including eight serious‑injury crashes; Main Street accounted for 21% of crashes in the study area. The analysis identified rear‑end, turning, sideswipe and pedestrian/bicycle crash types as common crash modes. Grosso said the concept’s safety treatments specifically address those crash types.

On traffic operations, consultants reported that the proposed build would increase travel time along the corridor by roughly 30–60 seconds under 2024 conditions and 30–90 seconds under 2045 growth assumptions; the consultants noted these projections do not assume diversion to the bypass and that left‑turn lanes and revised signal phasing would improve local access. The refined construction cost estimate for the full concept was presented at about $26.8 million, up from a previously cited $23.1 million after adding pavement rehabilitation, full‑depth reconstruction adjacent to the courthouse couplet, signal/ADA upgrades and drainage work. Grosso said grant funds would be needed to cover most of the cost; the SS4A implementation grant was described as a potential source (typical maximum awards cited at about $25 million with a 20% local match requirement).

Montana Department of Transportation district administrator Bob Vossen said MDT does not oppose the concept but expressed concern about timing and said the community’s bypass completion is an important factor. MDT staff said they support the project conceptually but stressed the importance of coordinating staging and timing: taking two vehicle lanes out of Main Street prior to bypass completion could concentrate traffic on the downtown corridor. Jared Nygren and Bob Vossen said the city has also applied for a separate grant to complete the south half of the bypass and that, if both grants were awarded, they would need to coordinate overlapping construction seasons and staging.

Councilmembers asked multiple technical and operational questions about winter maintenance and plowing on raised medians, merge and warning signage where the cross section goes from four lanes to three, roundabout geometry and truck turning clearances, likely diversion to other east–west streets, and expected construction impacts on downtown businesses. Consultants said winter maintenance and plow staging informed median design and that lane widths would remain similar to current dimensions. They said the signal timing changes (for example, leading pedestrian intervals) contribute more to the travel‑time increase than the lane reconfiguration.

Public commenters included Keisha Davison, board chair of the Kalispell Business Improvement District, who said the BID supports staff pursuing the SS4A implementation grant and asked that staff maintain robust outreach to downtown businesses during design and construction. Citizens for a Better Flathead asked that stormwater, drainage and potential impacts to Ashley Creek be incorporated and that green infrastructure (permeable pavements, rain gardens) be used where feasible. Other public speakers raised concerns about construction impacts on downtown businesses, the effect on traffic diversion to parallel streets, and whether the benefit in noise reduction and safety would justify the disruption and expense.

Staff outlined the next procedural steps as preparing a resolution of intent to set a public hearing before council, holding the public hearing and — if council directs — submitting an SS4A implementation grant application; the SS4A grant deadline noted by staff falls in June and the city expected grant award notifications in roughly six months. No formal council vote to submit a grant application was taken at the work session; staff were directed to return with required council actions should the city pursue the grant.

If fully funded, the concept would be implemented in construction segments over multiple seasons; consultants described scenarios that could split the work into south and north halves to limit business impacts, and staff and MDT said they would coordinate staging to limit overlap with bypass construction if both grants are awarded.