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Whitefish planners amend transportation goal language, debate e‑bikes and remove Columbia Avenue collector label
Summary
The Planning Commission revised language in the transportation goals—adding 'for all ages and abilities' and replacing 'nonmotorized' with 'active transportation'—debated whether electric-assisted vehicles should be allowed on trails, and directed staff to change the map to remove Columbia Avenue's collector designation north of 7th Street.
The Whitefish Planning Commission spent the bulk of its Nov. 19 meeting reviewing the draft transportation element, agreeing to several wording changes and asking staff to adjust the draft map to reduce concerns about through-traffic in residential neighborhoods.
The commission agreed to add “for all ages and abilities” to Goal 1 (multimodal transportation), and to replace the term “nonmotorized” with “active transportation” in objectives to be more inclusive of a range of personal mobility devices and to avoid unintentionally excluding people who rely on electric-assist devices. Unidentified Chair (S1) summarized the change as an attempt to make the goal apply to “all ages and abilities.”
Electric modes and pedestrian safety: Commissioners debated how to treat electric bicycles and scooters. The chair proposed placeholder wording, and staff and the commission refined it to focus on pedestrian safety: "promote safety for pedestrians where electric transportation is allowed," while leaving detailed device classification and enforcement to an upcoming ordinance that would define personal-mobility devices. Commissioners emphasized keeping the definition flexible to align with evolving state and federal guidance.
Map change for Columbia Avenue: Several residents and commissioners objected to labeling Columbia Avenue as a collector on the planning map, saying that the designation alarmed neighbors who fear the city intends to prioritize through traffic on that street. The commission directed staff to change Columbia north of 7th Street from a collector to a local/residential designation on the map and said a redline with a revised map will be posted.
Big Mountain and emergency access: Related transportation objectives included a separate, substantive discussion about Big Mountain’s infrastructure and safety: commissioners asked staff to remove a named-road reference (Haskell Basin Road) and instead insert background language stating there is no viable secondary emergency egress for the Big Mountain area. Staff noted an existing sewer agreement that limits the area roughly to 2,000 equivalent residential units unless the council approves more capacity, and commissioners discussed how that constraint informs discouraging new subdivisions that would rely on unimproved secondary access.
Next steps: Staff will post a redlined draft showing tonight’s edits and a map update; the commission polled members about a Dec. 3 follow-up meeting and intends to continue refining definitions and the narrative before the February public hearing. No formal policy adoption occurred at this meeting.
