Kalispell Trail and Complete Street Project -

The City of Kalispell is kicking off the Trail & Complete Street phase of the Core + Rail TIGER project. Earlier phases involved the design and construction of the Glacier Rail Park on the eastern edge of the City. As construction of the Rail Park winds down this fall, the time is right to begin design on the Kalispell Trail, which is expected to spur redevelopment and transform Downtown Kalispell. The City will host a “Deep Dive” design event the week of June 4 - 8, to gather feedback from the community on preferred trail design concepts and complete street alignment options. 

As part of the community outreach limited public railcar corridor tours will take place hourly from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm Thursday, June 7th in NARCOA historic “speeder” railcars departing from behind the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce at Depot Park. If you’d like to join a tour, act quickly as reservations are required and room is very limited. Reserve your spot at https://bigskypr.wufoo.com/forms/june-7-rail-tours/.  Once you are finished with the tour we ask that you provide your feedback on trail features, alignment and overall look and feel. This is a unique opportunity to be one of the last rail passengers in Downtown Kalispell and contribute to the future vision of the trail corridor!

For safety reasons you must be 18 years or older to take the tour. Please plan for a 2-hour time commitment overall. Please let us know if there are any individual accommodations needed with the knowledge that these are 1950's vintage vehicles. Ride times are firm. If you are unable to attend please contact our office so that we can offer your seat to someone on the waiting list. If you are late your seat will be given away.

Other outreach events during this “Deep Dive” event can be found in this news blog.
or at www.facebook.com/CityofKalispell events.

Flathead Beacon | By Justin Franz |May 28, 2018
Roundtables, rail car tours scheduled for June 4 to 8

After years of planning and work, the residents of Kalispell will have a chance to tell local leaders how they would like to see the city’s core area developed once two miles of old railroad is removed next year.
During the first full week of June, from the 4th to the 8th, the City of Kalispell, the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, Alta Planning and Design, and KLJ Engineering are hosting what has been dubbed a “Deep Dive,” a series of events to let the public have their say in how a new rail trail will be designed.

“Our goal is to flesh out some concepts of what the trail will look like and once we get some ideas we’ll flesh them out with a series of community meetings over the rest of the summer,” City Planning Director Tom Jentz said.
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See full article here.

The City of Kalispell is kicking off the Trail & Complete Street phase of the Core + Rail TIGER project. Earlier phases involved the design and construction of the Glacier Rail Park on the eastern edge of the City. As construction of the Rail Park winds down this fall, the time is right to begin design on the Kalispell Trail, which is expected to spur redevelopment and transform Downtown Kalispell. The City will host a “Deep Dive” design event the week of June 4 - 8, to gather feedback from the community on preferred trail design concepts and complete street alignment options. The Deep Dive is designed to be an intensive week-long immersion in the project and will encompass multiple events, stakeholder meetings and consultation with the public. The Deep Dive will be held at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, Conference Room, located at 15 Depot Park.
 
The week-long event will include many opportunities and venues for the community to provide input on the trail project:

• Open Studio drop in 9 am - 4 pm Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday: Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
  
  
• Evening round-table gatherings 5 -7 pm
  • Monday, June 4th: Kalispell Brewing Company
  • Tuesday, June 5th: SunRift Beer Company
  • Wednesday, June 6th: Kalispell ImagineIF Library
  • Thursday, June 7th: Kalispell Center Mall
    
    
• Limited Public Railcar corridor tours 8:30 am-1:30 pm Thursday, June 7th (reservations required and available on Thursday, May 31st at http://www.kalispellcoreandrail.com/trail--complete-street.html): Depot Park
  
  
• Design Alternatives Presentation 3:30 pm -6 pm Friday, June 8th: Kalispell Center Mall in the former Herberger’s Junior Store

 
Following the Deep Dive, the project team composed of Alta Planning + Design and KLJ Engineering will work with the community to create an approved trail concept design that will serve as the basis for continued planning and discussion over the summer. This will result in a preferred design by September 2018, before proceeding into full design. For updates, follow the City’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CityofKalispell) or check the TRAIL & COMPLETE STREET tab on the Core & Rail website: (http://www.kalispellcoreandrail.com/trail--complete-street.html) #KalispellTrail
For further information regarding the Kalispell Trail and Complete Street Project, please contact Tom Jentz, Kalispell Planning Director at tjentz@kalispell.com or 406.758.7940, or Mary Stewart, Alta Planning + Design, Project Manager at marystewart@altaplanning.com or 503.200.3248, or Katharine (Thompson) King, Kalispell Community Development Assistant Director at kking@kalispell.com or 406.758.7713.

Progress continues on the site work that needs completed at the Glacier Rail Park. Drone footage taken April 18, 2018 provides a birds eye view. An interactive 3D map is also available.