The City of Kalispell and consultant Alta Planning + Design are seeking community and stakeholder input through a survey on three potential trail names each with three logo designs for the proposed Kalispell Trail. The trail names and logo concepts were part of a larger group developed from feedback received from a Trail Naming and Visual Identity Questionnaire shared with stakeholders in May. The trail names and logos within the survey were refined based on preferences and feedback received from the community during the Deep Dive week in Kalispell June 4th – June 8th. Your feedback on elements like trail name, and logo shape, color, and style will help us determine the preferred name and logo for the Kalispell Trail. The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. Please submit responses by July 31st at midnight.

The proposed Kalispell Trail will offer a pedestrian and bicycle connection through the heart of downtown Kalispell and to the existing trail networks within the Flathead Valley. The trail will be located within the existing railroad right-of-way, providing a unique experience for all users. The preferred trail logo could be incorporated into trail wayfinding and signage, embedded in trail pavement, and added to trail amenities such as light posts, banners, and gateways. The logo will be the local and regional identity for the new Kalispell trail.

The Rail Park is really starting to look like a rail park! Here's the latest video to give you an idea of how infrastructure construction is coming along.

Daily Interlake | Peregrine Frissell | June 22, 2018

Soil softened from recent rain made the digging a little easier as officials used golden shovels on Thursday to officially break ground at the site where CHS Mountain West Co-op facilities will be built in Kalispell’s new Glacier Rail Park.

Several dozen people gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony at the 40-acre rail park. The presentation was given on ground that will hold a 486,000-bushel grain storage facility.

In a speech before the groundbreaking, CHS Mountain West Co-op General Manager Mark Lalum said they are excited to be moving into the new rail park. The project is the culmination of a lot of effort and cooperation from a lot of different people, including farmers, he noted.

“You [farmers] were the real builders and creators of the city of Kalispell,” Lalum said. “You were the main cog in the creation of Kalispell and now you are the cog that will allow us to go onto the next step.”
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Read the full article here.

​By Peregrine Frissell | Daily Inter Lake

Plans to rip up the railroad tracks that bifurcate downtown Kalispell and construct a pedestrian corridor in their place have been inching forward for months.

On Thursday, those plans got a lift on a pack of old railcars the city recruited to show interested residents what the path would look like from the ground.

Representatives from Alta Planning, KLJ Engineers and the Pacific Railcar Operators led tours using old railcars to give area residents a chance to visualize the route they will soon be opening up to pedestrians.

​See the full article at the Daily Inter Lake here.

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Designers, city officials, public are riding the rails this week to plan future trail
By Justin Franz // June 5, 2018 // Flathead Beacon

Trail designers, city officials and the public are getting a look at Kalispell from a vantage point they rarely get to: from the railroad tracks that cross downtown and will soon become a new walking trail.

This week, the City of Kalispell is kicking off a “deep dive,” a series of events to let the public have their say in how the rail trail from Woodland Park to Meridian Road will be designed. On Monday, local leaders, trail designers and the media rode a “hi-rail truck” – a pickup truck that can drive on rails – from downtown Kalispell to Evergreen.
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“This was a really unique opportunity to see the city from the rail,” said Pam Carbonari, former mayor of Kalispell and Kalispell Downtown Association coordinator. “There’s so much potential.”

Read the full article at the Flathead Beacon.

 
"Deep Dive" community participation events happening all this week are driving how the Kalispell Trail and Complete Street Project design is progressing through the first phases of the design process. A variety of opportunities for community members to meet with the design team, city staff, and stakeholders are happening all this week. So far, these interactive, immersive meetings have been well-attended and the flow of ideas and excitement does not seem to be slowing down. 

If you have not yet participated in this "Deep Dive" event to weigh-in with your ideas, visions and concerns for this project, please do not hesitate! Tuesday night the team will be interacting with the public at Sunrift Brewery, 5 to 7 p.m., located next to the future trail at 55 1st Ave W N. If Wednesday evening works better for you, the evening round-table from 5 to 7 p.m. will take place at ImagineIF Library of Kalispell. The Kalispell Center Mall will host the Thursday evening round-table from 5 to 7 p.m. Daytime hours work better for your schedule? The team will be available 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce located at Depot Park, Wednesday and Thursday.

Alta Planning and Design and KLJ Engineering have been working on sketches and design alternatives from the input they have been receiving. On Friday, everyone is invited to a Design Alternatives Presentation to see and hear some vision alternatives that have flowed from the Deep Dive feedback. This will take place Friday, June 8, 2018, from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at the Kalispell Center Mall in the former Herberger's Junior Store. Hope to see you there!

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.