Pedestrian & Bicycle Path Advisory Committee

PO Box 158 ∙ Whitefish, MT 59937 ∙ (406) 863-2400 ∙ Fax (406) 863-2419 Pedestrian and Bicycle Path Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, September 11, 2023, 8:30 a.m. Committee Members City Staff Antonia Malchik - Pesent Craig Workman – Present Mary Behrendt – Present Maria Butts - Absent John Repke – Present (by phone) Carla Belski – Present Doug Reed - Absent Karin Hilding - Absent Jim DeHerrera - Present Angie Jacobs - Present Bailey Kallal – Present Giuseppe Caltabiano – Absent Riley Polumbus - Present Public: Doug Peppmeier, Bruce Boody, Bruce Lang, Mike Fitzgerald A. Meeting Called to Order at 8:34 B. Approval of Monday, September 11, 2023, Agenda Motion by Malchik, seconded by DeHerrera. Passed unanimously. C. Approval of July 10, 2023, Minutes Motion by DeHerrera, seconded by Kallal. Passed unanimously. D. New Business - None E. Old Business a. River Bend Condos: Doug Peppmeier from TD&H Engineering presented the survey results. The survey was as expected. He mentioned they could not dig test pits to delineate wetlands. Doug said TD&H is also the engineer for the Malmquist project. Doug suggested presenting this plan to Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP). There was discussion about how to present FWP. It was discussed that although the Riverbend HOA agrees there is an easement, the easement is not on the map. Craig suggested that we establish where the easement exists and add this to the map to present to council for direction. Jim suggested that the next step is to meet with FWP to understand their concerns, the technical issues with the plan. Doug suggested meeting with FWP first then working with the HOA on the plan. There was also discussion that the section of trail was 8 feet and Bruce said that with a railing will not be wide enough and we should change the plan to 10-feet. John suggested we go to council sooner to be sure they approve this project. Nia and Jim said they would also attend a meeting with TD&H and FWP along with City staff members. b. Malmquist Easement: Casey spoke during the Riverbend segment. The project is near completion. c. Viaduct improvements: MDT suggested moving the present barriers. Craig went to council for permission. They advised not doing anything that would interfere with  other items in the Downtown Master Plan. The goal is to move forward next summer. d. Safe routes to school: Craig said the biggest issue is east 6th and Pine has become a popular intersection for kids crossing. They are proposing turning the street into a one-way street to provide more room for pedestrian/bike traffic. Nia also suggested making the intersection right turn only during school hours. Mia also asked if the committee would write a letter of support. Craig suggested we add that as new business to the October 2 meeting. Nia also asked if we could work with the Police Department on a driver awareness campaign. Bailey suggested that the campaign be directed towards the high school drivers. Bailey said she would bring it up with the Leo Club. e. Paths needing FWP approval: Craig said the last meeting brought lots of good comments before it is finalized, Craig suggested bringing it to council. The biggest issue was the wording with 8-foot vs 10-foot paths and making it consistent among all documents. f. Ongoing project list: No update. g. Whitefish Yards (95 Karrow): The City has an easement with BNSF for 20 years. DNRC said it will only grant an easement for the bridge if there is an easement in perpetuity. The City needs to go back to BNSF to change the easement. F. Parks and Recreation Comments: Carla mentioned that it had been mentioned to meet again to look at the school traffic during school hours. She also mentioned looking at wayfinding signs along paths and what needed to be updated/cleaned from graffiti and also look at where we might put signs about e-bikes. G. Public Works Comments a. Craig said they met with Jason from Two Bear about the old hospital property. There is an easement on the property and they will be adding signs. H. Committee Comments a. None. I. Public Comments: a. Casey Malmquist asked the committee to appoint someone, create a position to be a bike/pedestrian committee “Czar” as a paid position. J. Next Regular Meeting – Monday, October 2, 2023 at 8:45 a.m. OPTIONAL meeting prior to the meeting to observe school traffic - meet at Riverside Park at 7:45 a.m. K. The meeting was adjourned at 9:46 a.m.