KALISPELL — The city of Kalispell is moving forward with a new transportation plan and the city is calling it Move 2040.
Kalispell city manager Doug Russell told MTN that the last time the city adopted a transportation plan was in 2005, which was before any major population growth.
According to the U.S. Census, Flathead County has grown by 11,000 people in the past decade.
Several public meetings have been held for people to share where they think the city can improve.
Congestion, infrastructure, and safety were all top concerns for the public.
The largest areas of concern centered around traffic on Reserve Drive and making downtown Kalispell more walkable.
Another important topic was the lack of public transit.
"Reserve Street was identified as an issue location in terms of that congestion," said Russel. "But in terms of the big ideas moving forward, it was a lot to expand different pedestrian hiking trails, to expand public transit. Some engineers are looking at different traffic patterns."
Russell explained to MTN that engineers are looking possibly at an east-side bypass to alleviate congestion on reserve street.
There will be another chance for public comment in the fall. Those dates have not been confirmed yet.
