The Whitefish City Council voted unanimously to authorize staff to apply for a grant to complete the missing link section of the Whitefish Promenade.

The U.S. Department of Transportation offers funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program to help communities carry out transportation projects with significant local or regional impact.

A RAISE grant has been identified as a possible source of funding for the much desired street enhancement. The criteria used to evaluate RAISE projects are safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, mobility, and community connectivity.

The project involves improvements along Spokane Avenue between East Second Street and Railway Street. It will include a bidirectional protected bikeway and maintain all lanes of existing traffic.

“This project will provide a seamless connection to Depot Park facilities and events, the downtown, the transit center, the library, the Amtrak train station as well as connecting neighborhoods to the north to the schools,” Whitefish Public Works Director Craig Workman said.

“The project will also improve crosswalk and safety for students at the congested intersection of Spokane Avenue and East Second Street where the middle school entrance exists,” he added.

The Downtown Business District Master Plan, Connect Whitefish Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan and the 2022 Whitefish Transportation Plan identify improvements in this area as a critical bicycle and pedestrian link.

The Whitefish Promenade is a 1.6-mile loop following Railway Street, Spokane Avenue and the Whitefish River Trail. It comprises pedestrian and bicycle facilities including sidewalks, multi-use trails and protected bikeways that serve to connect downtown commercial areas to the river, parks and nearby residential neighborhoods.

According to the staff report, the Whitefish Promenade was the number one ranked bikeway identified in the Transportation Plan.

The RAISE grant program helps communities build transportation projects that have significant local or regional impacts and improve safety and equity. The preliminary cost estimate for the project is $1.35 million. Staff recommends a split of 80% RAISE funds and 20% city funds.

“Based on that preliminary, and very preliminary estimate, it would work out to about $1,080,000 in grant funds and $270,000 in city funds,” said Workman.

Mayor John Muhlfeld said he appreciated the way Workman’s report illustrated the way different pieces of the promenade project have combined to make the envisioned connection a reality.

“I think it’s a good example of both public and private partnerships doing their job to implement our Downtown Master Plan,” said Muhlfeld. “Pretty neat to see.”

The council voted unanimously to authorize staff to proceed with the RAISE grant application, thereby committing to a local match of approximately 20% of the total project funds.