Streetscape project will change face of downtown Polson

By Jennifer McBride

Leader Staff

It was standing room only at the Polson Streetscape Task Force meeting last Thursday as officials revealed preliminary plans for Main Street's million-dollar renovation, which city officials and business owners hope will create a more inviting appearance to the primary business district.

The plans cover a five-block area of Main Street stretching from Highway 93 to 7th Avenue. Proposed changes include new sidewalks, new trees, new street furnishings (like park benches and garbage cans), new pavement, new storm drains and new street lights, which direct light down instead of out to reduce light pollution. The current streetlights fail to meet current "dark sky" provisions.

"They used to think you could put a lot of street lights in and then cars wouldn't need headlights," said Nathan Pierce, President of the Polson Community Development Agency and co-chair of the Streetscape Task Force. "Cars have headlights. Street lights are for pedestrians."

According to Pierce, the plans include several "bump outs" and a new four-way stop. Bump outs are rounded curbs which protrude into the street. Pierce hopes they will encourage people to drive slower. According to him, people drive faster on wide roads, so if the roads become narrow, people will slow down. Slower traffic makes for a more pedestrian-friendly environment. If streets look nice and comfortable for pedestrians, cars will be more likely to pull off Highway 93 into downtown Polson.

"If streets are visibly appealing, it's been shown people will stop. People will come and leave their money in the place," Pierce said.

The proposal also increases the number of trees lining the street to four per block, with two more trees around each of the bump outs. The trees on the street will be honey locusts, which grow along the sidewalks on Higgins Avenue in Missoula. Honey locusts are prized in cities because they are low maintenance and grow tall without spreading out a large canopy that would interfere with pedestrians or awnings. The trees along the bump outs will be mock cherry trees, which Pierce said will tie Main Street to the area's cherry-growing heritage.

Renovation will cost $325,000 per block, for a total of around $1.6 million. These totals don't include the price of the new water main, which Pierce said the city will pay for. Construction will start in the fall of next year and continue until spring, 2009, and should be completed before Memorial Day. These estimates were based on a similar project in downtime of Hamilton, which renovated a larger area but still only took four and a half months to complete. During the construction, Main Street's road will be reduced to gravel. According to Pierce, each block will be torn up one at a time, to minimize disruption.

"We don't want the business owners to be hindered by this project," Pierce said.

The renovation will be funded in part by private donations, in part by the city and in part by a self-imposed tax on local businesses. The Task Force also has been contacting grant writers, but most of them require matching funds or have other requirements that make the renovation ineligible.

Though the precise breakdown of who will pay for what has not yet been determined, Pierce said they should know how much the city will pay for in the next 30 to 45 days. After that, the Task Force will develop a budget and draft a SID, or special improvement district proposal. A majority of Main Street property owners need to approve the SID before any tax will be levied.

The Task Force started looking at plans to revitalize Main Street after they realized a water main had to be replaced. If the sidewalk was going to be torn up anyway, why not reconstruct the entire area? Pierce said the idea has been floating around for nearly 25 years, but it was only a year and a half ago that the Task Force started making plans.

Their goals are fivefold: to revitalize the downtown district, to create a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere, to reinforce downtown Polson's role as the heart of the community, to increase the prosperity of local businesses and to preserve and enhance the city's cultural heritage.

Though the Task Force concentrated on Main Street, Pierce said they have considered including side streets in the renovation. One attendee at last week's presentation pointed out that only redoing Main Street was like "only painting the front side of your house."

Pierce said the committee would take that into consideration, but if costs got too prohibitive, most businesses wouldn't sign onto it. Renovating Main Street wouldn't preclude future projects, however.

"Our focus is Main Street," Pierce said. "We wouldn't rule out incorporating side streets, if businesses want us to."

Pierce also said the Polson Community Development Agency may offer low interest loans to people who want to take the opportunity to revitalize their storefronts.

Several people at the meeting raised concerns about the maintenance costs, time the renovations would take, the number of parking spaces present after construction, signage and whether the bump-outs would hinder visibility. Pierce stressed the low-maintenance nature of both the foliage and the proposed bench designs and said there should be penalties for not meeting deadlines in the contract with construction companies.

After renovation is completed, Pierce said Main Street would contain the same number of parking spaces. He also promised they would take visibility include account.

Pierce also revealed three visual aids at the meeting which showed what the new streets would look like after the proposed renovation. Another poster showed three different options for the design of garbage cans and park benches. Pierce said they plan to offer people the opportunity to get benches or garbage cans, the cost of which could be offset by donations.

Overall, Pierce thought the presentation went well.

"I think we've got a very comprehensive plan," he said. "You didn't hear a lot of dissent at the meeting, only questions about the logistics."