Public Safety Issue Public Comment from Will and Lori WarbergAimee Brunckhorst
From: Will Warberg <will.warberg@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 9:19 AM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Cc: Heather McDonald
Subject: EXTERNAL Public Safety Issue
Dear Mayor Johnson and City Council Members:
We reside in the Northern Pines neighborhood along US 93 to the north of its intersection with West Reserve Drive. We
and our neighbors are very concerned about the public safety issue that currently exists with the heavy high-speed
traffic along US 93 north, and how this will be exacerbated as development along this segment of the highway continues
without mitigation measures for traffic flow.
Traffic moves past our neighborhood in both directions at speeds between 65 and 75 miles per hour - and occasionally
faster. It is not uncommon to see vehicles traveling at the speed limit in the left lane being tailgated by drivers pushing
to get past them. Turning south onto the highway from Wild Pine Drive requires waiting for a gap in the traffic to open,
and then accelerating to freeway speeds from a standstill. This gap is often no more than two or three hundred yards
long during busier times of the day. Turning north is particularly hazardous and usually requires stopping in the narrow
median separating traffic before attempting to enter the left high-speed lane from a stand -still. This is most dangerous
during commuting hours, at night when oncoming traffic speeds are more difficult to judge, when weather conditions
are unfavorable, and when northbound traffic rapidly decelerates to use the private entrance to Wild Pine Drive to make
a U-turn - as happens frequently. The situation as it stands is already an accident waiting to happen and will only get
worse as more traffic is added to the highway from the development underway around Church drive and the high -
density housing being proposed for Stillwater Village. Our neighbors in the Ponderosa neighborhood, those accessing
the highway from Tronstad Road, and those accessing it from other points are at a similar risk.
We presented these concerns during the Kalispell City Planning Board meeting of March 14th and asked if there were
recommendations the Board would make to address what is clearly a safety issue for all who reside along this segment
of the highway. There were no such recommendations from the Board that appeared to be focused on how traffic from
Stillwater Village would enter and exit the highway.
We respectfully request that rezoning and plat approval for Stillwater Village and other proposed developments
compounding this problem be postponed until a traffic mitigation/safety plan is developed and in place. This may
require a lower speed limit, increased speed limit enforcement, controlled intersections with traffic lights, service roads
to controlled intersections, lower housing density for Stillwater Village and other developments, or a combination of
these.
Thank you for your consideration.
Will and Lori Warberg
102 Quail Ct.
Kalispell, Mt 59901