Mountain Climber Service/Funding Expansion Public Comment from Brayden RemingtonAimee Brunckhorst
From: Brayden Remington <brayden.remington08@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2025 10:52 PM
To: Kalispell Meetings Public Comment
Subject: EXTERNAL Mountain Climber Service/Funding Expansion
Dear Kalispell City Council,
As a resident of Flathead County, I have recently been investigating the public transit networks and
services are available in Flathead County and the wider Flathead Valley, and I came across the
plans for expanding mountain climber service as a regular service between Kalispell, Whitefish,
and Columbia Falls. As far as I can tell, the necessary funding increase from $9,000-$60,000 is still
being discussed among this city council, and I would strongly encourage you to push this ahead.
I'm sure you all have heard many of the facts and arguments already, but there are a few that I
would like to highlight.
Although flathead County is fairly rural, it is rapidly expanding, and the interconnectivity between
these three major cities is becoming increasingly important, and rapid public transit is an excellent
way to accommodate this increasing economic activity all around the valley (Measuring the
Economic Benefits of Rural and Small Urban Transit Services in Greater Minnesota, Mattson, p.
141-142).
It's a problem all around the US where the only reasonable way to get from point A to point B is
driving, and this becomes a problem for those unable to drive or unable to afford a car and the
necessary expenses that go along with it. Additionally, driving in individual vehicles is not only a
detriment to the environment, it's also a waste of productivity, where people spend hours a day
doing nothing but staring at a road. I'm aware that addressing these concerns of accessibility is
already a primary focus for Mountain Climber, but currently, its services are too infrequent and
constrained in destinations to be effective - especially if it wants to be a halfway decent alternative
to driving.
Additionally, increased public transit in, around, and out of Kalispell would decrease traffic in the
city; less people would be on the road as a result of better access into the city from surrounding
communities, and in taking the Mountain Climber, you yourself wouldn't need to deal with the
traffic. You could maintain productivity, or even catch up on lost rest in the usually (apologies)
eternally painful maze of roads and traffic is much of Kalispell. A personal aside, I know I would be
much more willing to travel to and from Kalispell, to shop downtown and even to look for jobs in the
city in the future if I did not have to deal with the often painful traffic and stressful highway
management. If it were easier to access the city without needing to manage the roads and driving
myself, Kalispell (especially the downtown and shopping center areas) would be a much better
experience.
Finally, an incredibly salient issue, If not the main issue for many places around the state, has been
dramatic rises in population leading to housing shortages. Although constructing housing, of
course, is the main method to deal with these problems, another effective method to deal with this
is increasing public transit to less connected areas, which can lessen demand on housing closer to
economic activity. Due to these reasons, if the Flathead Valley, its three major cities, and
especially Kalispell want to handle this growth in population and economic activity effectively,
improving the quality, quantity, and availability of their shared public transit network is imperative.
I implore this council to consider and accept this funding increase for Mountain Climber. Public
transit, even and especially in rural and semi rural communities like the flathead valley, has been
shown to stimulate economic activity, improve the mobility and economic activity of Low income
individuals, and assist in dealing with increasing populations. Although I realize that the city is
somewhat constrained in what funding can dedicate towards these types of programs, especially
with much more important programs like education, sewer, or fire departments, I hope I've shown
that public transit can have a great return on investment - especially as 60,000 is still a very small
percentage of the overall city budget (an increase from—0.005% to—0.03%).
I thankyou all very much foryour time and consideration,
Brayden Remington.