


Kalispell Main Street Safety Action Plan
Project Overview
The City of Kalispell, through a US Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All Planning Grant, has launched the Kalispell Main Street Safety Action Plan to create a framework for eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes on Main Street (US 93) and nearby roads in downtown Kalispell.
Phase 1 of this project created the Safety Action Plan, which is available HERE. The Plan was drafted between January – July 2024, and adopted by City Council in August 2024. Also in August, the City of Kalispell submitted a grant application for additional funds to pilot safety treatments. This grant was awarded in November 2024, and will use the $2.4 M to test safety treatments on Oregon Street, one of the Priority Locations identified in the Safety Action Plan.
Phase 2 of this project is currently on-going, and is intended to create pre-engineering drawings of conceptual designs for three of the Priority Locations outlined in the Safety Action Plan: Main Street, 1st Avenue E, and 1st Avenue W. In addition to these drawings, pre-engineering activities such as cost estimates and environmental planning are also happening now, to best understand the considerations for each concept design. These pre-engineering products will be utilized to help the City of Kalispell apply for additional grant funding in 2025. Phase 2 began in October 2024 and is anticipated to be complete by April 2025.
Community engagement is an important part of this project process. Throughout the project, the City and Safety Action Plan team will engage with residents, businesses, and community partners to understand concerns and priorities for these corridors.

Phase 1 Planning and Process
Phase 1 Planning Area

Phase 1 Planning Process

Phase 2 Planning and Process
Phase 2 Planning Area

Phase 2 Concept Design Process

Priority Locations
The Safety Action Plan identified 10 Priority Locations for safety and mobility treatments throughout the planning area. These corridors are shown on the right.
One corridor of the East / West Streets Priority Location, Oregon Street, was awarded funding to pilot safety and mobility treatments. More information on this project will be available in 2025.
As part of Phase 2, three corridors – Main Street, 1st Avenue East, and 1st Avenue West – were selected by City Council to progress into concept designs. The concept designs will support a grant application for additional final design and construction funding in 2025.




Frequently Asked Questions
What is Phase 2 of the Main Street Safety Action Plan?
How can I get involved with the Main Street Safety Action Plan Concept Designs (Phase 2)?
What is a Safety Action Plan?
Phase 2 of the Main Street Safety Action Plan is for developing concept designs for the projects recommended in Phase 1 for Main Street, 1st Avenue East, and 1st Avenue West. A concept design is an intermediate step between transportation planning and final roadway design, with the intention to further analyze and collaborate on particular layout ideas for a corridor. For the Kalispell Main Street Safety Action Plan project, these concept designs serve as an important link between the Safety Action Plan that was adopted in July 2024 (Phase 1) and the next grant opportunity that the City of Kalispell will pursue in March 2025 to fund the design and construction of the Main Street, 1st Avenue East, and 1st Avenue West corridors. Phase 2 will also include community engagement in January 2025.
Phase 2 will include a series of in-person events in January, as well as opportunities to engage with the concept designs virtually. Comments can also be submitted through the portal on this website. Please join us at any of the following events: Community Pop Ups on Tuesday 1/28: - 9 – 10am at Montana Coffee Traders - 11am – 12pm at ImagineIF Library - 6 – 7pm at Bias Brewing Resident and Business Owner Corridor Meetings on Wednesday 1/29 at Kalispell City Hall: - 9 – 10:30am for 1st Avenue East - 11:30am – 1pm for Main Street - 3:30 – 5pm for 1st Avenue West Open House on Thursday 1/30 from 5 – 7pm at Kalispell City Hall
A Safety Action Plan is a community-specific plan for applying the Safe System Approach to eliminate fatal and serious traffic injuries. Safety Action Plans are grounded in agency and community input, and include the following key elements: - A Vision and Goals to reduce or eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes for all road users, - Data-driven analysis to identify intersections and streets with a high number of crashes and/or a higher risk of crashes, - A menu of recommended projects and strategies to address community-specific crash types and crash risks, - An equity-centered process for prioritizing, implementing, and evaluating projects and strategies.
How are Phases 1 and 2 of the Main Street Safety Action Plan funded?
What was the Safety Action Plan (Phase 1) planning process?
What is the Safe System Approach?
The Safe System Approach is a method for ensuring that everyone can travel on Kalispell’s streets, especially Main Street, without fear of death or serious injury from a crash. The Safe System Approach strengthens the five elements of a safe transportation system to reduce the potential harm of crashes: - Safe road users - Safe vehicles - Safe speeds - Safe roads - Post-crash care These components work together to create a transportation system with many layers of safety embedded.
The City of Kalispell was awarded $550,000 from the US Department of Transportation through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Program, to develop a Safety Action Plan and concept designs for priority locations. Through a competitive bidding process in December 2023, the City of Kalispell retained the services of Kittelson & Associates, Inc., DOWL, and Big Sky Public Relations to help develop the Safety Action Plan, as well as conceptual designs of Main Street, 1st Avenue East, and 1st Avenue West. This consultant team will also assist with grant writing for additional funds.
Why did Kalispell develop the Safety Action Plan (Phase 1)?
Who was a part of the Kalispell Main Street Safety Action Plan (Phase 1)?
How was community input incorporated into the Safety Action Plan (Phase 1)?
In recent years, the amount of fatal and severe injury crashes has attracted attention to the transportation safety conditions in Kalispell along Main Street and the surrounding area. Between 2018 – 2022, within the Main Street Safety Action Plan planning area, there were 2,234 crashes, of which 258 (11.5%) occurred along the Main Street corridor. During this time, Kalispell experienced 7 fatal crashes and 38 serious injury crashes. Kalispell’s Main Street Safety Action Plan will assist the City in applying for additional funding to implement safety and mobility treatments to improve the transportation system in and around downtown for all community members.
The Main Street Safety Action Plan was developed by a strong partnership of public agencies, including the City of Kalispell, Flathead County, and the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), and community partners including the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, the Kalispell Downtown Association, and other organizations that represent residents and businesses.
Through conversations, community events, and the Story Map, location-specific input from Kalispell community members was used to identify key areas of concern along the Main Street corridor and in the surrounding area. These areas of community concern were factored into the priority location analysis, which determined the Plan’s recommend projects.
How does the Main Street Safety Action Plan (Phase 1) address the needs of all roadway users?
How does the Main Street Safety Action Plan (Phase 1) incorporate equity?
What types of safety and mobility treatments does the Main Street Safety Action Plan (Phase 1) recommend?
The Main Street Safety Action Plan is a multimodal effort focused on creating a safe transportation system for all road users of all ages and abilities. The Main Street Safety Action Plan combines quantitative data analysis and qualitative community input to determine where the top priority locations are and what type of treatments to implement.
The Main Street Safety Action Plan seeks to advance equity-centered solutions to address the disproportionate impact of roadway fatalities and serious injuries on disadvantaged communities, including children. The Plan incorporates equity metrics into the project identification, prioritization, and funding processes. In addition, the Plan collaborated with community partners to identify and implement community-supported education and enforcement strategies.
The Main Street Safety Action Plan includes treatments (also known as Proven Safety Countermeasures) that address a wide variety of transportation safety issues at the intersection and street level. Generally, these countermeasures are categorized as: - Speed Management - Pedestrian and Bicyclist - Roadway Departure - Intersections - Cross-Cutting.
What types of data are included in the Main Street Safety Action Plan (Phase 1)?
Quantitative data sources for items like crashes, risk factors, and mapping, are sourced from MDT, Flathead County, and the City of Kalispell, in addition to federal sources such as the US Census Bureau and the USDOT. Qualitative data such as community input was collected throughout the planning process and incorporated in the Plan. This includes interactive online maps and surveys, paper surveys, written comments, and listening sessions.




In-Person Community Engagement Events
We would like to thank the business owners and community members who participated in our in-person engagement events. Your interest in this planning process and feedback are appreciated.
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Community Pop Ups on Tuesday 1/28:
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9 – 10am at Montana Coffee Traders
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11am – 12pm at ImagineIF Library
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6 – 7pm at Bias Brewing
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Resident and Business Owner Corridor Meetings on Wednesday 1/29 at Kalispell City Hall:
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9 – 10:30am for 1st Avenue East
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11:30am – 1pm for Main Street
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3:30 – 5pm for 1st Avenue West
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Open House on Thursday 1/30 from 5 – 7pm at Kalispell City Hall
Engagement Events
Get Involved
Public Comments Portal
Please share your comments and suggestions for the future of Main Street in downtown Kalispell.
Or email Kristine at