Main Street Kalispell Safety Plan
Project Overview
The City of Kalispell, through a US Department of Transportation Safe Streets and Roads for All Planning Grant, has launched the Main Street Kalispell Safety Action Plan to develop comprehensive improvement plans to prevent fatalities and serious injuries on the US 93/Main Street (referred to as Main Street, herein) corridor in downtown Kalispell.
Outcomes of the Safety Action Plan will inform future design concepts to be used by the City of Kalispell to pursue funding opportunities to implement the recommended projects.
Community engagement is an important part of the planning 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 downtown Kalispell.
The planning process began in early 2024 and is anticipated to be completed by summer 2024.
Planning Area Map
Planning Process
Upcoming Events
Share Your Thoughts
Planning Partners
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Safety Action Plan?
Who is developing the Main Street Safety Action Plan in Kalispell?
What is the Safe System Approach?
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.
The Main Street Safety Action Plan is being 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.
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.
Why is Kalispell developing this Plan?
How is the Main Street Safety Action Plan funded?
What is the Safety Action Plan planning process?
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. Analyzing Kalispell’s transportation safety issues within the planning area and along the Main Street corridor will be a transformative step for the city and its nearly 24,558 residents.
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. Through a competitive bidding process in December 2023, the City of Kalispell retained the services of Kittelson & Associates, Inc., and Big Sky Public Relations to help develop the Safety Action Plan, as well as conceptual designs of potential projects.
How can I get involved with the Safety Action Plan?
How will my feedback be included in the Main Street Safety Action Plan?
Will the Main Street SAP address the needs of people walking, using mobility devices, biking, riding transit, and driving?
There are a few different ways to get involved. - Visit Our Website: If you would like to learn more about the Safety Action Plan and provide direct input on areas of concern and potential solutions, visit our website at www.MainStreetKalispellSafetyPlan.com - Speak With Our Team: If you’d like to speak with a member of the project team, please reach out to Katharine King (City of Kalispell) at kking@kalispell.com or 406.758.7713. - Attend a Meeting: Our team will host two public open houses during the planning process in March and April. Check our website for more information about the meetings.
Through conversations and the Story Map, location-specific input from Kalispell community members will be used to identify key areas of concern along the Main Street corridor and in the surrounding area. These areas of community concern will be factored into the priority location analysis, which will determine what types of projects are implemented and where.
Yes, 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. Ultimately, the Main Street Safety Action Plan will combine quantitative data analysis and qualitative community input to determine where the top priority locations are and what type of treatments to implement.
How will the Safety Action Plan incorporate equity?
What types of treatments could the Main Street Safety Action Plan recommend?
What types of data will be included in the Main Street Safety Action Plan?
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 will incorporate equity metrics into the project identification, prioritization, and funding processes. In addition, the Plan will collaborate with community partners to identify and implement community-supported education and enforcement strategies.
The Main Street Safety Action Plan will include 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
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 will be collected throughout the planning process and incorporated in the Plan. This includes interactive online maps and surveys, paper surveys, written comments, and listening sessions.
Get Involved
Public Comments Portal
Please share your comments and suggestions for the future of Main Street in downtown Kalispell.
Or email Kristine at