Planning consultants said so Wednesday at an afternoon meeting about the Greater Downtown Master Plan. The plan sets out the development of Missoula's downtown and some neighboring districts.
As the main department store in the heart of the Garden City, Macy's needs help with parking, said George Crandall, a partner with Crandall Arambula. Hired in January to create this master plan, Crandall Arambula is an urban design and planning firm based in Portland, Ore.
Other cities get as many as
30 percent to 40 percent of their populations on bikes with such bikeways, and Crandall said Missoula could do the same.
“You have the opportunity really to set a standard for the rest of the country,” he urged.
The afternoon meeting drew roughly 20 people to a Holiday Inn conference room, and Missoula Downtown Association executive director Linda McCarthy described participants as the people who eventually will lead the plan's implementation. Among the organizations they represented were the Missoula Parking Commission, Missoula Redevelopment Agency and Business Improvement District.
Consultants planned to roll out the full presentation later Wednesday evening to a larger audience. McCarthy said materials would be available online early next week at www.missouladowntownbid.org. Consultants held workshops in Missoula in May and March, and summaries of those meetings already are available online.
The workshops have been some of the best-attended public meetings in Missoula recently, with one session drawing nearly 300 people. The work has drawn both praise and criticism, though.
Some local retailers see it as critical to the financial and social vitality of Missoula. Kim Johns, owner of J. Elaine's Boutique and a member of the master plan steering committee, offered unequivocal support.
“This planning process is one of the most important things we can do to ensure the long-term success of our downtown,” Johns said in a BID news release. “We truly need to know how to develop our downtown in the areas of retail, parking, employment, housing and transportation so that all Missoulians take ownership of their downtown and commit to its success.”
Some, though, question why public money is funding a plan they view as largely in the interest of private development. And they fear that new ideas won't honor Missoula's historic neighborhoods.
A contract puts payments to consultants at $412,000 and travel expenses at $38,000. Public money is bankrolling some $350,000. The Business Improvement District and Missoula Parking Commission each put $125,000 toward the plan, and the Missoula Redevelopment Agency contributed $100,000.
Jim Meagher, a Southside neighborhood resident, said he doesn't think those public pots of money should have been tapped for a plan that's designed to benefit private interests and merchants.
Meagher had criticized the plan last week to the Missoula City Council and spoke about it Wednesday over the phone. He said he wants any new plan to respect the adopted Historic Southside Neighborhood Plan. He fears it won't, especially when it comes to building height.
At Wednesday's meeting, however, Crandall said Missoula does need to protect its historic buildings and needs a solution to do so. The bulk of the meeting focused on the controversial bikeways, though.
Crandall said he knew bicycling advocates wouldn't like the idea because they are confident riders who favor commuting alongside traffic. But he also said communities can get more people on bikes if they don't have to ride close to cars and trucks.
Mountain Line General Manager Steve Earle said he didn't want transit to be forgotten. Crandall agreed and said it's part of the plan. This year, Mountain Line is breaking ridership records but federal funding for such transportation is drying up.
At the meeting, consultants also stressed that Missoula needs to move quickly to protect Macy's. That department store is anchoring other shops downtown, and if Missoula lets Macy's disappear - as it has in other communities - smaller retail shops will suffer, consultants said.
Plan specifics will be available online. Details include building out Missoula's waterfront, putting homes near the railroad tracks, and creating a cultural center near the existing Missoula Children's Theater.
At least one other plan is on hold as this one wends its way through workshops and eventually makes its way before the Missoula City Council for possible adoption. The council recently put an update to the Northside/Westside Neighborhood Plan on the backburner until the downtown master plan is complete.
But skeptics point out that there are no guarantees the spendy plans won't just sit on a shelf and collect dust. In a recent conversation, Council President Ed Childers said other plans - in particular zoning rewrites - have been shelved.
“There's no way to assure people that any plan will be adopted. ... There's no way to guarantee that any of this stuff will come to fruition,” Childers said.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.
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