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KALISPELL 57°F 13°C BROKEN CLOUDS News & Features Public Gets First Look at Potential Rail Trail Designs After a week of meetings and tours, designers give first hints of what they’re planning for the core area BY JUSTIN FRANZ JUN 11, 2018 After a week of community meetings, open houses and historic rail motorcar tours, Kalispell residents got their first look at what a new trail through downtown could look like. On June 8, designers from Alta Planning and Design shared three potential trail concepts at an open house at the Kalispell Center Mall. The designs were based on feedback designers received from the public during the weeklong “deep dive.” Joe Gilpin, one of Alta’s principals, Summer Preview 2018 VIEW STORIES FVCC'S 2018 GRADUATION PHOTO GALLERY EDITOR'S PICK MORE SHOW CAPTION ---PAGE BREAK--- said some of the most popular suggestions were constructing an amphitheater, space for community and farmers markets along the trail, and restrooms. “The railroad has been here for more than 100 years and with these designs we’re looking at the next 100 years,” Gilpin said. A contemporary trail design would include space for public art and multifunctional activity spaces. A natural trail design would play on the region’s natural history and beauty, with lots of greenery and space for environmental education. And an historic trail design would pay tribute to the city’s industrial past and include pieces of the old railroad tracks (some of which has sat unchanged since 1891). Gilpin said Alta designers will spend the rest of the summer reviewing the public’s feedback and come up with a trail concept that it will present to the Kalispell City Council, most likely in early fall. Once the city council gives its approval, Alta and KLJ Engineers will create technical construction plans, with the hopes of presenting that information to the city in early 2019. If everything goes according to plan and the new rail park is completed on time, construction on the trail could begin sometime in 2020. The rail line was first built in 1891 by the Great Northern Railway. It is currently owned by BNSF Railway, which filed to abandon the track earlier this year. Once the final two rail customers – CHS Kalispell and Northwest Drywall – move to the new rail park, two miles of track will be pulled up from Evergreen to Meridian Road. Embed View on Twitter Flathead Beacon staff A Twitter list by @FlatheadBeacon Follow our journalists for breaking news & other reports 14m Kellyn Brown Retweeted NBA Finals viewership averages: 2018: 17.65 million (four games) 2017: 20.4 million (five games) 2016: 20.2 million (seven games) 2015: 19.9 million (six games) "He would wear NBA clothes and Nike Air Max sneakers when playing basketball at school” Somewhere a reporter is frantically looking Richard Deitsch @richarddeitsch Justin Franz @jfranz88 ---PAGE BREAK--- NEWS & FEATURES SPORTS OUTDOORS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT OPINION PHOTOS EVENTS ABOUT US MARKETPLACE Advertise Subscribe Advertiser Tear Sheets Email & RSS Feeds Contact Us © 2018 Flathead Beacon, All Rights Reserved. Use of this site is subject to the Flathead Beacon's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Flathead Beacon MORE FROM THE BEACON 2 Comments Sort by Najiha A Start making extra cash every month online from home. I have made $17623 last month from this easy home based job. I am a full time college student and just doing this job for 3 to 4 hrs a day. Very easy to do work and earnings are much better than any other office type job. Every person can now easily start making real cash online by just follow instructions on this website.......... w w w.M a x W e b s 6 7.c o m ™ ™ please don't copy in url thank Like ꞏ Reply ꞏ 4h ꞏ Edited Anthony Hirsch ꞏ Owner / Trainer at Inland Fitness I find this exciting and a huge thing for downtown. Newest Add a comment... Joe Brenneman, Former Flathead County Commissioner, Dies Four Decades of Montessori Kalispell School District Expanding Summer Lunch Program with Food Truck 17 Main Street • Kalispell • Montana • 59901 • USA • (406) 2579220 •