Plan Reshapes Rathdrum’S Core Bringing Economic Boom To Town Requires Creativity, Consultants Say
Rathdrum’s downtown may not ever be a traditional retail core, but it still has plenty of possibilities, planning consultants said at a town meeting Tuesday night.
Main Street in Rathdrum, which the city and a citizens committee have focused on for economic revitalization, has two dead ends. That’s a rarity among downtowns, consultant Tom Hudson said.
Further complicating matters, McCartney Street’s intersection with State Highway 53 will be closed for safety reasons when the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway installs a second track next to the one that runs through town. That means even more limited access to the Main Street area.
But that area, McCartney Street north of Main, could become a location for a community center, an amphitheater or a farmers market, Hudson and consultant Lorraine Roach suggested.
The core area’s focus should be more on the social, civic and recreational opportunities it poses, they said. It also would be a great place for small businesses to get their start, they said.
Hudson and Roach presented their final proposal for revitalizing the Main Street area to more than 30 people Tuesday. They held a similar meeting in August to present some possibilities and get feedback.
Having a central meeting place such as a farmers market or a community center would give people “a place to be,” Roach said.
“We’re not talking a traditional (retailcentered) approach, and that’s because I don’t think it’s reasonable to go that route,” Hudson said. But plenty of people come into towns for farmers markets and the like because they have a sense of place, he said.
Their plan suggested naming the area, possibly calling it the Westwood Square Historical District. The plan also calls for broad citizen support, keeping the angled parking on Main Street and bringing people into the area with special events such as Rathdrum Days.
The consulting team put together a fiveyear time line, and said the cost for the project would be about $3.8 million. That includes $875,000 for improving the intersection of State Highway 41 and McCartney Street, $200,000 for the physical improvements to create a town square, and $840,000 for the Mill Street railroad crossing and intersection with Highway 53. The proposed budget calls for $163,000 to hire a coordinator to manage the project for three years.
Other cities have paid much more, Hudson said, and not all of the cost needs to become a burden for city taxpayers. There are grants available from numerous local, state and federal agencies to help, Roach said. The plan includes lists of possible sources for money.
Citizens on Tuesday didn’t offer many comments after the presentation. One woman said she liked the idea for the name of the square, and another woman asked whether a skate park would be included.
A skate park could be located near the farmers market area, Hudson said.