Planning a Riverfront Recreational Corridor: Riverfront Priorities in Missoula, Montana

Missoula lies in the heart of western Montana, recently coined The last best place. An abandoned railroad right of way in a riverfront, which bisects Missoula\u27s downtown is the setting for development of a recreational corridor. Missoula is experiencing revitalization of its downtown thanks to the creation of a reinvestment tax which skimmed revenues generated by new developments in the downtown (Urban Renewal District) after a base tax year was established in 1980. The tax was designed to foster revitalization over a ten year period and then the agency which administers reinvestment in the renewal district is expected to sunset. With only one-year remaining and much money set aside the City Council needs to decide on priorities for the Urban Renewal District. The riverfront in the middle of this urban area of 75,000 people, hosts beavers, blue herons, mergansers, wood ducks, and rainbow and brown trout. On a hillside, visible from the downtown, a team of biologists is considering transplanting a herd of bighorn sheep. The community has a sensitivity toward enhancing wildlife viewing opportunities, yet some people still respond. Do those wilderness people want more wilderness right here in the middle of town? This constituency is asking that the riverfront be a people place. After many public workshops some compromise has been reached for riverfront development. Now some questions remain. Will the Urban Renewal Agency make substantial investment in a riverfront park system or is the money better spent on more traditional renewal projects such as building demolition, parking structures and facade improvements? Will a community which prides itself on providing a quality of life for its residents, but divided about whether to encourage more in-migration or promotion of tourism, give the high sign to the Riverfront Park System? These are the issues Missoula will be wrestling with in the coming year. The Downtown Riverfront Plan for Missoula addresses these issues and provides strategies for future development. The Plan will be published in January of 1989, followed by public review and presumably adoption by Missoula City Council