BUTTE — Butte is looking to give a busy intersection in Uptown Butte a major facelift to make it more pedestrian-friendly and friendly to local businesses.
“The more you make it a friendly place for people to walk around, the more business you're going to generate, so that’s what the goal is here,” said Butte Community Development Director Karen Byrnes.
Butte is taking bids to put in bulb-out curb extensions at the intersection of Main and Granite streets. The extended curbs would include greenery, bike racks, and benches while making the crosswalk shorter for pedestrians.
“To allow for pedestrians to be better seen for one thing, cars be more aware of their presence because they can see them, and it makes it a more pleasing experience too,” said Byrnes.
Clearwater Credit Union is building a new building at the intersection and plans to improve its sidewalk with a bulb-out curb.
“We thought, well, this is a great opportunity to do the whole intersection. You know, let’s not do it partway, let’s do it all way,” Byrnes said.
Businesses in the area, like Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub, benefit greatly from more foot traffic in Uptown.
“We got more and more visitors coming to Butte. They park their cars, park their motorbike, they’re out and about, they want to see our Uptown and a lot are on foot, so to make it easy, accessible, and walkable, that’s good news for Butte,” said Shawn O’Donnell’s owner Irish Johnny.
Officials estimate the project at about $300,000 and could get started on it this fall if approved.
