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Submit Your Traffic-Calming Proposals

Submit Your Traffic-Calming Proposals

Do cars tear down your street? Do you see a lot of reckless cut-through traffic on roads near your house? Is there a spot on a busy road that threatens the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers?

Here’s the good news: You can do something about it.

Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council is soliciting neighborhood traffic-calming proposals to be implemented in 2014-15. These will be vetted, voted on, and then the top two (one residential proposal, one arterial proposal) will be passed to the city for consideration.

Traffic-calming proposals include anything from curb extensions to traffic circles (aka roundabouts), chicanes, traffic islands, medians, landscaping, and pedestrian crosswalks. You can see some examples of these in the images above.

The traffic-calming toolbox (PDF link) from the City of Spokane provides a lot of easy-to-read information about potential traffic-calming measures, including a short description of each one as well as pros and cons. This post from a street-scaping blog also has lots of ideas and images.

Unfortunately, the deadline is incredibly tight (it’s Friday, March 1), but that’s because word didn’t filter out of the city until recently — so you’ll need to e-mail your suggestions immediately to emerson.garfield@gmail.com. We’ll take care of the initial paperwork.

Please include the following basic info in your e-mail:

  • Your contact information
  • The exact location of the proposed traffic-calming project
  • Why you think traffic calming is necessary in that particular location
  • Which traffic-calming method (e.g., chicanes, pedestrian islands, roundabouts) would be most effective

Keep in mind that, if your proposal is selected by the city for further study, you might have to collect signatures from neighbors for approval. This is not nearly as daunting as it sounds. Although there’s always a neighbor who grumbles or is overly suspicious, signature-gathering here in Emerson-Garfield is usually a pretty pleasant experience, especially for universally beneficial projects like these.

And should you think that nothing ever comes of these applications, please note that Emerson-Garfield is currently under study for one of the most ambitious traffic-calming projects in Spokane — which was entirely proposed and advocated by residents.

Building Stronger Neighborhoods Meeting, Feb 25

Building Stronger Neighborhoods Meeting, Feb 25

There will be a meeting for the new Building Stronger Neighborhoods Committee on Monday, February 25.

This year’s top goal for the Building Stronger Neighborhoods Committee is to attract and retain membership in the neighborhoods program. At the upcoming meeting we will discuss the responsibilities of the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary and tentatively hold elections. If you aren’t interested but know of someone who might be, please forward this information and let potential candidates know about the upcoming meeting.

Here’s what’s on the agenda:

  • Meet & Eats Plan for 2013
  • Recap of the January 30 event that was hosted in Chief Gary Park
  • Discuss template for helping Neighborhood Councils host M&E events
  • Schedule Meet & Eats for at least the next 3 months
  • Trainings Plan for 2013
  • Discuss working with COPS to training for Neighborhood Night Out Against Crime events
  • Plan out the first 6 months of 2013 trainings
  • Follow-Up on District 81 Program
  • Discuss which neighborhoods have been contacted
  • Discuss elections
  • Nominations for Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary Position
  • If time permits and there are nominations, take a vote on each position

The Building Stronger Neighborhoods Committee is a subcommittee of the Community Assembly. It works to provide training and resources to neighborhoods to increase participation, identify and meet neighborhood needs, and build capacity. The committee meets monthly and works directly with the Community Assembly and neighborhood chairs to set annual goals and work plan.

The meeting on February 25 will run from 11:30am to 12:30pm and will be held at Fire Station 4, which is located at 1515 W. 1st Ave [map] outside of Browne’s Addition (accessible by STA bus routes #20, #60, #61).

Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Logo Contest

Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Logo Contest

Emerson-Garfield needs a logo, and we want it designed by our own local talent.

Are you interested? Please fill out the application form (PDF link) and submit your design!

Here are the details:

  1. To be eligible, you must either live, work, or own a property or a business in Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood (see the boundaries on the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Map).
  2. The logo must include the following text: Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council (yes, there is a hyphen in there.)
  3. Additional text options — we don’t have an official slogan yet, but you are welcome to invent one if you want and add it to the logo.
  4. Use imagery and/or typeface that represents Emerson-Garfield neighborhood. At our February meeting, our attending members brainstormed about our imagery and came up with the following descriptive words: community projects, parks, trees, play sets, the boulevard building, pillars, old brick walls, middle-class, turn-of-the-century homes, historic, old-fashioned lamp posts, the old street car rail line (which used to run up Monroe from downtown to the foothills), the Northern gateway to the city, squirrels, stone lion statues, street trees, marmots, skunks, old Emerson school, businesses, people, families, 1902–1925.
  5. Size should be about 6 inches across (height or width depending on the shape of your design). Image resolution should be 300dpi.
  6. Color — design should be shown both in (1) black and white and (2) in color.
  7. Submit your entries in print quality PDF format (retain your native files until after the contest). E-mail to emerson.garfield@gmail.com by Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at midnight.

The logo entries will be printed and displayed at the March 13 meeting. The winning logo will be chosen by silent ballot vote at the meeting by the members in attendance. There will be much hoopla made about the winner, and public recognition on all our media channels.

While this is not a paid job, it is a great opportunity to build your portfolio and create a lasting mark for a nonprofit that represents your neighborhood in Spokane.

Submit Your Sidewalk Repair/Install Requests

Submit Your Sidewalk Repair/Install Requests

Do you have broken, uneven, or missing sidewalks in your area?

Emerson-Garfield neighborhood is compiling a list of sidewalk repairs and installations for the 2013 sidewalk project.

If you have a request to repair a stretch of sidewalk or install new sidewalk, please submit your request to Sara Kimball via e-mail at kimballs09@gmail.com no later than March 1.

All requests will be examined and included in a priority list provided to the City of Spokane. Engineers from the city will then use the list to determine this year’s projects to be completed late summer or early fall.

For questions or more information, e-mail Sara using the address above or call her at (509) 863-3376.

If you would like more information on the process behind sidewalk and street repair, please see this post.

Bryant McKinley on Northwest Profiles

Bryant McKinley on Northwest Profiles

Emerson-Garfield resident Bryant McKinley is featured in the January, 2013 episode of Northwest Profiles on KSPS.


From the blurb:

For Bryant McKinley, cycling is a way of life. So is being blind. Yet even without his sense of sight, this active Spokane senior has a vibrant vision to win. With Tomas Lynch, his tandem bike teammate, McKinley has his sights set on winning a national bike racing championship. And with it, perhaps cycling’s ultimate prize: the coveted stars and stripes jersey.

Bryant is a friendly and fascinating guy. Believe it or not, there’s more to him than his cycling. He also fixes vintage car engines — all without his sight.

Watch the full Northwest Profiles show here.