Results of Traffic-Calming Votes

Results of Traffic-Calming Votes

In response to the neighborhood council’s call for traffic-calming proposals, two arterial and three residential proposals were submitted by neighborhood residents.

25 MPH speed limit signArterial:

A. Traffic from Monroe uses Lincoln for alternate arterial. With McDonald’s on the corner, there is additional traffic from that. Too many cars are going too fast and not slowing down for the intersections. Signs like “Slow” or MPH signs would be helpful. This includes Nora and Augusta.

B. Maple/Ash Streets and Jackson. Needs a crosswalk light for pedestrians crossing the street to go to Safeway. Very dangerous frequently used crossing, especially bad during rush hour and after dark.

Residential:

A. Chelan Ave off of Monroe St towards Maple/Ash is a wide street for several blocks and so people drive very fast. And it is a busy street — because of its wideness, it is has become a shortcut. There are many kids and pets who live on the street. Request speed-limit signs or something to help deter the noise and traffic.

B. Though not a terribly busy intersection, the traffic from Cora and Euclid often contends for access up the last block (steep hill) to the corner of Euclid and Division. There have been in a couple of near-misses for sure. Tends to be traffic collecting from Cora, Alice, Dalton and Euclid looking for quick access to Division.

C. Cora and Alice between Post and Division. Used as a cut-through at high speeds. Children and church attendees are endangered. Speed-limit sign or “Children at Play” sign is requested.

Results

Earlier this month, the voting members of the neighborhood council conducted an e-mail vote (due to the tight deadline) on the traffic-calming proposals that were submitted. Option B from the Arterial section collected the most votes. Of the Residential proposals, option B won out, but due to its similarity and close number of votes to C, they were combined.

At last night’s neighborhood council meeting, it was decided that option B of the Arterials (i.e., a crosswalk/pedestrian light on Maple/Ash and Jackson) would be the application put to the city. There were only enough resources to carry out one project, and due to our history of alternating residential and arterial projects each year (residential was the focus in 2012), it was decided to go ahead with the winning arterial proposal.

If your traffic-calming proposal wasn’t selected, please don’t be discouraged. It can take a few rounds to be successful, but the increased safety and more pleasant streets will be worth it in the end.

Materials for the Mar 13 EGNC Meeting

Materials for the Mar 13 EGNC Meeting

The next Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council Meeting will take place this Wednesday (March 13). As usual, it will start at 7pm and be held at the Corbin Senior Center.

You can get the materials (agenda, minutes for approval) on the Downloads page, or just download them here:

Some of the big agenda items include:

  • Announcement of traffic-calming voting results
  • Updates to the city’s Comprehensive Plan
  • Neighborhood spring cleanup
  • Updates to the city’s Comprehensive Plan
  • Review of submissions and voting on the neighborhood logo
  • Timing of election of new officers
  • COPS and planning committee reports
  • Nonprofit formation news

We hope to see you there!

Comprehensive Plan Open House (Mar 13)

Comprehensive Plan Open House (Mar 13)

There will be an open house for the 2012-2014 Comprehensive Plan Review and Update on Wednesday, March 13 from 5:30 to 7:30pm. It will take place on the lower level of Spokane City Hall [map] in the City Council Chambers and Chase Gallery.

The open house will be hosted by the Plan Commission and will serve as a follow-up to the district meetings that took place last month. Preliminary findings and survey results from those meetings will be presented and discussed, in addition to the opportunity for those who could not attend the February meetings to take both surveys. Demographic data will also be displayed.

Comprehensive Plan Update, March 13 Flyer

Why is the Comp Plan important? Put simply, it affects every aspect of how Spokane will grow in the coming years. If you don’t want to be unhappy with the city’s development in 2018, this is the meeting you should be attending in 2013.

If you have any questions, contact Jo Anne Wright. Her e-mail is jwright@spokanecity.org; her phone is (509) 625-6017.

E-G Planning Meeting Tonight (Mar 7)

E-G Planning Meeting Tonight (Mar 7)

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Planning Group is meeting tonight (Thursday, March 7) at 6pm in Corbin Senior Center.

Please note that this date reflects the new meeting schedule on the first Thursday of every month. It was changed last month to accommodate more participants’ schedules.

There’s more planning-related news than usual this month because of several new or updated city- and neighborhood-level projects. Here’s a rough overview of the agenda topics:

  • Comprehensive Plan Update
  • Storm water runoff and sewers, a .5 billion dollar project for Spokane
  • City Council/Community Assembly discussion on neighborhood plans
  • CAN-PAC meeting review
  • Announcement of STA open houses for corridor upgrades

The planning group is always looking to include more participants who represent all facets of the neighborhood — so feel free to attend if you have an interest in mapping out Emerson-Garfield’s future. We hope to see you there!

¡Hola, Gerardo’s!

¡Hola, Gerardo’s!

A new Mexican restaurant called Gerardo’s has (finally) moved into the building on N. Monroe that once belonged to Chill Spot. Although the sign first went up in September, it took until mid-February to open. We’re just glad to see a restaurant with tasty-looking fare opening up instead of closing down.

Gerardo's

As far as we can tell, the restaurant doesn’t have a Web presence — not even a Facebook page — so you’ll have to drop by and see things for yourself. Fortunately, they offer drive-through until 2am on most nights.

A copy of Gerardo’s menu is available here as a PDF. The burrito lineup is a solid offering of SoCal Mexican (e.g., Texano, Arizona, California, and breakfast). Not only are they inexpensive, they’re huge. Plus they’ve got some appetizing combo plates.

Call Gerardo’s at (509) 340-9905 for take-out, or just stop in at 2706 N. Monroe [map] and practice your Spanish with the friendly staff while you wait for your order.

And if you like the food at Gerardo’s, please make a point of telling others or visiting again. We can’t bear to see another N. Monroe eatery vanish. (Chill Spot, Sparky’s Firehouse Subs, Casey’s, and Andy’s Phở, we hardly knew ye. And don’t even mention the Hedge House.)