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The Future of North Monroe

The Future of North Monroe

The state of North Monroe has been a point of concern for residents and businesses for a long time now. This poorly lit, five-lane, treeless thoroughfare physically and psychologically divides Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood. There have been pedestrian fatalities. The doors of parked cars have been ripped off by passing traffic. The current environment is downright hostile to anyone who wants to park and walk from shop to shop, and by the same token, it poses an additional challenge to all the businesses that lack dedicated parking. The number of vacant and decrepit buildings is a good indication of that.

Even this past November, when the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council was actively seeking to fund the installation an STA bus shelter so the growing ridership of the #24 didn’t have to stand in the rain, we could only identify one location with sufficient sidewalk in the stretch between Indiana and Grace.

For all these reasons, North Monroe featured heavily in the EGNC’s Neighborhood Action Plan, which had the support of residents, businesses and even the full City Council. And it’s been an ongoing focus of many parties outside of the neighborhood council — including the North Monroe Business Association, the West Quadrant Tax Increment Financing District (WQ TIF), several members of the City Council, the STA, and the City of Spokane.

Because the funding necessary to comprehensively overhaul North Monroe was so great, most everyone thought that the timeframe for this kind of project was about seven or ten years away. But that’s changed.

This past summer, engineers from the City applied for two ambitious grants with the goal of improving North Monroe. At the start of the year they got word that those applications were either successful or highly ranked for approval.

Image from WSDoT application: N. Monroe (Indiana to Kiernan) showing sidewalks and curb bump-outs.
Image from WSDoT application: N. Monroe (Indiana to Kiernan) showing sidewalks and curb bump-outs.

The first comes from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDoT). It has awarded the City $3,773,200 through the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program, which, according to this overview, is to:

Convert to two lanes with a two-way left turn lane and wide curb lanes. Install curb extensions and pedestrian lighting and upgrade sidewalk and traffic signs and signals.

Images that accompanied this grant application are provided above and below. They show the current conditions — narrow parking insets, narrow travel lanes, sidewalks as narrow as 5′ — and sketches of the proposed improvements with wider sidewalks, wider travel lanes, wider parking insets, a wider center turn lane, improved lighting and better natural stormwater mitigation using trees.

The second grant is through the WSDoT’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program (this document has more info). The state legislature still needs to formally adopt and fund the list in their 2015 session, but this project ranks high on the shortlist. The remaining $326,800 of the anticipated $4.1 total to revitalize North Monroe would come from this program.

Incidentally, this funding comes in addition to the $300,000 $150,000 that the WQ TIF has allocated as “seed money” to attract large-scale grants for this stretch of North Monroe.

The project scope includes reducing North Monroe from five lanes to three — a “road diet” in urban planning lingo — from just north of Indiana to approximately Kiernan at the top of the North Hill. The existing parking insets will be filled in to make a consistent 12′-wide sidewalk with trees and/or planted swales in some places. Curb extensions will be added at all intersections. The existing outside travel lane will be turned into on-street parking. The traffic signal at Montgomery — the intersection where the Institute for Extended Learning and Caffe Delicio draw considerable pedestrian traffic — will be modified to make it a safer pedestrian crossing. Other marked crosswalks in the corridor will be enhanced with center refuge islands.

Image from WSDoT application: Proposed cross-section.
Image from WSDoT application: Proposed cross-section.

Pedestrian lighting is included to some extent. In line with their recently adopted Moving Forward initiative, the STA also intends to incorporate bus stop and other high-performance transit improvements into the project.

There are many modeling and case studies (see here, for example, or here, or here) that show these improvements will not only make North Monroe safer and more attractive to pedestrians, they will also improve traffic flow while increasing business visibility. That might seem counterintuitive, but the proof can even be seen locally in areas like East Sprague, South Perry and Market Street in Hillyard. More lanes does not necessarily equal better traffic flow and better business.

As for the timeline: This is no longer a seven- or ten-year pipe dream. Planning will likely take place throughout 2016, and the conditions of the funding stipulate that the construction contract must be out to ad by September 2017. This means construction will take place in 2018 — just three years from now. On the scale of construction projects, that’s just around the corner.

In due course the EGNC will be working with these City engineers, the City Council, the STA, the North Monroe Business Association and other organizations to ensure that the redevelopment of North Monroe takes place in a way that aligns with everyone’s priorities.

Roundabouts Begin on W Montgomery

Roundabouts Begin on W Montgomery

The barriers and detour that have suddenly sprung up on the stretch of W Montgomery between N Monroe and Northwest Boulevard mark the start of construction for the traffic circles (aka roundabouts) that will help to abate speeding.

The chain-link fence in the left of the photo below has been taken out twice in recent years due to speeders.

Start of W Montgomery roundabouts

This post from August shows the engineering designs and also contains links to the long but fairly smooth history of this project. W Montgomery residents and Trinity Catholic School will be helping to landscape and maintain the roundabouts once they’re completed.

As an important side note, this is being paid for through Photo Red dollars (the fines handed out for running red lights), not tax dollars, and it was entirely resident-proposed. Which is to say, if you’re not happy with the traffic situation on your own street, you can put available funding to good use and do something about it.

Business Outreach Event Recap

Business Outreach Event Recap

The Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Planning group hosted a Business Outreach Event on April 17 at CSL Plasma (2126 N Monroe).

This post (and the video below) offers just a brief recap of some of the highlights; to download the full minutes, please click here.

There were 31 attendees in total. Among those speaking at the presentation were Craig Anderson, a Landscape Architect with AHBL; Inga Note, Senior Traffic Planning Engineer within the Streets Department; Jo Anne Wright, the liaison for the City of Spokane Planning Department; Candace Mumm, City Councilwoman for District 3; Jack Strong, with Strong Solutions and the past President of the Spokane Business Association; and Mark Camp, landlord of The Shop (among other businesses and buildings) in the South Perry district.

Some of the neighborhood businesses that were represented included: the Aiki Institute of Spokane, Waffles Plus, Ross’s Memories on Monroe, Azar’s Restaurant, Chairs Coffee, Tossed and Found; Zip’s and Petunia’s Marketplace.

After a brief introduction by Nicole Loncon, Assistant Manager at CSL Plasma, Jo Anne gave an overview of the neighborhood planning process and the relation between the city and the neighborhood committees since 2008.

Megan Kennedy, Vice Chair of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council, continued the overview of the planning process. On the basis of regular stakeholder meetings and two workshops with the residents, six priorities emerged. All of those points had N. Monroe in common, therefore this corridor was given its own section in the Neighborhood Plan. These priorities are:

  1. Pedestrian safety
  2. Neighborhood beautification
  3. Business diversity and occupancy
  4. Community resources
  5. Alternative and public transportation
  6. Connectivity and events

E.J. Iannelli, Chair of the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council, introduced the possibility of different funding sources, such as the STA, the West Quadrant Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district, and Community Development funds. Ideally, a revitalization effort would be able to draw from those pots, in addition to any funding from projects which the City of Spokane might have.

Candace Mumm explained the Citizen’s Transportation Advisory Board (CTAB) money, which funds street improvements, sidewalk improvements, and pedestrian improvements. The CTAB board is the Spokane City Council; the Transportation Benefit District (TBD) committee advises the City Council board, who then makes the final decision on where to focus those funds. She mentioned that having a revitalized business association would strongly contribute towards qualifying as a targeted-area investment.

Inga Note addressed the possibility of converting N. Monroe from a five-lane street into a three-lane alternative. She had previously been with Spokane Valley for eight years, and has experience with performing a “road diet.” Along with the increased space for each lane, more space would be available for street parking, swales, and sidewalks.

Jack Strong continued the three-lane topic by giving an explanation of a similar change to East Sprague and the clear benefits. Mark Kent then spoke about the process that he has been involved with since 1999, to establish a neighborhood business network and go through the procedures for revitalizing his neighborhood.

Craig Anderson walked through the results of the business survey which represented the opinions of business owners on Monroe north of Indiana and south of the Garland District. In general, pedestrian safety was a top priority. Two-thirds of the businesses surveyed expressed an interest in involvement with a business association or being involved in other neighborhood development processes that may affect their business.

Jack explained the importance of setting up a Business Improvement District (BID), and agreeing on a small tax for having a third party take responsibility for the upkeep of the landscaping, rather than relying on every individual business to maintain their allocated section. He also invited the business owners to observe the activities of their Neighborhood Business Center (NBC), which meets at the Kendall Yards Community Room on the first Thursday of every month at 7:30am.

The invitees asked questions on topics such as angled parking and bus stops, which were discussed in further detail.

Leaf Pickup Starts Today

Leaf Pickup Starts Today

Just a reminder that leaf pickup starts today for portions of Emerson-Garfield. It is scheduled to continue in our neighborhood (check out the map) until next Sunday.

According to the city’s leaf pickup schedule (PDF link), leaves in the streets on the west side of Emerson-Garfield will be picked up between today and Tuesday (November 12). Leaves on the east side of Emerson-Garfield will be picked up between next Saturday and Sunday (November 16 to 17). There are three crews: a hand-pickup crew for light leaf fall, a loadall crew for small areas with heavy leaf fall, and a packer crew with a parade of heavy equipment for larger areas with heavier leaf fall. They’ll operate from dawn until dusk — or in some cases, the early hours of the morning.

Here’s what’s expected of residents:

  • Don’t rake the leaves from your yard into the road. (Yes, we’re looking at you, house on Montgomery with the suddenly pristine lawn and the giant berm of leaves in front of your curb.) It’s lazy and it’s inconsiderate. And it’s illegal. Use your green bin — or borrow your neighbor’s — for yard leaves, or be prepared to pay a fee to the Road Department.
  • Find somewhere to park that isn’t the street. When the pickup vehicles have to weave around parked cars, they leave piles of sodden, mucky leaves behind that will likely sit there all winter. Use your garage, your neighbor’s driveway (with their permission, of course), or park to one side of the back alley. It’s only for two days.

Click here to see real-time progress of the leaf pickup crews. If you want to hear the reassuring sound of a recorded message, call the Leaf Hotline at (509) 456-2666.

Open House Tonight on Changes Downtown

Open House Tonight on Changes Downtown

The City of Spokane is inviting citizens to an open house this evening (Monday, August 19) to learn about changes planned for Post Street near City Hall and related projects that are expected to transform that area in west downtown along the Spokane River.

The open house will be held in the Chase Gallery in the lower level of City Hall, 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd [map] from 4:30 to 6pm. Staff also will brief the City Council on the projects during the council’s regular 6pm Monday night meeting in the adjacent Council Chambers.

The following projects and proposals will be discussed at the open house:

  • Post Street improvements. In the coming weeks, Post Street between Spokane Falls Boulevard and the Post Street Bridge will be converted to a one-way, northbound street. Additionally, North Lincoln Street from the Post Street Bridge north to Broadway Avenue will be converted to a three-lane street with parallel parking on both sides. The area will be more pedestrian friendly and provide a good link to a Centennial Trail extension through Veterans Park and Kendall Yards on the north side of the River. Parking in the area will increase through the addition of angled parking on Post and the changes on Lincoln Street. Post Street will be closed from Sept. 10 to Oct. 15 for work related to the changes.
  • Huntington Park and City Plaza improvements. Avista is working to upgrade its 3.8-acre Huntington Park area on the south side of the Spokane River between Post and Monroe streets and adjacent to the river’s lower falls. In addition, Avista is creating a new public plaza in what has been a small parking lot to the north of City Hall. The plaza will be gifted to the City of Spokane when complete as part of Avista’s 125th anniversary celebration in 2014. These projects are managed and paid for by Avista. The Post Street enhancement, which is a City project, will support this work, by increasing pedestrian access and calming traffic.
  • Riverfront Park Master Plan. The changes on Post and at Huntington Park will tie into work to create a new Master Plan for Riverfront Park. The Master Plan process is designed to guide plans for a major reinvestment in Riverfront Park as the 40th anniversary of Expo ’74 nears. More information on the master plan process can be found here.
  • Glover Field concept and Integrated Clean Water Plan. Additional investment also is being considered for this area. The City has developed conceptual plans for a tank in Glover Field in Peaceful Valley that would prevent flows from combined sewers from entering the Spokane River. The project would be part of a significant effort to improve the health of Spokane River and reduce stormwater and combined stormwater and wastewater from entering the River. The City’s goals for this work include gaining multiple public benefits when building infrastructure. For Glover Field, as a result, the City has developed a concept to improve the park and add a trail that would connect Huntington Park to Glover Field. Ultimately, this project could include a trail loop between Monroe Street and the Sandifur pedestrian bridge.

A fact sheet about the open house, the Post Street improvements, and the Avista work is available here.