MetroSpokane

Students Envision New Home For Loof Carousel

With Fall classes kicking off at WSU Spokane's Interdisciplinary Design Institute it can only mean a charrette isn't far away.  This year the focus was on the Loof Carousel and students were tasked with designing a new carousel building to enhance both Riverfront Park and the Looff Carousel.  No small task.

Public Meeting: Sprague/Appleway Revitalization

Fast on the heels of last week's comment-o-rama, comes the news that the Spokane Valley is having a Public Meeting regarding the transportation/revitalization plans for the proposed city center and Sprague/Appleway corridor.  The meeting takes place on Tuesday, August 19th at CenterPlace, 2426 North Discovery Place in the Spokane Valley.

The transportation plan is proposing a revamping of Sprague and Appleway from one-way couplets to create two, two-ways for large portions of the six-mile corridor.  The addition of a true city-center is also being proposed.  If you've been paying attention as the plan has been developed over the past year it's provoked ample discussion about the future of our neighboring city.  Some like the status-quo of Sprague Avenue, while others feel it's high time it becomes more than what it currently is.

Call to Action: Spokane PARK(ing) Day 2008

[image courtesy of lifewithoutbuildings via Flickr]
This is it Spokane.  Last year we mentioned the PARK(ing) movement taking place in cities across the globe.  This year it's bound to expand to even more cities all over, "this crazy blue ball we call home" (credit: Will Ferell).  The event is scheduled to take place on Friday September 19th. 

ZOLA Gets a cage

A tipster with his iPhone handy snapped the above pic and sent it our way. The restauranteers over at ZOLA are expanding their seating options out onto the sidewalk.  Our vision of downtown Spokane, hell even the neighborhood business districts, has about ten times the outdoor seating we currently carry. 

Prairie View Park - kids have it good these days

Oh to be a kid again.  With summer just about three weeks away the finishing touches are being put on Spokane County's new Prairie View Park located at 62nd and Freya.  The video above shows just how sweet this park is going to be for kids this summer.  It consists of the large aquatics facility shown above, basketball courts, sand volleyball, a picnic shelter, and a wide open grassy area.  Overall, a nice addition to the neighborhood and a pretty good third place for that part of the city.  Kids are going to go nuts over this thing.  Dig out yer trunks, 'cause this on opens June 13th.

• Site Plan - Prairie View Park Aquatic Facility [pdf]
• Prairie View Park [GMAP]

How to alienate a pedestrian

There's a place on every street where private land bumps up against the public right of way.  In cities this is usually the point where the sidewalk edge ends and the private parcel begins.  A truly urban environment will have the building front next to the sidewalk for a seamless transition with absolutely no setbacks.  This is a critical ingredient for the vibrant streetlife we all want to see downtown and in our neighborhood business districts.  It doesn't end there however.

A rehabbed Iron Bridge (not the condos) revealed

Abandoned for decades but not forgotten, it looks like a rehabilitation plan for the Iron Bridge may have some legs.  On numerous levels this project is a no-brainer:  It expands the network of the Centennial Trail, improves connectivity for bikes and pedestrians through East Central-Logan-University District, brings attention to a sorely neglected stretch of the river, etc.

When it comes to walking we're #215...

On the one hand we have Forbes magazine who loves us, and on the other hand we have the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) who thinks Spokane need some help.  Earlier this month the APMA released it's 2008 listing of America's Best Walking Cities, and out of 500 cities ranked across the US they ranked us #215.  Sure we're no Venice, but certainly we're better than #215, aren't we?

The curse of the 'twin-loops'...

Whether visitor or longtime resident, anyone who has driven in and around downtown has had to deal with the annoyance of the one-way streets.  The one-way streets you enjoy today are actually a result of downtown's first master plan completed in 1961 (we love eBay).  The plan, known as the Ebasco Plan, developed the strategy of a twin inner-loop system of one-way couplets cons isting of an outer-loop (Spokane Falls Blvd-Monroe-1st-Washington) moving traffic in a counter-clockwise direction while the inner-loop (Main-Stevens-Sprague-Lincoln) circulated clockwise.  These one-way couplets were suggested to be implemented first because, according to the plan it would reduce accidents and delays at troublesome intersections.  Forty years later we're not sure if this has been the result or not. 

Sprague and Appleway - Someday there'll be a 'there' there

SPOKANE VALLEY - Ahhh...East Sprague Avenue out in the Valley:  Ten miles of wide-open public right-of-way flanked by some of the lowest low-rise development and some of the biggest building setbacks you'll ever see.  It's the antithesis of urban in every way and if you're a pedestrian, forget it.  Things may be changing however.